Switch Joy-Con drifting lawsuit will go to arbitration

A class action lawsuit alleging Nintendo of America sold faulty Switch Joy-Con controllers is to go to arbitration.

According to Law360, US District Judge Thomas S. Zilly approved Nintendo’s move to compel arbitration, but also rejected the platform holder’s bid to dismiss the case.

Instead Zilly opted to pause the proposed class action pending the outcome of the arbitration.

Originally filed in July 2019, the suit alleges Nintendo is fully aware of a defect which causes Joy-Cons to drift, causing unintended movement.

“Specifically, it is alleged that when a user experiences drift, the joystick on the Joy-Con controllers will automatically register movement when the joystick is not being touched by the user, causing significant interference with gameplay.”

Shortly after the suit was filed, Nintendo reportedly stopped charging for repair of drifting Joy-Cons and began refunding those who had already paid for a fix, although it does not acknowledge an actual fault with Switch controllers.

The Joy-Con lawsuit was amended in September 2019 to include the Switch Lite which launched earlier that month.

Nintendo will launch a new coral coloured Switch Lite in Japan on March 20, in the US on April 3, and in Europe on April 24.

Update March 12: Nintendo has won a separate Switch dispute with peripherals firm Gamevice, which sued the platform holder for allegedly infringing on a patent it holds for attachable handheld gaming controllers for mobile devices.