The Nintendo Switch repair subscription service, which many fans had hoped would be introduced in Europe and the United States, was discontinued in Japan after just one year.
according to reports nintendo lifeNintendo announced on its Japanese website that it will stop offering new subscription contracts and renewals on August 31, 2023. Customers with current contracts will retain their repair subscriptions until their contract ends.
The service will launch in July 2022, and Nintendo said it had nothing to announce about a similar service in North America or Europe, but many fans expected it to. At a monthly charge of ¥200 (approximately $1.50 / £1.25), the service entitles subscribers to up to six repairs per year, including two hardware repairs.
Fans probably expected that, because while the Nintendo Switch hardware itself has proven to be pretty solid, the same can’t be said for the Joy-Con controllers. These are infamous for “Joy-Con drift,” something Nintendo has failed to adequately address in the Switch’s six years on the market.
The company announced a free repair service for this particular issue in 2019, but reports say the repair center was so overcrowded that mistakes were made when the controller was supposed to be repaired. The problem is so entrenched that Nintendo faces several lawsuits over Joy-Con glitches.
Ryan Dinsdale is a freelance reporter for IGN. He will talk about witchers all day long.
