I'd bet on the Fat too, it's better overall
Discussion
Lol no wonder they wear quickly, I was researching it and apparently the original Vita has Hall Effect sticks, while the Vita 2000 uses potentiometers
If you want to give it a try in the future, apparently there are ALLEGEDLY ALPS sticks for the Vita Slim on AliExpress and other Chinese stores. If they are indeed ALPS, these tend to wear off less compared to regular potentiometers since they are considered better quality.
The replacements I'm using is good and it's enduring so maybe it's the same kind ? I'll surely buy those tho to keep them as reserves, at leat a pair.
Never dived into it so I only came to know the hard way but that explains a ton, there's no way there will be Vita 2000 with og sticks in 10 years if it's sealed. I used mine a year and had to replace the analogs.
To be fair, potentiometers are fine, some older equipment with them in it still great to this day, the problem is that these newer controllers and portables simply don't have good isolation and proper anti-wear prevention, it's definitely intentional, but in the Vita Slim case it could be just the fact Sony completely gave up on the thing and decided to cheap out lol