Switch Joy-Con Drift Due To “Design Flaw” According To UK Consumer Group Study

Years after the console’s initial launch, Joy-con drift remains a major issue for Switch consoles, subject to continuous lawsuits and investigations.

This latest report comes via Eurogamer, detailing a major study conducted by UK consumer group Which? into the matter. This research reportedly found evidence that Joy-con drift is due to a “mechanical fault” and “fundamental design flaws” which result in “noticeable wear on the joystick slider contact points” as well as accumulation of “dust and other contaminants”. Both of these could be likely causes of Joy-con drift.

The organisation also called out Nintendo for their handling of the situation, calling upon the company to provide compensation and refund plans to UK consumers who purchased a replacement Joy-con as a result of drift since 2017. Going a step further, they have also called upon Nintendo to put in place a “no-quibble” refund or replacement policy for all Joy-cons that have developed drift since 2017, and this should be free of charge.

In response to Which?’s study, Nintendo had this to say:

 “The percentage of Joy-Con controllers that have been reported as experiencing issues with the analogue stick in the past is small, and we have been making continuous improvements to the Joy-Con analogue stick since its launch in 2017.”

“We expect all our hardware to perform as designed, 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.”

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