Pro Controller Stick Grinding Pics (SFW)
Since no one has posted pics yet...
This is after about 10 hours of total playtime. Games played are Diddy Kong Racing, StarFox, and Rocket Robot on Wheels. Granted, these games can be a bit rough on a stick, especially with my rough touch, but still... this much damage after only 10 hrs is unacceptable. There's already grooves carved out by the corners of the gate. What also worries me is the possibility of the dust damaging other things (you can see it collecting on the bottom of the stick towards the bottom of this pic).
This isn't just a cosmetic thing either, it has a very noticeable effect on the tactile feel. It increases friction against the gate a lot, to the point where it feels like its sticking to the gate.
I saw the post about Modretro sending replacement sticks to others who have complained about this, but that doesn't seem like it will solve anything unless they materially change the stick and/or the gate. I know some remedied this by changing gates, but losing out on the native N64 feel to patch a manufacturing/design issue is also not a solution.
This really sucks because the controller is otherwise fantastic and the stick felt amazing when it was fresh.