Nintendo Switch has been selling like gangbusters ever since the console's debut. Numerous times, even before the pandemic, the Switch sold out at several retailers worldwide thanks to huge demand. The Switch has been a huge success for Nintendo, who took a huge risk to make the console after a poor generation on the Wii U. The Switch was enjoying its honeymoon phase until day-one and early adopters started noticing an issue with the Joy-Con controllers.

It was a very well-documented and widespread problem, but the infamous Joy-Con drift continues to be an issue to this day. Some players have experienced drift more than once, some have never had to deal with drift ever. The issue is relatively inconsistent, but widespread enough to the point where Joy-Con drift affected thousands of people. Nintendo has been assisting with the process, but there have also been several lawsuits and cases against the company as a result.

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What is Joy-Con Drift? How Does it Happen?

Nintendo Switch Joy-Cons

Now, Joy-Con drift can be a combination of a hardware and/or software issue in the Switch's controllers. Generally speaking, "Joy-Con drift" refers to one or both of the analog sticks on the Joy-Con controllers to start inputting ever so slightly in one direction, without players touching the controller. This generally happens to the left side analog stick, which in most games is the primary input for motion. That being said, the issue can occur on both Joy-Con analog sticks, it's just not as common for those who traditionally play their switch alone or in handheld mode.

There are a couple of factors that could be the main causes of Joy-Con drift, though it's never really been confirmed in an official capacity what causes the issue. Because of the inconsistency, Joy-Con drift has been solved by both software and hardware fixes depending on the severity of the issue. Software-wise, Joy-Can drift can sometimes be fixed by disconnecting/reconnecting Joy-Cons entirely or recalibrating the Joy-Con controllers in the settings menu. Hardware-wise, it's theorized that dust/grime/etc. collects under a rubber contact pad, so tinkerers have had success cleaning out the pads and contacts.

Nintendo's Response to Joy-Con Drift

nintendo president shuntaro furukawa

That being said, not everyone is comfortable with taking apart $80 controllers, so obviously they've reached out to Nintendo support for assistance. After some hesitance, Nintendo has been extremely supportive of the Joy-Con drift issue after it became widespread. There's an official Joy-Con repair form that consumers can fill out to have the controllers either officially repaired or replaced entirely. At the height of the issue, Nintendo was rumored to have been fixing the controllers free-of-charge, but it's unclear if that's true or still the case in 2020.

That being said, Joy-Con drift was a large enough problem amongst consumers to prompt numerous lawsuits, some of which were successful. Nintendo's President Shuntaro Furukawa has since publicly apologized to the many who've experienced the issue, and it seems the company is being required to take many of these cases seriously. Several requests to have suits dismissed were rejected by courts, and in one particular case in the UK, several failed Joy-Con repairs resulted in them winning their court case 16 months after purchasing their Switch console.

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Class Action Lawsuit Moves to Arbitration

There is an ongoing class-action lawsuit from a Seattle district court in the U.S. (Diaz v. Nintendo of America, Inc.) that has now moved into the arbitration phase. Nintendo's requests to dismiss the case have been declined by the US court, which likely means the case will likely lead to a settlement. That being said, the case from the UK could help set a precedent for further individual cases if what the user on Reddit described is true. If any consumers have had issues with Joy-Con drift, or multiple drift repairs being unsuccessful, it's definitely worth looking into and researching.

That being said, other than failed repairs for existing Joy-Con controllers, there really hasn't been news of further issues drift issues from newer controllers. Some made claims that the Nintendo Switch Lite was having drift issues, which would be especially problematic considering those controllers do not disconnect, unlike the base console. There haven't been widespread reports like there were with the original console's Joy-Cons, so it's unclear if this is also an issue. Either way, in 2020, there's merit to looking into what consumers can do to fix or replace their existing Joy-Cons if they're experiencing drift.

The Nintendo Switch is available now.

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