The UK consumer association demands Nintendo pay compensation to users with Joy-Con drift

Controllers are subjected to some heavy use during their lifespan. In the case of Nintendo Switch users, the dreaded Joy-Con drift tends to haunt players that lean on some of the most popular titles on the console, like Monster Hunter Rise and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, which are also some of the most demanding for the controllers due to their gameplay.

A problem that just keeps going

Joy-Con drift is what users have taken to calling an issue in which the analog stick on one of their Joy-Cons begins to actuate by itself, commonly sliding in one direction continuously even when in a resting position. This problem has been a big headache for many players on Switch, and Nintendo, even though they denied the problem several times at the beginning, has been forced to admit an issue with the manufacturing process. This has led to some improvements to the device, but recent studies made by Which? pointed out that up to 40% of the console’s users are still being affected by the drift, which is why things are about to get harder for the game maker. At least, in the United Kingdom.

Full screen

The Consumer Association of said country has asked Nintendo to fully commit themselves to an independent investigation of the problem’s causes, releasing the results to the public, and either fixing or substituting every Joy-Con sold in the United Kingdom since 2017 that suffers from drift with no exceptions and at no cost to the users.

“Nintendo must get a grip on the problem and provide free repairs, compensation, refunds or replacements to any consumers who have been impacted by this issue since the launch of the console,” said Which? director of policy and advocacy Rocio Concha. This means that it doesn’t matter if your warranty is still valid, so long as you have a purchase receipt you should be able to get free service.

It’s good to see when institutions move in favor of the consumers. The infamous Red Ring of Death on Xbox 360 ended up costing Microsoft millions of dollars, but they eventually managed to detect and fix the problem at the source. Nintendo, whose products used to be able to survive even explosions, are stuck in an unexpected position with the Switch, and unlucky for them they don’t have the same endless pockets that Xbox does. We’ll have to wait and see if things are eventually settled in a positive manner.

Source | Videogames Chronicle