The Joy-Con controllers for the Switch console have caused Nintendo many headaches over the past few years. The first class-action lawsuit due to the now infamous Joy-Con drift was filed in the United States against Nintendo in July 2019 by the law firm Chimicles Schwartz Kriner & Donaldson-Smith; at that time, Nintendo simply referred consumers to the Switch support page for any complaints.
In 2020, president Shuntaro Furukawa finally commented on the Joy-Con drifting issue by apologizing to customers, though he wouldn’t say more due to the ongoing litigation. Another class-action lawsuit was filed in 2021 for the same reason in Canada by Lambert Avocat Inc.
With the release of the Nintendo Switch OLED later that year, the company promised improved reliability. Deputy GM of Nintendo’s Technology Development Department Toru Yamashita stated at the time:
The analog stick at first release cleared the Nintendo reliability test using the method of rotating the stick while continually applying a load to it, with the same criteria as the Wii U GamePad’s analog stick.
As we have always been trying to improve it as well, we have investigated the Joy-Con controllers used by the customers and repeatedly improved the wear resistance and durability.
The parts of the Joy-Con analog sticks are not something that can be bought off the shelf but are specially designed, so we have undergone a lot of considerations to improve them. In addition, we improved the reliability test itself, and we have continued to make changes to improve durability and clear this new test.
That said, some Nintendo Switch users continued to encounter issues with their controllers. In Europe, the Consumer Organisation had received over 25K complaints on this topic by January 2021. The European Commission subsequently contacted Nintendo about the problem and today, they announced the Japanese company’s decision to repair any defective Joy-Con controllers for free. Didier Reynders, Commissioner for Justice at the European Commission, said in a statement:
I am pleased that Nintendo voluntarily took the steps to address concerns about compliance with EU consumer law, addressing the early obsolescence of certain controllers, and offering a lifelong right to free repair for this specific issue. This will prevent the disposal of unrepaired controllers and unnecessary waste. In line with our proposal on the right to repair, we expect companies to effectively improve the reparability of their products and the information available on it, in order to empower consumers to become real actors in the green transition.
It’ll be interesting to see whether Nintendo intends to offer the same conditions to Switch users elsewhere in the world. Meanwhile, European customers can breath a little easier when picking up their Joy-Con controllers from now on.
