Nintendo Targeted by Class Action Lawsuit Over Joy-Con Drift Issues
A quick question for you, reader. If you own a Nintendo Switch, have your Joy-Cons had any connectivity issues at all? If so, you're definitely not alone. Look around the Internet these days and you'll see many people discussing what's been dubbed as "Joy-Con drift", a pesky malfunction that seems to be plaguing Switch owners left and right. The issue is exactly what the name makes it sound like. Those affected report their Joy-Con's analog sticks "drifting" in one direction, making the character or camera on-screen veer off in an unintended fashion. The problem isn't specific to any games, but rather seems to be an issue from within the Joy-Cons themselves. Many have proposed theories as to why this occurs, and many more have provided their own means of fixing it, even if just temporarily.
Nintendo now finds itself on the hot seat for the issue. They've recently made it clear that they're aware of the problem, due to the increased amounts of reports behind it lately. These complaints have now been taken to the legal side of things, which is exactly what law firm Chimicles Schwartz Kriner & Donaldson-Smith (CSK&D) discovered just the other day. "We first saw that this is an issue that's been really bothering some people, but then we realized that it was a much bigger issue," stated Andrew Ferich, an attorney at CSK&D. "To date, we've been contacted by 5,500 consumers, and that's in the last 24 hours, so we think that it's a really big issue." The company has gone on to file a class-action lawsuit against Nintendo in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington. The lawsuit in question states that the Joy-Cons are in violation of "various consumer protection statutes as well as various warranty and common law claims."
As far as what the results of the lawsuit will be, Ferich explained that it's still too early to be sure. "In other cases, we've had refunds; we've had credits, gift cards, you name it. In this specific case, we just filed this, this is too early on to give a sense of what a win would look like." The firm has assured, however, that they will work hard to make sure the outcome is a good one for the affected consumers. The entire situation has grown too large for Nintendo not to notice, and they've recently updated their support section on their official website, allowing Switch owners to send in their Joy-Cons to be repaired. Unfortunately, it's only a temporary solution. Many have already reported the issue cropping back up after the repairs were made. Other temporary fixes and suggestions can be found on Nintendo's support page as well. With the lawsuit, they have no comments on it at this time.
The case will likely develop over the next week or two, so make sure to keep an eye on it, especially if you also suffer from Joy-Con drifting. The problem does raise concerns over Nintendo's upcoming Switch Lite model, which is set for a worldwide release on September 20th. Unlike the original Switch, the Joy-Cons on the Lite are a part of the hardware itself, unable to be removed. If they too experience some kind of drifting issue, it's hard to say what the fix for them will be. It would require new methods, as a lot of the DIYs behind the Switch involve disconnecting and re-connecting the Joy-Cons anyway. Whatever the case may be, all of this is now on Nintendo's plate. Let's hope there's some kind of fix and a good outcome for all in the near future.
Tanner is a freelance writer. He enjoys all things video games, particularly the weirder ones, and can often be found drinking coffee and trying to get through his backlog.
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