The Xbox consoles have used a slightly bigger controller than their competitors, and many have praised the design. In fact, some have even labeled the Xbox controllers the best on the market. Nonetheless, it seems that these widely enjoyed controllers still have problems, and they are now being addressed through a class-action lawsuit. The legal action has been undertaken to address "stick drift" and it mirrors a recent Nintendo class-action lawsuit.
Joy-con drift made headlines when it was revealed that a child was suing Nintendo because of the issue. The child, with the help of their mother, was suing the company for selling products that were known to have faults. The fault is based on the joy-con stick which has been known to get stuck or need realignment shortly after being purchased, despite consumers using the sticks in the way manufacturers intended. Interestingly, the Xbox based lawsuit is also taking a similar stance and focusing on faulty releases.
A number of people are claiming that Xbox controllers are moving on their own accord and the issue with the stick is occurring quickly after the initial purchase. Donald McFadden, who is taking on the gaming company, claims that players who pay to repair the controller's stick issues after the 90-day warranty are actually paying to fix a problem that Xbox is aware of. The lawsuit alleges:
"Microsoft does not disclose to consumers that the Xbox controllers are defective, causing the joystick component to fail. Members of the general public have the right to know the latent defects with the Xbox controller components."
McFadden also notes personal experience with the Xbox Elite controller noting that they had to replace the controller only to find the same issues with stick drift a few months later.
It will be intriguing to see how Xbox respond to this legal action. The company will likely be reluctant to accept responsibility as it may lead to long-lasting and costly changes to control production. Equally, consumers will want to have controllers that are not designed to break as this legal action and the Nintendo case before it has suggested. With that in mind, this may be an important case in establishing a greater standard of controllers in the future.
Consoles have had issues in the past, but it seems that the problems with sticks are widespread across companies. Whether this issue is severe enough to prompt industry action remains to be seen, but many will hope to get improved warranties if the build of future controllers stays the same.
Source: VGC