For the longest time, owners of the Nintendo Switch had been complaining about a phenomenon known as “Joy-Con Drift”. This is when a Joy-Con exhibits a weird behavior that randomly causes on-screen movements when the controller isn’t being physically being touched. Multiple “fixes” have been attempted to correct this such as taking apart the Joy-Con and replacing the analog stick, purchasing a new controller or sending it to Nintendo to fix (for a fee). We’re talking about a huge issue here and one that Nintendo refused to acknowledge.
That is until now.
According to VICE, it looks like Nintendo has changed their tune and will now repair Joy-Cons that are affected, for free. In addition, the company will refund anyone who recently paid to have their Joy-Cons repaired in the past. For those looking to get their Joy-Cons repaired, you won’t need to provide proof of ownership either. That’s saying something.
At Nintendo, we take great pride in creating quality products and we are continuously making improvements to them. We are aware of recent reports that some Joy-Con controllers are not responding correctly. We want our consumers to have fun with Nintendo Switch, and if anything falls short of this goal we always encourage them to visit http://support.nintendo.com so we can help.
It’s a coincidence that the company has decided to offer free repairs, right after a lawsuit against Nintendo was filed last week.
Vice has covered the entire subject from top to bottom and I recommend giving their article a read. Then get ready to contact Nintendo if have a Joy-Con that is having the dreaded issue.
As for me, I’ve purchased multiple Joy-Cons in the past few months that I finally was able to find a set controller that isn’t affected. Or at least not a the moment. But if I do, it’s nice to see that Nintendo is finally addressing the issue, free of charge.