Nintendo will now repair brokenNintendo SwitchJoy-Con controllers for free in European territories like the UK and Switzerland. While the Nintendo Switch has been a rousing success for the past six years, one unfortunate issue has persisted: controller drift. Recent studies have revealed thatnearly 40 percent of Nintendo Switch ownerswill suffer from a supposed design flaw that causes the Joy-Con controller’s joystick to drift uncontrollably without any input from players - though natural wear and tear can also play a factor. Eventually, the controller could stop working properly altogether and need to be replaced.
The issue with Joy-Con controllers drifting has gotten so bad that several lawsuits have been filed against Nintendo - though the company recentlywon its latest case against upset parentswho argued that their children weren’t subject to Switch’s end-user license agreement that normally prevents such legal action. Nonetheless, the Switch’s Joy-Con issue has continued in updated models like last year’s Nintendo Switch OLED, and third-party repair shops tasked with addressing the problem have been overwhelmed with requests for the past several years.
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At least Nintendo Switch owners in Europe can now have theirdefective Joy-Con controllers repairedfree of charge. Nintendo recently posted an announcement to its UK support website that states that users in the UK, European Economic Area, and Switzerland will no longer be charged for repairs on their controllers - as long as the issues in question are caused by the stick defect and not an unofficial modification.
Third-party controller makers have offered up Nintendo Switch Joy-Con upgrade kits that they claim solve the ever-persistent drift issue. Meanwhile, Nintendo has been looking for its own solutions to the problem, with a recent patent filing foran updated joystick designthat might finally resolve the long-standing design issue that caused many of the reported drifting incidents. This new update could also be for Nintendo’s next mainline console, which is rumored to be in the works.
While theNintendo SwitchJoy-Con drifting issue remains an annoying problem for Switch owners, at least most of them won’t have to pay to have their controllers repaired should it emerge. Nintendo previously offered free Joy-Con repairs in North America, Latin America, and France, and now this outreach has extended to places like the UK and Switzerland. Hopefully the Joy-Con’s drifting issues will be resolved completely one day, but for now players can rest assured that it won’t cost them to have it fixed in their ownNintendo Switchcontrollers.
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