{
  "id": 1314246,
  "title": "Valve's $99 controller drops the part that causes stick drift, and Sony and Microsoft's flagships still haven't",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/16/valves-99-controller-drops-the-part-that-causes-stick-drift-and-sony",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-08-16T17:30:10.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "XDA Developers",
    "slug": "xda-developers",
    "url": "https://www.xda-developers.com/valve-controller-drops-part-stick-drift-sony-microsoft-havent/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "The issue of \"stick drift\" in gaming controllers persists, with Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo's controllers still using potentiometers that can wear down over time, causing the problem. This is due to the hardware design, where a metal wiper scrapes across a carbon film resistor, leading to degradation. According to XDA Developers, this means that no firmware update can fix the issue.\n\nIn unrelated news, VLC media player has experienced a problem on Windows 11, where it can take up to 33 seconds to start playing an MP3 file. The VLC team attributes this issue to a Microsoft Defender problem introduced through a Windows 11 update, which conflicts with VLC's plugin cache.\n\nReinstalling VLC or regenerating the plugin cache can resolve the issue, according to Tom's Hardware.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}