European Commission ask Nintendo to repair controllers

[it_citizen]

I don't know how it is in Europe, but in North America, their repair service is top-notch.

2 months ago I sent them a joycon of my 5 year old switch because it started to drift.

I simply filed a form on their website and dropped the joycon at a UPS store. Two weeks later, I received a new joycon by mail. I didn't pay for anything, not even UPS shipping.

[mrweasel]

I can't say for Nintendo, they may very well have excellent support, as does Dell, but frequently I feel like the US get much better product support. In Europe the manufactures fight consumer laws and seem to do everything in their power to not offer the warranty that they are legally obligated to.

It may just be a case of "The grass is always greener", but it seems like the US have all sorts of excellent return, replace or repair options for electronics. Part of it may also be that it's much easier in the US. One language, easy shipping options (as in they can use the same shipping company for all customers), and the laws are more or less the same for the entire country.

[shantara]

While this is nice, you still lost access to the hardware you own for two weeks because the manufacturer refuses to admit the design flaw.

[digging]

Confused about what happened - did they repair or replace your joycon?

[gumballindie]

> I don't know how it is in Europe, but in North America, their repair service is top-notch.

Pretty bad. Carmakers for instance occasionally fail to issue recalls for the same faults that they already have in the us.

[wirthjason]

Need to try this. I got one that’s bad. I mostly use the the Pro controller so I forget about it but there’s also times when I play Mario Party and need the joy cons for 4 people.

[Fire-Dragon-DoL]

They should. We have 6 different joycons and 2 have been repaired, the other 2 are showing the damn drift again.

Shipping them is a pain. This whole thing is a mess and the fact that they have to repair is the minimum

Joycons happen to also cost 100$ in Canada, so it's not something cheap.

I'm really bothered. So many years making videogames and they still can't get the analog stick right.

[jwalton]

It’s fairly easy to take a jocon apart, and the joysticks are pretty cheap on Amazon. I’ve started taking mine apart and fixing them myself when they start to drift. It’s a pain, but it’s less painful than shipping them off to Nintendo.

[pupppet]

I've had to ship back 4 different pairs of controllers twice now. This BS has me second-guessing ever purchasing another Nintendo console.

[unwind]

Very cool post by, uh, the European Commission. Yay casual-tone governance.

Does anyone have a link to some reputable third-party explaining the actual issue?

[lax4ever]

The issue is that the Joy-Cons joystick has what appears to be a design defect that, regardless of how much care is taken, means they have a high likelihood of developing what is known as "drift" or phantom movement without the joystick actually being engaged. This issue has been, at the very least, acknowledged by Nintendo, and for a few years now Nintendo has been repairing/replacing Joy-Cons for free (at least in the US) because of it. I don't know if there have been design changes, but Nintendo's public release response has been mixed in an effort to avoid as much culpability as possible.

[nouryqt]

Here's the official press release: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_23_...

[pohl]

Of course it's casual. It's a toot on Mastodon.

[MisterBastahrd]

Virtually all controllers share similar technology and one of the features for most of the console manufacturers is that they will break the moment a piece of lint gets stuck between the stick and the sensor. Given how difficult it is to access the sensor in order to fix the issue, and also how open-air the design of these sticks are, I've always assumed that this is on purpose.

I've started using the Power A controllers with the back paddles on PC (or a Razer Wolverine when I was being fancy and wanted LEDs), and I'm much happier now. The only problem I've had with Power A's controllers is that the USB cable has a plastic housing that is a bit oddly shaped and thus it's nigh-impossible to find a replacement, so I'm still stuck with a scenario that I have to RMA a replacement from time to time because they won't sell the cord by itself.

[lax4ever]

These appear to be a much larger issue than what is normally seen by controllers designed by console manufacturers.

[KennyBlanken]

The entire controller industry has this problem. From the base to the top end, controllers fail like crazy due to "stick drift." It's planned obsolescence.

[jader201]

I've been using multiple generations of different console controllers for years, since analog sticks were a thing.

Out of the 8 or 10 joycons (not pairs) that we own, more than half of them are affected by drift -- maybe approaching all of them. I don't know that I've ever had this problem on any other console's controller (and I usually have 3-4 controllers of every other console).

I don't think this is a coincidence -- this issue is way worse on Nintendo Switch controllers than any other controller, even their own prior gen controllers. By at least an order of magnitude, maybe two.

While it may be an industry-wide problem, it's definitely not a problem to this extent.

[gruez]

>From the base to the top end, controllers fail like crazy due to "stick drift." It's planned obsolescence.

Or maybe the technology to make it last forever doesn't exist or is prohibitively expensive? Blaming it on "planned obsolescence" makes as much sense as saying that batteries are "planned obsolescence" because they eventually wear out.

[igravious]

Be nice if they did the same for Sony PS5 controllers, I've had two go on me (in a different way each) and god knows the PS5 isn't out all that long.

[fmsf]

Any guidance on how to get controllers repaired under this directive? (EU based but don't have the receipts anymore)

[tomstuart]

You have to fill in an online form. Go to support.nintendo.com, choose your country, and search for the page about joycon drift — e.g. in the UK it’s https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Support/Nintendo-Switch/Troublesh....

[bombcar]

Probably start a repair request to support: https://www.nintendo-europe.com/landing/Language-Selection-E...

If they charge you, pay and complain?

[spiznnx]

I know many will want this covered by Nintendo out of principle, but it is a very easy fix to perform yourself for the average hacker. The parts and tools are inexpensive as well. I have replaced 5 joycon sticks now and I find it rather satisfying.

[whutsurnaym]

This! I'm still using the original joycons I got with the switch. Any time I get joystick drift, I crack the joycon open and swap the joystick out. Takes five minutes and I'm immediately back to gaming. I bought a bunch of replacements off aliexpress a few years back, so each repair costs me less than a dollar.

[FreeFull]

Hall effect joysticks seem really promising. Fundamentally, due to the way they work, they should be much less likely to develop drift compared to potentiometer-based joysticks.

[Aardwolf]

At least in things like washing machines or water pumps for current sensing these seem to be one of the more easy to break components.

Let's hope they last longer when no water is involved.

[szoszon]

Oh, so it's not my poor motor skills, and fat fingers - it's the controller.

[red-iron-pine]

It's always been the controller, mon ami