Published , by TJ Denzer
Published , by TJ Denzer
As far back as mid-2019, mass quantities of Nintendo Switch players have been facing issues of Joy-Con drift with the Nintendo Switch’s unique snap-on-snap-off controllers. It’s an issue that Nintendo has addressed several times since it became a widespread problem, but it still doesn’t seem like there’s any kind of permanent solution in sight. Now, the European consumer protection authorities are getting involved. Following over 25,000 complaints, the European Consumer Organization (BCEU) has issued a complaint to the European Commission to investigate Joy-Con drift.
The BCEU made a formal statement regarding the matter of Joy-Con drift in a press release on its website on January 27, 2021. According to the report, the BCEU had received over 25,000 complaints from consumers spanning the nations of France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal, Italy, Norway, Slovakia, Slovenia and Greece. With this in mind, the BCEU has forwarded a complaint on the matter to the European Commission, citing “premature obsolescence and misleading omissions of key consumer information on the basis of the EU’s Unfair Commercial Practices Directive.”
BCEU’s complaint calls for the European Commission to open investigation and pressures Nintendo to “urgently” fix the matter, further suggesting that until the matter is fully resolved, Joy-Cons experiencing drift should be repaired for free and the lifespan and issues of the product should be clearly communicated to consumers.
The BCEU’s latest activity is Europe’s formal step into the matter. Previously, we’ve seen class-action lawsuits filed against Nintendo for Joy-Con drift, which are still ongoing. For its part, Nintendo stated it would fix or replace Joy-Cons experiencing drift, but further formal communication of the matter has not occurred.
It remains to be seen if the BCEU or European Commission’s activities will bring further liability against Nintendo over the matter of Switch Joy-Con drift. Stay tuned to Shacknews as we continue to follow this story for further information and details.