The dreaded ‘Joy-Con drift’ problem that has plagued many Switch homeowners for the reason that console’s launch in 2017 is probably going brought on by a mechanical fault.
That’s based on the most recent analysis from Which?, who level to possible mechanical flaws inflicting an issue the place the Switch’s Joy-Cons trigger motion in-game with out the participant touching the stick in any respect. It has been a major reason behind grievance all through the Switch’s lifespan, with many gamers having to buy alternative Joy-Con – which value round £62 for a pair.
To analysis the problem, Which? sourced 5 units of Switch controllers affected by the Joy-Con drift, and despatched them to a lab for evaluation. Upon dismantling the controllers, the lab not solely confirmed the drift problem in all 5 controllers, however discovered that it was possible as a consequence of mechanical points born from a design flaw.
Prior to this analysis, one rationalization for Joy-Con drift was that it was brought on by a buildup of mud contained in the controller. While the Joy-Cons dust-proofing cowls on their joystick elements, Which?’s analysis recommended that this safety didn’t go far sufficient – with mud and “other contaminants” being found contained in the controllers.
Additionally, the lab discovered that the entire Joy-Cons’ plastic circuit boards confirmed noticeable indicators of damage and tear, regardless of the controllers having solely been used for just a few months. The lab concluded that this injury, and the ensuing drift problem, had been as a consequence of a mechanical fault.
Which? has referred to as on Nintendo to “get a grip of the problem” and supply compensation or a refund plan for any buyer within the UK who can show that they’ve needed to buy alternative Joy-Cons as a consequence of this problem. Additionally, any refund scheme would should be sufficiently promoted so that each one affected shoppers are conscious and may entry help, compensation or refunds. They additionally added that Nintendo should decide to a freed from cost restore or alternative service for all controllers offered within the UK which were affected by Joy-Con drift since its launch in 2017.
In response, Nintendo has said that solely a “small” variety of Joy-Cons have encountered the problem, and added that they’ve been “making continuous improvements to the Joy-Con analogue stick since its launch in 2017.”
“’We expect all our hardware to perform as designed,” stated Nintendo, “and, if anything falls short of this goal, we always encourage consumers to contact Nintendo customer support, who will be happy to openly and leniently resolve any consumer issues related to the Joy-Con controllers’ analogue sticks, including in cases where the warranty may no longer apply.” Customers affected by the problem can ebook a restore on Nintendo’s help web site.
The findings from Which? are simply the most recent to criticise Nintendo for the fault. Last yr, the European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) referred to as on Nintendo to research the problem. Nintendo can be dealing with a number of class-action lawsuits because of the Joy-Con drift, together with one filed by Chimicles Schwartz Kriner & Donaldson-Smith in 2019, in addition to a second go well with filed in 2020.
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