The European Commission has forced Nintendo to extend its free repair program for the faulty Joy-Con controllers to also cover EU and EEA countries as well as the UK and Switzerland.
Nintendo's hybrid game console, Switch, comes with so-called Joy-Cons – a pair of controllers. A design flaw has caused the analog sticks to "drift" over time; to register input where there is none so that the character on-screen moves in a direction sporadically. The issue was therefore known as "Joy-Con drift".
Despite the evident design flaw, Nintendo had refused to repair out-of-warranty Joy-Cons in many countries. In Europe, the issue ultimately reached the European Commission which has found Nintendo liable.
- "Following this action, Nintendo has agreed to offer all consumers the right to repair for affected controllers of the “Nintendo Switch” gaming console free of charge, even beyond the legal guarantee," announced the European Commission.
There were already active repair programs in the Americas.
Nintendo's Switch console works in either TV or handheld mode. Photo: Nintendo
All EU and EEA countries
The decision covers all EU and EEA countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.
It also applies in the UK and Switzerland.
The European Commission noted that it "had received nearly 25,000 consumer complaints about the Nintendo Switch console by January 2021".
"Planned obsolescence"
Norway's Consumer Council (Forbrukerrådet) describes it as a case of "planned obsolescence" and classifies it as a "lifetime" repair commitment, whereas Nintendo claims that it the free offer lasts "until further notice".
- "If your problem isn’t resolved, you can set up a repair for affected Joy-Con controllers. Until further notice, Nintendo will not charge you in the European Economic Area (EEA), UK and Switzerland for the repair of the responsiveness syndrome irrespective of whether this is caused by a defect or by wear and tear," said Nintendo.
You can set up a repair on Nintendo's customer portal here or by contacting your local dealer, even if your warranty has expired.
Norway's Consumer Council notes that Nintendo continues to sell faulty Joy-Con controllers to new buyers.
- Source: European Commission, Nintendo, Forbrukerrådet
