Over holiday break 2021, I finally customized my Switch with skins I'd purchased months earlier.
I went with the Ruth Thompson Red Dragon from SkinIt, whose deluxe bundle encompassed my Switch, dock, Joy Cons, and Pro Controller. It took a bit of work to apply the decals without leaving any bubbles behind, but I was pleased with the end result.
FrontBackThe only cosmetic downside was that the design on the Joy Cons align only when they're in the plastic grip; when they're connected to the Switch itself, the images don't flow. But that's an issue only when I'm playing in handheld mode, which is rare, as I prefer to play docked with the Pro Controller.
Drift & repairAlmost everything in the above photos was purchased on March 3, 2017 — the day of the Nintendo Switch's release. And everything from that launch day continued to work flawlessly for seven years, until my left Joy Con's joystick started to drift.
Joy Con drift is a known issue — practically our generation's Red Ring of Death, except less fatal. Multiple lawsuits have been brought against Nintendo on the matter, and since 2019, Nintendo has offered free repairs, even for Joy Cons that are out of warranty.
By 2024, it was time for me to request my first Joy Con repair. The form Nintendo had me fill out was easy, producing a free UPS mailing label for me to print.
My only concern was in what cosmetic state the Joy Con would be returned. It still had the SkinIt decal on it; should I expect it back in the same shape? I was reminded of an Xbox 360 user who sent his console in for repair from the RROD. The case had autographs from dozens of video game industry luminaries; when it came back from Microsoft, it had been wiped clean. Would the same happen to my Joy Con?
Fortunately, even my worst-case scenario was not all that bad: unlike a custom Xbox 360 shell, I could replace a Joy Con decal for just $10. That left me less concerned and more intellectually curious of possible incomes, of which I ranked four in decreasing probability:
Here's the timeline through which I had to wait to see how the scenario played out:
Upon receipt, I opened the box — and this is what I found:
It's true! Despite the house odds of only 15%, Nintendo repaired my Joy Con and returned it with the skin still fully intact — and drift no longer an issue.
Kudos to both SkinIt and Nintendo for excellent products and customer service. I'm a satisfied client!
The post Joy Con skins & drift repair first appeared on Gamebits.