EU Calls For Investigation Into Switch Joy-Con Drift Following More Than 25,000 Complaints

Good, Nintendo needs pulled up for this.

Nintendo deserves it.

Yes please, they need to be fixed or redesigned

I love it when big corporates are being held accountable for lying and deceiving their customers..

Joy Cons Drifting is already become a meme.
Put some Deja Vu Super Eurobeat song. 🤭

I have this problem as well. It's so annoying. Fix it, Nintendo.

May as well just make some sort of new console and joy cons altogether. Perhaps one with better specs. We could call it a pro

😈😈😜😜

EU finally getting on the BandWagon and yet don't have a way to document the issue so old news again.

I’ve had my drifting joy con repaired back in 2018 and last month had to pay again to have it fixed £37 that’s shocking that I’ve had two attempted repairs.

Where do I sign up to sue them?

@Anti-Matter Its actually a real thing that happens to people, I don’t think all these court cases are memes.

NINJA APPROVED

I experienced this recently and sent mine to the UK repairs place expecting to be charged but it came back a week later fixed for free!

@Lord You are the Lord, you should smite them instead.

NINJA TAKES COVER

@Letzg077 I mean that is great but I can't think of too many cases where that has actually happened. Think about how many people have bought second or maybe third sets of joycons at this point. Thing of all the people that will not find out about this even if Nintendo is forced to rectify it.

Unless Nintendo (or any other company doing this sort of thing) is hit seriously hard in the wallet there is 0 incentive to change or be better. Nintendo have sold over 70m units and probably half as many extra joycons as well.

What really irks me is that Nintendo are basically ignoring the issue wherever they can which is just straight up scummy. Tells you everything about the company.

@SwitchForce 25,000 complaints in Europe

Mario odyssey can dance as well as zelda botw with that drift.

I don't understand why I never had this problem with any other consoles (and Mario Party 1 N64 should've DESTROYED that stick with how some of the mini games played) yet even my generic white PowerA Switch controller got drift?? Not even an official pad... Are all the sticks made by the same manufacturer or what?

I bought the pro controller instead to avoid this issue after stupidly buying 3 additional sets thinking they were defective. At this point, I think nintendo owes me like $320 bucks including the original set for their manufacturing shenanigans. The pro controller bit the dust after 3 years so I got my money's worth there. I feel sorry for the switch lite owners honestly.

@mctrials23 President Yamauchi was ruthless in his quality control of Nintendo hardware and 1st party software. He'd be rolling in his grave at this situation and how slack Nintendo's become with such things.

@SwitchForce gotta love you apologists ❤️

Got excited for this then remembered Brexit...

A stitch in time and all that. This could get out of hand now, they really should have addressed it as soon as the issue was raised. The person responsible for giving these sticks the OK must be in hot water at Nintendo at the moment. Decades of a reputation for being the most reliable gaming company in terms of hardware, destroyed in the space of a few years. I will definitely wait on their next product to make sure it doesn't have similar issues or cheap components, that's for sure. It a genuine shame.

I wish they'd just release some joy cons with the pro-controller sticks. They might stick out a bit, but using them would be much better.

@Clyde_Radcliffe

Yes, most sticks are made by the same japanese company. Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony has basically used the same potentiometers for at least a couple of generations. That the miniature sticks used for Switch, PS Vita etc got about half the lifespan of full-size potentiometers from the same company is well known, documented in their product portfolio.

I don't think joy-con sticks breaks after 6 month by default. Drift is a common problem with all sticks, I just think the failure rate on the joy-cons is higher just because they are less resistant to harsh handling and therefor much more likely to break premature.

Finally ! It is freaking unplayable ! The simple scrolling in eshop becomes a frustrating nightmare

I used my faulty joy cons for ages as I hadn’t heard of drift. I then followed a you tube tutorial online that had me remove the rubber thumb grip on the top of the sticks. Honestly, it has so many views I assumed it was legit, all I did was make the stick even less usable as that grip wouldn’t go back on. I eventually got a Pro Controller and stopped playing handheld. Joycons also gave me pins and needles. Not the best.

@RupeeClock mine are permanently in the ring con too. All they’re good for

Weve had 8 pairs of Joycons between my son and I. Zero drift but other faults in EVERY single unit though, and generally with only light usage. The zr/zl buttons not working (ie no sideways table top mode), LEDs not working, frequent intermittent disconecting on one side. They really aren't fit for purpose. That fragile ribbon connection on the flat side of each Joycon is an absolute nightmare.

@RasandeRose The specific problem with these stick is not wear and tear, it's clearly a design problem.

I've experienced drift on my left Joycon within three weeks after purchasing it brand new, and up until then I've always kept my hands clean before using it and stored the console inside a travelling case.

I can fully understand that this issue got past their initial quality control. I can not support their denial of the issue once it got out and was clearly not an isolated case or a case of "bad care on the customer's side". Or the denial of people on the internet who never had it so say it isn't real.

My Gamecube controller which I got back when the gamecube launched lasted alll the way into the WiiU era....my joycons barely lasted a year, my pro controller also lasted about a year. This is a serious issue.
Also doesn't help that the controllers are beyond expensive.

To all complaints are not documentation. Let's get this Fact straight. A US based Firm already stated user must Document in order to get any court hearing and short of that nothing is going to happen. Apologist that's laughable...maybe if you can Document problems and repairs issue then you can come back and apologize.

Both my sticks drift now. I have had my switch a year.. they really need to make some changes and I am glad theyre held accountable! Its a waste of natural resources (batteries.. plastic..) for them to break after a year!

just chill finally

@SwitchForce Do you want my nintendo service numbers?
That's documentation. So is the time I spent without the item I paid for. I have fedex slips documenting that. These should at the very least be cross shipped. Send out a new one and then I will return mine. No reason for me to be deprived and forced to buy replacements.

@Tindre Have nintendo fix them, or do it yourself. It's not hard.

@StevenG ive heard that the rubbing alcohol fix will actually cause issues after a while. I have been a computer technician so im not afraid of trying to fix them but here in Sweden you have consumer law protection beyond warranty so I am waiting a little while more to send them in since i play handheld a lot. I might send them in after buying a new pair; but I really dont want to do that knowing theyre doomed too. Id rather they fix their faulty design.

@Tindre That's not a fix, just a bandaid. Replacing them is the fix.
I have sadly bought an extra pair already since they don't cross ship. After that I stuck with third party controllers.

@71nk0

Less resistance to wear is a design problem. That said, I don't think its a design fault like the Xbox 360 were every single console malfunctioned. Joy con sticks seems to hold for everything from weeks to years. The basic problem is that the stick shares design with analog sliders like the ones on 3DS and PSP, which introduced a mechanical friction, which in turn will be worse the harder you push the stick, pretty much the same as a box of matches

@StevenG but you said fixing them myself wasnt hard? And now I cant fix them?

Switch has sold ~20M units (EDIT: in EU, hat tip @datamonkey).

If we assume a 1% reporting rate, with 25,000 reports we're at 2.5 million issues (and I'm guessing it's higher than a 12.5% failure rate).

I've personally gone through a set of Joy Cons, and recently had my first pro controller right stick start drifting on me...but I also put 2000 plus hours on my Switch just last year.

Hope that Nintendo is forced to offer free repairs. Their distributor in SG does not have a free repair protocol

@Friscobay I know right! Even selecting a user when you play a game is a hassle

Bruh my joycons can’t even recalibrate lol. It’s so annoying

@shazbot switch has sold more than 20 million units...

Had it and they fixed it for free but its bonkers it's still occurring with brand new joy cons. Its few years in how like

This is insane. My switch 2 years and 3 months old, it started drifting and the service asks money for the repair. All of my friends experienced this problem...

@Tindre Sorry I was unclear, by them I meant new sticks, not new joycons. Buy new sticks and replace the sticks. That's how nintendo repairs them. You take out some screws and remove a ribbon cable, not a big deal.

I hereby declare that, as of 17:30 UTC, I have read an entire thread (to date) without finding a single outright defense or denial by a corporate apologist. My ignore list is up to date!

PERFECT VICTORY

Now that we're not in it...

@RasandeRose How is selecting a stick that won't last a reasonable amount of time not a design issue?

@RupeeClock ya but you still had to buy a 2nd pair at full price when you already had a set.
That's not right at all and Nintendo is making extra sales from situations like yours

I cant believe this has been going on for around 4 years and they havent done anything about it. Yeah, they replaced my drifting ones for free and the replacements have been working well so far, but they're bound to start drifting again. This problem needs to be fixed

Mine have just started drifting & I haven’t used them much.

Doesn't affect me anymore as I dont use them. Plenty of alternatives on the market now

Bought 2 pro controllers for me and the wife and 2 set of joy cons for the kids. They drift but we tell the kids to get ghood

@RasandeRose I agree that wear resistance is a design variable that should be taken into account, but when you have so many early failures, then something else happened that the designers didn't/couldn't foresee.

Either that, or disastrous quality control.

Nintendo could just make future controllers & Switch Lites so the analog sticks are easier to replace for common people.

"Chimicles Schwartz Kriner & Donaldson-Smith" This name is just awesome.

Anyway yes, Nintendo deserves it. Their build quality has been on a downward slope ever since DS (I got one with a dead pixel) and 3DS (the stupid hinge broke from regular use, and the controller's rubber grip fell off at one point too – and I wasn't even playing Super Smash!).

I have nothing but good thing to say about GBA SP build quality on the other hand (I have two).

@CheekyZelda yes, yes, yes. It jumps everywhere.

@PosterBoy more Trolls. FYI dead pixel are part of the deal when you buy anything LCD or similar display complaining about that is a mute point. So unless it goes beyond their stated dead pixel policy you have no argument in this case.

I think Nintendo's response shows how different they view a problem compared to the Rest of the World.

Nintendo offer a repair service? Is this not or attempting providing a solution? If it's wear and tear as experts have confirmed, it's not going to be fixed with a software update.

Maybe this means the EU will get reduced prices too? Not that it’ll affect me anymore. Probably become more expensive in the UK.

Another lawsuit. Watch Nintendo still not do anything about it.

This whole thing is strange to me. I experienced it on one of my 4 joycons, they fixed it in less than a week, and it's worked perfectly since then. The other 3 have never had any issues. I also have friends who never experienced the problem on any of theirs and those who experienced with each one they had before getting them fixed. Lately I keep forgetting about it until I see headlines like this. Curious why some have this problem and others don't

@SwitchForce Good for you if you accept a dead pixel as "part of the deal". Personally if I buy something I expect it to work, otherwise I take it back to the shop, simple as that.

I wonder if this one will be any different from any of the other lawsuits.

after many successful reclaims and DIY repairs I switched to hori split pad pro controllers, problem solved

disapointing that 4 years after Switch launched, many people are still experiencing the dreadful Joy-Con Drift, c.mon Nintendo stop pretending Joy-Con Drift don't exist and put a definitive end to it, where is the company that still have a working Game Boy that survived the Golf War.

@SwitchForce
It's "moot point," here's documentation:
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/moot_point

"Let's get this Fact straight. A US based Firm already stated user must Document in order to get any court hearing and short of that nothing is going to happen."

That's US not EU.

Hopefully we get something happening in Australia too. I’ve not bought a Nintendo game for over a year as my joy-cons are rubbish (and I can’t even start any games requiring split controllers, like Ring Fit Adventure)

I’ll not buy expensive replacement joy-cons as they’re prone to the exact same issue

Come on Nintendo, sort it out!!

Anyone know how I add to that list of complaints?

Let’s make this as big as we possibly can.

@StevenG

I just called it a design issue...

@shaneoh Complaints don't equate to court cases. EU compliant isn't a court of law

Nintendo really should have redesigned them by now. I can't believe they released the Switch lite with joycons attached. It'll do the brand damage in the end.

I've given up on them, and got an 8bitdo controller instead. 3 pairs of joycon drifting out of 3, is a crazy failure rate.

@StevenG ohh... that makes a lot more sense. I might look into that, thanks!

Amazing that there still some shills out there that'll even defend the joycon drift. Its so sad.

Nintendo’s plan: to fix millions of joy cons for the entire Switch cycle rather than just fix the problem. It’s just madness.

Finally!! I’m surprised nothing has been done to fix the Joycon issue in the past multiple years.

Nintendo is very lucky that this hasnt blown up as much as it should have. Offering free repairs is nice but the fact that theyre still making these faulty joycons is really bad and should be way more scandelous.

@datamonkey Good catch, I meant in Europe. Will edit.

From time to time, we've heard numerous complaints from all around the world and Nintendo doing little to combat this issue. Free repairs are exclusive to certain regions (and most of the time, they're simply replacements).

We're almost four years into the Switch's lifespan and they still haven't fix this issue completely. Instead, we've been getting all these firmware updates that try to fix it digitally, but what good can that do?

@SwitchForce
See we have these consumer protection organisations so that it doesn't have to become a court case. If I send my Joycons to Nintendo for drift repair and they refuse to do it for free, I can go to the ACCC with my issue (and present this complaint from BEUC as supporting evidence) and they'll tell Nintendo that there is a problem with their product and they either have to repair it, replace it, or give me a refund. Consumer protection is why Steam now offers refunds.

@SwitchForce No. A dead pixel is a dead pixel. If it happens it is bad. Customers paid for an alive pixel, like in the marketing and promotional materials.

@Moistnado wrong dead pixel isn't a warranty break they most likely stated that it has to fit criteria of dead pixels to be a obvious issue.
https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2017/03/nintendo-says-dead-switch-pixels-are-normal-is-that-true/#:~:text=Pixel%20defects%20can%20be%20annoying,not%20be%20considered%20a%20defect.%22

And to belated users here something else that might not be good for them as well.
According to the cases submitted to the BEUC, about 88% of these come from Nintendo Switch owners who have encountered issues with the Joy-Con’s analog sticks within the first two years of use.
Most system have a one year warranty unless you bought extended warranty and then you have to take it back to whom you bought or send back to get a free replacement. So this will also be something the Judge(s) will look as well on how the replacement was done or lack of replacement in Warranty period. But since those are only complaints without any way for anyone to see what was documented on those complaints that is also muddying the waters. Like I mention Documentation is your best defense if you want to insure your case when Lawyers go to court otherwise it will not go well for the plantiff.

@SwitchForce
"Most system have a one year warranty unless you bought extended warranty and then you have to take it back to whom you bought or send back to get a free replacement."

I can't speak for the EU, but here in Australia electrical goods are expected to last for a certain period of time depending on price and type of appliance. Warranties mean nothing if the product becomes defective in an unreasonable time frame.

My husband just went and had to buy a new joycon because of this issue. This is the second we have bought. We had no idea this was such a big issue. We though we were doing something wrong.

@LXP8 I hope you see the Switch's massive sales and realize you were wrong trying to discredit the Switch.

@SwitchForce while a couple of dead pixels might be legal, there are lots of instances where undesirable antics or small scale misdemeanors are not a crime. You can have your dead pixels, I prefer alive ones thanks. I also don't like it when I buy coffee or a beer for a premium and a couple of sips are missing.

@JoeyTS 80 million Switch units sold so far.

@Donkey-Kong-Fan 80 million Switch units sold worldwide over the course of 4 years. 25,000 complaints in one continent over the course of a much shorter period of time.

@JoeyTS It's hilarious how you still try to discredit the success of the Switch by trying to act like 80 million units isn't a huge number. You do know that the Switch was released in Europe the same time as everywhere else on launch right?

@Donkey-Kong-Fan I know the Switch is successful. My point was that 25,000 complaints is a lot of complaints.

@JoeyTS 80 million units sold is a lot for a console that’s supposedly “defective.” Do you really think the Switch would be selling that much if joy on drift was as big of an issue as the internet wants to claim?

Punishment for their obsession with YouTube copyright strikes.

@Donkey-Kong-Fan 25,000 complaints and multiple lawsuits is a lot for a company known for making durable products that can survive a climb up of Mount Everest. Cyberpunk 2077 sold over 13 million copies. Game is still well known to be broken and buggy.

@JoeyTS People are not asking for refunds for their switch like they are with Cyberpunk 2077. If you’re gonna try so hard to discredit the success of the Switch, why even be on a site purely based on Nintendo?

@Donkey-Kong-Fan It's a similar scenario. If Cyberpunk wasn't known to be a broken and unfinished game, you wouldn't get a refund as easily. But since it IS a broken and unfinished game, no matter how much of the game you've played, you can get a full refund now. If Joy-Con drift wasn't known to be widespread, you would have to pay for the repairs if out of warranty. Since it IS a widespread issue, no matter if the Joy-Cons are under warranty or not, Nintendo will fix the drift for free. It's a clear indicator that it's a widespread issue.

And I'm a huge fan of Nintendo, but that doesn't mean I have to agree with everything they do. I'm glad the Switch is successful, but that doesn't mean I have to ignore some of the blaring problems. Just as a majority on this site feel, just as the very first comment on this thread says, in fact, just as the first five comments on this thread say, Nintendo needs to be held responsible for this. Quite honestly, you ignoring that makes you seem like the ultimate Nintendo Bootlicker with an extra Funky Kong mode included. Because Nintendo is a perfect angel of a company that does no wrong right?? God forbid the fans voice their concerns in hopes that Nintendo listens and makes their products better!!

@Donkey-Kong-Fan
Joey isn't trying to discredit the success of the switch. There is such a thing as constructive criticism