Nintendo Switch controller lawsuit dismissed

A class action lawsuit against Nintendo about its Switch controllers has been thrown out after a court determined that plaintiffs couldn’t sue.

A California district court has dismissed a class-action lawsuit against Nintendo, which had demanded relief over a fault in the Nintendo Switch’s Joy-Con controllers.

Consumers have reported issues with Joy-Con controllers since the console was launched in 2017, saying that the control sticks on the controllers, which come with the Switch console, start to ‘drift’ with time.

Controllers affected by so-called ‘Joy-Con drift’ tend to input signals that the player did not intend, and often become permanently off-centre. This makes playing games that require precise inputs, such as Mario Kart or The Legend of Zelda, difficult to play, and sometimes even impossible.

Users could send the controllers in for repair, or simply purchase a new controller, as Joy-Cons are detachable from the console, but the issue was worsened with the launch of the Nintendo Switch Lite. The Lite has built-in control sticks with the same design as the Joy-Cons, and are not detachable.

The Nintendo Switch Lite is a handheld-only variant of the Switch, with permanent controls attached. Picture: Nintendo

The judge in the class action lawsuit filed in the US said that the end-user license agreement (EULA) required that all Switch users cannot sue Nintendo, instead requiring them to seek out-of-court arbitration (thanks Eurogamer).

The plaintiffs in the case attempted to argue that the agreement was not valid, as the consoles were owned by children and children cannot enter into legal contracts like a EULA. The judge dismissed this line of argument, ruling that the children’s parents are the de facto owners of the consoles, and therefore were bound by the EULA.

Many are turning to third-party alternatives instead of Nintendo’s official Joy-Cons. Picture: Nyxi

The case was then dismissed by the judge altogether, saying that the more appropriate course of action would have been for the parents to enter into arbitration with Nintendo. Multiple other class action suits over the issue are still pending.

A UK consumer rights group found late last year that the Nintendo Switch controllers have a “design flaw” that makes them susceptible to drift. The group found that the design of the control sticks made them susceptible to “noticeable wear”, despite only being used for months.

Those looking to pick up an alternative controller instead might instead look to third party manufacturers, like the one bringing back a popular controller design. Accessory manufacturer Nyxi recently announced a new controller based on the design of the iconic GameCube controller, compatible with both handheld and docked play on the Switch.

Written by Oliver Brandt on behalf of GLHF.