A new update to Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch Lite Joy-Cons could prove huge for gamers. Since the Switch was launched in 2017, it has been almost universally praised. However, it has also had a substantial problem since launch, and that is the Joy-Con drift. Stick-drift issues are not exclusive to the Nintendo Switch. PS4 and Xbox One controllers have also been affected by this mechanical failure, and PS5 and Xbox Series X controllers are unlikely to escape the largely unavoidable problem. However, while stick-drift has been a problem for all hardware manufacturers in games, it is far worse on Switch than on other platforms. Not only do the problems seem to arise much faster, but they are also much more serious.
Until now, Nintendo has had to pay for this problem with several different lawsuits, many of which are still ongoing. And in Europe, these demands are heating up. A coalition of nine different European consumer rights groups has formed and is initiating research on the subject.
As VGC notes, this week the Dutch Consumers Association announced that it will join other consumer rights groups in Italy, France and more to monitor the situation. And according to these various groups, Switch owners have been broadcasting Joy-Con controller issues in droves.
“We are making the call because we are getting signals that the Switch will not last as long as consumers might hope,” said Sandra Molenaar, director of the aforementioned association. Additionally, the options to repair the console are limited, forcing consumers to make expensive replacements. We use the responses to determine what additional actions to take. “
The Dutch Consumers Association notes that if no solution emerges, it is ready to take the matter to court with other consumer rights groups at its side.
In the United States, Nintendo has been on the wrong side of various class action lawsuits, yet none of this has resulted in any improvement thus far. The company has started issuing refunds for faulty controllers instead of fixing them, but this has been the scope of their response to all the lawsuits. However, the situation is intensifying in Europe and it will soon be difficult for you to largely ignore the matter as it has been.
Nintendo has noted in the past that it cannot comment much on the issue due to all the lawsuits involved, but has suggested that it is not a problem, which naturally infuriated many owners of the otherwise unproblematic piece of hardware.