Nintendo is reportedly arguing that Joy-Con drift ‘isn’t a real problem or hasn’t caused anyone any inconvenience’
Law firm behind class action suit asks consumers for video accounts of issues they have experienced
Nintendo is reportedly arguing that Switch Joy-Con drift “isn’t a real problem or hasn’t caused anyone any inconvenience”.
Those are the words of Chimicles Schwartz Kriner & Donaldson-Smith (CSK&D), a US law firm which is calling on consumers to provide video accounts detailing the negative experiences they have had with Nintendo Switch controllers.
The drifting Joy-Con issue—which causes analogue sticks to register movement even when untouched—was brought to wider public attention with the company’s filing of a class action lawsuit in July 2019.
It alleged that Nintendo is fully aware of a defect which causes Joy-Cons to drift and accused the company of unfair and deceptive business practices.
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In March of this year US District Judge Thomas S. Zilly approved Nintendo’s move to compel the case to arbitration, but also rejected the platform holder’s bid to dismiss the case.
CSK&D is currently working to pursue the case through the arbitration process. According to online reports, it is now replying to consumers who have previously contacted it about Joy-Con drift problems and asking them to supply short videos outlining the issues they’ve experienced, how Nintendo dealt with their complaints, and whether it has affected their confidence in the company’s products.
“Thank you for contacting our law firm about the Nintendo Switch Joy-Con Drift litigation,” reads an email from the law firm republished on Reddit. “We are working on putting together a montage of video clips from Nintendo Switch owners such as yourself as a way to give voice to the joy-con drift issues you’ve experienced. This will be helpful to us in responding to Nintendo’s arguments about how this isn’t a real problem or hasn’t caused anyone any inconvenience.
“In an effort to humanize and demonstrate these issues and their impact on consumers, it would be helpful to our prosecution of the case if you would submit a short (90 seconds or less) video to us describing your experience with the Joy-Con drift on your controllers.”
CSK&D requests that videos are submitted by October 16 and said it intends to share them with Nintendo’s attorneys and the company’s representatives.
Further reading
Nintendo’s president issues first Joy-Con drift apology
Shortly after the class action suit was filed last year, Nintendo reportedly stopped charging for repair of drifting Joy-Cons and began refunding those who had already paid for a fix, although it did not acknowledge an actual fault with Switch controllers.
However, Nintendo’s president offered the company’s first public Joy-Con drift apology during an investor Q&A in June 2020. “We apologize for any inconvenience caused to our customers regarding Joy-Con controllers,” Shuntaro Furukawa said.
“We are continuing to improve our products, but currently Joy-Con is subject to a class-action lawsuit in the United States and is a pending issue so we cannot comment on any specific actions we may take.”
Nintendo was hit with a new Joy-Con drift lawsuit in September, which accuses the company of planned obsolescence – a policy of producing goods designed to break so that they need to be replaced.
The lawsuit was filed in Paris by French non-profit consumer organisation UFC-Que Choisir, which said it was acting in a bid to get Nintendo to change the way Joy-Cons are manufactured.
