Nintendo
- Chimicles Schwartz Kriner & Donaldson-Smith, a firm that specializes in federal and state class-action lawsuits, filed a suit against Nintendo "for claims relating to alleged defects in the Joy-Con controllers" for the Switch console.
- The lawsuit claims that the Switch's $80 Joy-Con controllers "contain a defect that can result in the joystick moving or activating on its own ('drifting') and manipulating game play without manual operation by the user."
- Dozens of Nintendo Switch owners have complained about Joy-Con drift for months; the lawsuit alleges that Nintendo "fails to disclose the defect and routinely refuses to repair the joysticks without charge when the defect manifests."
- The lawsuit cites over a dozen posts from online forums — dating back as early as 2017, the same year the Switch launched — where owners complained about the drifting issue and had to pay to replace them multiple times.
- Switch owners in the lawsuit want Nintendo to "recover their out-of-pocket expenses related to repairs and/or replacement" of their Joy-Con," and and for the company to extend their warranty to cover the drifting issues.
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If you own a Nintendo Switch, or know of someone who has one, there's a good chance you've heard of "Joy-Con drift."
Nintendo's quirky detachable controller for the Switch, the Joy-Con, seems to be vulnerable to an issue where it senses input even when there isn't any. This leads to an experience called "drift," where your character on the screen may move even when you're not touching the joystick.
People have complained about Joy-Con drift dating back as far as 2017, the same year the Switch launched. But Nintendo has been silent on the issue.
While Nintendo says that it's aware of the issue, a new class-action lawsuit could bring it into the spotlight.
On Friday, national law firm Chimicles Schwartz Kriner & Donaldson-Smith (CSK&D) filed a class-action lawsuit against Nintendo and the "Joy-Con drift" issue, calling it a "defect." CSK&D is a firm that specializes in federal and state class-action lawsuits.
The firm alleges that Nintendo had "knowledge of its manufacturing defect," but "never disclosed this material defect to consumers" who continue to pay out of pocket whenever the issue manifests. The lawsuit alleges that Nintendo "fails to disclose the defect and routinely refuses to repair the joysticks without charge when the defect manifests."
(Keep in mind, Joy-Con are not cheap: They cost $80 for a single set, or $50 for an individual controller.)
Switch owners in the lawsuit want Nintendo to "recover their out-of-pocket expenses related to repairs and/or replacement" of their Joy-Con," and for the company to extend their warranty to cover the drifting issues.
The firm notes that many Switch owners have complained publicly about the Joy-Con drift issue. "Indeed, the internet is replete with examples of message boards and other websites where consumers have complained of the exact same Joy-Con defect," the lawsuit states. "Many consumers report experiencing drift on multiple Joy-Con controllers, including replacement controllers they purchased separately from their Switches."
The lawsuit includes over a dozen examples of Switch owners complaining about the drift issue on message boards and forums like Reddit — wondering how "drift" is caused, and how it can be fixed. At least one Business Insider employee has reported encountering a similar issue with several of their Joy-Con controllers. Many of those same owners mention that they had to buy multiple Joy-Con replacements, and even those units suffered from the same issue.
Nintendo had "nothing to announce on this topic" of the lawsuit, but the company sent the following statement with regards to Joy-Con issues to Business Insider:
"At Nintendo, we take great pride in creating quality products and we are continuously making improvements to them. We are aware of recent reports that some Joy-Con controllers are not responding correctly. We want our consumers to have fun with Nintendo Switch, and if anything falls short of this goal we always encourage them to visit http://support.nintendo.com so we can help."
If your Switch is experiencing Joy-Con drift, you can head over to Nintendo's website to let their support staff help you out — or you could try your hand at fixing the issue yourself. Our friends over at iFixit made a guide for trouble-shooting your controller issues. There are also plenty of videos that offer suggestions for "drifting" Joy-Con: This video, embedded below, has over 550,000 views, suggesting this isn't an isolated issue.
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You can read the full lawsuit right here, and if you're experiencing Joy-Con drift yourself and want to add your name to the class-action suit, you can sign up here.
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