Video Games

Nintendo Switch Joy-Con Drift Caused by Fundamental Design Flaws, Says Consumer Group

The Nintendo Switch’s Joy-Con drift issue is caused by a fundamental design flaw, according to a UK consumer group.

As reported by euro gamer, Which reports that even after just a few months of use, the Joy-Con’s plastic circuit board shows significant wear on the joystick slider contacts. This causes the Joy-Con to drift, a problem Nintendo hasn’t fully addressed in its five years in the console’s market.

The report also said that since the Switch’s launch in 2017, anyone who can prove that they purchased a replacement Joy-Con should be offered a refund or compensation plan for the Joy-Con drift problem. It criticizes Nintendo’s related return and refund policies.

Nintendo disagreed that the issue was very common, but said in a survey that only a small number of controllers were affected, and that they’d improved the design several times since launch.

“The percentage of Joy-Con controllers that were reported to have issues with their analog sticks in the past was low, and we’ve made continuous improvements to our Joy-Con analog sticks since their launch in 2017.

“We expect all hardware to perform as designed, and we always encourage consumers to contact Nintendo’s customer support if they are unable to meet this goal. Nintendo’s customer support will They openly and generously solve consumer issues related to Joy-Con controller analog sticks, including where they may void your warranty.”

Nintendo launched a Switch repair subscription service in Japan earlier this year, but has yet to announce a version for the US or Europe.

We launched a Joy-Con drift-specific repair service in 2019, but recently it became clear that the repair center itself was overwhelmed and made a mistake when it was supposed to fix the controller. is so persistent that Nintendo has faced several lawsuits as a result of Joy-Con malfunctions.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer and UK news editor. He talks about witchers all day long.

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