As first reported by Polygon, new information reveals that Nintendo has been struck with a class action lawsuit on account of the Nintendo Switch's infamous Joy-Con drift, and joining the many other lawsuits that have been filed against the Kyoto-based company since July of 2019.
The Nintendo Switch's Joy-Con drift is an issue that occurs when in-game characters begin to move without the analogue sticks being manipulated by the user in any way, which is an issue that has been linked to circuit deterioration; amongst many other causes.
This new class action lawsuit was filed in Seattle this Tuesday, and according to the information gathered by experts who have worked with the group of lawyers the Joy-Con drift issue is caused by wear on interior pads of the controller. On top of this, lawyers claim that Nintendo is fully aware of the situation, but have not addressed the issue accordingly.
One of the cases outlined by lawyers is that of a minor who has experienced the infamous issue, claiming that the Joy-Con drift appeared a mere three months after the console was purchased, which led to the minor sending in the controllers to Nintendo for repairs.
While Nintendo did repair the controllers, the issue eventually came back. It is also mentioned that Nintendo repaired the Joy-Cons for a $40 fee, which the lawyers outline was paid by the minor using his own money; a cycle that continued for three pairs of Joy-Cons, Polygon reports.
This new lawsuit accused Nintendo of unlawful and unfair conduct, which is actually not the first time Nintendo has been accused of such practices. In September of this year, a different class action lawsuit that accused Nintendo of planned obsolescence was filed by French association UFC-Que Choisir.
Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa has previously apologised for the issue, but they have not really addressed the problem thus far. In fact, last month Nintendo openly admitted that they didn't believe the Joy-Con drift was an inconvenience; sugarcoating the whole issue, and stating that it's not a real problem.
This annoying issue has been happening to Nintendo Switch users since the console was released in 2017, but the problem was brought to light by lawfirm Chimicles, Schwartz Kriner & Donaldson-Smith, who were the first to file a class action lawsuit last year.
What's more, reports about the Joy-Con drift being a problem on the Nintendo Switch Lite led to the entry-level handheld console being added to the original class action lawsuit filed by Chimicles, Schwartz Kriner & Donaldson-Smith.
The main problem here is that the Joy-Con drift issue is a problem that will, allegedly, happen to every single unit out there; it's just a matter of when, as planned obsolescence seems to be the main cause. Unfortunately, Nintendo's solutions are nothing but a momentary fix.
As someone who has been having the Joy-Con drift issue pretty much since day one, I understand just how frustrating the problem can be, and these lawsuits will hopefully, and finally make Nintendo own up to their past mistakes and tackle this problem, that is very real, head on.