Updated on 15 December 2024
The Joy Con Drift is an issue that has something to do with the analog sticks on the Switch’s detachable controllers. These analog sticks are called Joy Cons and the problem that some users experience is that they actually move things around on the screen on their own.
This has actually become a big enough issue for Nintendo to inform their customer service representatives that they will stop charging customers that are coming in for Joy-Con repairs. In addition, they even stated that they’d give a full refund on those who’ve already paid for the repair services.
The customer service representative provided a statement to Vice games saying, “Customers will no longer be requested to provide proof of purchase for Joy-Con repairs, additionally it is not necessary to confirm warranty status. If a customer requests a refund for a previously paid Joy-Con repair […] confirm the prior repair and then issue a refund”.
After a multitude of articles and publications surrounding this issue, Nintendo finally chose to give a statement. “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 was clarified in the statement that the customer service representatives were advised to guide and walk through the customers in fixing the problem themselves through troubleshooting steps. But the last resort would be to issue a repair at no charge. The great thing about this all is that they no longer require proof of purchase or an active warranty for the repair service.
After various online publications, Nintendo issued a formal response to address some of its loyal customers’ concerns.
They stated that they expect their hardware to perform as designed. However, they never mentioned that they were aware of the issue with the Joy Con analog stick drift. Apparently, they were only aware of recent reports being filed in and that more people would probably be asking Nintendo questions.
Of course, Nintendo swiftly took care of everyone’s concerns right away. “We want to quickly handle these questions to restore consumers’ smiles,” according to the documentation.
Don’t get me wrong, the Nintendo Switch is a fine piece of gaming technology. But it’s definitely understandable for people to worry about it since the incoming Nintendo Switch Lite will be handheld and won’t come with detachable Joy-Cons anymore. If there were drifts to occur again, repair and replacement would have to involve a completely new kit and not just some parts.
It looks like this problem isn’t going to subside so easily after all. I mean, Nintendo has sold and issued a lot of Switch devices the past few years and it would be hard to fix all the problems the consumers are facing right away. However, offering free repairs is definitely a huge help to their reputation.