Another Joy-Con lawsuit lands at Nintendo’s feet

Yet another class action lawsuit has been filed against Nintendo of America regarding the Joy-Con drift issue that the company seems to have been ignoring so far.

This lawsuit was filed in Seattle, and calls the Joy-Con controllers defective for registering movement when there is no movement input on any of the controller’s parts. It goes on to say that the issue significantly hinders gameplay, and compromises on the console’s overall functionality.

Interestingly, the lawsuit also notes that an expert has reviewed the issue. They came to the conclusion that extensive wear on the part in question is the cause of the drift issue. They outline that as the steel brushes the inside of the joystick when it is moved back and forth, it quietly wears away the soft carbon material of the pad that the joystick sits on. This changes the electrical resistance in the area, which triggers the issue.

Essentially, the more a joystick is used, the more it wears away at the pad underneath it. When enough of the material has worn away, Joy-Con drift begins to occur. The more the joystick is used after this, the worse the drift will get. Although once it starts, the controller is compromised and won’t ever be repaired unless a user actually opens it up to fix it.

The findings line up with what the French consumer organization UFC-Que Choisir found in their lawsuit against Nintendo, which was filed in September.

This new lawsuit notes how Nintendo has garnered international scrutiny over the issue. This is very true. The issue is so widespread that there are YouTubers making a living out of showing users how to fix their controllers.

The lawsuit goes on to mention how while Nintendo is aware of the issue, they continue to sell Joy-Cons as they are. They also regularly refuse to repair the fault for free, even though it is most definitely a manufacturing defect.

Nintendo has moved to have lawsuits on this matter dismissed in the past, but courts have refused. At this moment in time the company is dealing with multiple lawsuits over both standard Joy-Cons, and the same technology in the Switch Lite.

At some point Nintendo will need to come up with a definitive solution to the issue. Whether this is an offer of free repairs for all Joy-Cons, or a product recall and reissue of Joy-Cons with brand new membranes built to withstand the use that Switch controllers see.