Class-action lawsuit filed against Nintendo over Switch's Joy-Con drifting issue

[midian182]

Why it matters: We know that Nintendo’s Switch handheld/console hybrid is a resounding success for the company, but it hasn’t been without its problems. One of these is the Joy-Con drift issue, which has resulted in a class action lawsuit being prepared against Nintendo of America.

Some Switch users have complained about their Joy-Con controllers suffering from drifting, which sees them automatically drift across in one direction after extended use; it’s especially noticeable in first-person games. While some say calibrating them can help, others claim the controllers eventually become unusable.

GoNintnedo writes that early this week, the law offices of Chimicles, Schwartz Kriner & Donaldson-Smith (CSK&D) wanted to hear from Switch owners experiencing the drifting problem. It has now officially filed a class-action lawsuit against Nintendo of America, which alleges that the joysticks on the Joy-Con controllers are defective

“The complaint, filed on behalf of purchasers of Switches and Joy-Con controllers, brings claims under various consumer protection statutes as well as various warranty and common law claims,” states the CSK&D website.

The plaintiff in the case is Ryan Diaz, who says the left joystick on his Joy-Cons started drifting 11 months after he bought the console in July 2017. He sent them off to Nintendo to be repaired under the one-year warranty, but three months after they were sent back, the refurbished controllers started drifting again. Diaz had bought his Switch with an extra set of Joy-Con controllers, but after 13 months of use, these also started drifting. As both Joy-Con controllers were rendered unusable and out of warranty, Diaz had to buy two additional left-hand units for $45.00 each from Amazon.

Anyone who has experienced similar issues and wants to join the class action suit just needs to fill out their details on the CSK&D website.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/81065-class-action-lawsuit-filed-against-nintendo-over-switch.html

 

[gamerk2]

What's ironic is this should be a total non-issue; most software is designed to automatically consider a joysticks center based on it's position at start. This would totally eliminate drift if the cause is the center position drifting slightly over time. Other then that, a slightly wider deadzone could help if it's just a sensitivity issue, which again can be done software side.

 

[Evernessince]

What's ironic is this should be a total non-issue; most software is designed to automatically consider a joysticks center based on it's position at start. This would totally eliminate drift if the cause is the center position drifting slightly over time. Other then that, a slightly wider deadzone could help if it's just a sensitivity issue, which again can be done software side.

According to the article people have tried calibrating them, which I assume includes re calibrating the center. I think these products may just be borked.

 

[Trillionsin]

I've not had this issue on my joy-cons, and after he went through 3 pairs I'd this this was a user created problem.

Maybe I'm lucky?

 

[BlackCatRokusho]

My fiance started having this issue with the switch I bought her, and I just started having it happen on mine too, glad to know it's not just from playing too much monster hunter.

 

[gamerk2]

According to the article people have tried calibrating them, which I assume includes re calibrating the center. I think these products may just be borked.

If the offset is bad enough I could see being unable to move the stick in one direction due to loss of range; the article really doesn't make clear the exact mode of failure; are we talking a small persistent drift, or an axis being completely misaligned?