The European Commission (EC) has announced that it will look into complaints of the Joy-Con drift. The EC is now another of many investigating the Joy-Con drift including the Quebec-based Lambert Avocat Inc.’s lawsuit. A spokesperson from the EC spoke with IGN explained,
“The European Commission will carefully consider all the elements brought forward by BEUC together with the national consumer authorities in the coming weeks to assess the need for further investigation into the matter and a possible coordinated action as foreseen under the Consumer protection cooperation (CPC) regulation.”
The Joy-Cons could be categorized as early obsolescence. When companies create products that fail early and need to be replaced or repaired.
“Early obsolescence is a growing concern for all consumers. The Commission is determined to act against such trends and to empower consumers in the green transition. We are preparing a new legislative initiative aiming to provide consumers with better information on products’ sustainability, including durability, and better protection against certain practices, such as early obsolescence.”
There have been almost 25,000 complaints relating to Joy-Cons filed according to The European Consumer Organization with 88% of Joy-Cons breaking within 2 years of use. This rings true with my own personal experience with Joy-Cons. I purchased my switch in 2017 and I am now on my fourth pair of Joy-Cons (which are now, of course, also having issues).
This is not the EC’s first dealing with Nintendo. In 2002, the EC fined Nintendo €149 for price-fixing. The fine was later reduced to €119 on appeal. Though Nintendo has been pressured in the past over their Joy-Cons, they have a history of avoiding the issue. With these stacking lawsuits and investigations, Nintendo will hopefully in the least put more effort into the manufacturing of Joy-Cons.
How many Joy-Cons have you been through? Have you had better luck than me? Should Nintendo take more responsibility for their hardware or are the consumers not doing a good job at maintaining their controllers?
Source: IGN
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