The Nintendo Switch was a massively popular console release for Nintendo. Coming off their less than stellar Nintendo Wii U, players could get the latest hot ticket item from Nintendo that offers a hybrid gaming experience. Players could enjoy the game console as a traditional console that connects to a television display. However, they could also enjoy the console as a portable gaming handheld.
This works out with the controller that comes packed with the Nintendo Switch itself. Dubbed the Joy-Cons, players can connect the controller system to the sides of the Nintendo Switch while being used as a portable handheld or disconnected to enjoy games on their home television display. Unfortunately, these Joy-Cons are rather faulty and Nintendo has received some flack over them as of late.
I’m sure you have all heard about it now but the Nintendo Joy-Cons can get what has been called the Joy-Con drift. It’s something that happens to all Joy-Cons during a period of use. These controllers will trigger movement being pushed by one of the analog sticks without the analog stick being touched. Ultimately this has caused gamers to purchase new replacement Joy-Cons but the same issue could come up again.
After lawsuits were filed, Nintendo offered a free repair to Joy-Cons with this drift issue. It’s not the most convenient means to get the problem solved as you’ll have to send the Joy-Cons to Nintendo and wait for their repair, but it does save you quite a bit of money from having to purchase another Joy-Con controller as a replacement. Recently, Polygon got a chance to speak with Nintendo of America president, Doug Bowser and the topic of Joy-Con drift came up.
“First and foremost, we want every consumer to have a great experience with their Nintendo Switch and with the games, they play on Nintendo Switch. That’s of utmost importance to us. Our mission is to put smiles on faces. And we want to make sure that happens. If consumers have any issue with our hardware and/or software, we want them to contact us, when we will work through the proper solution to get them up and running as fast as possible.
Specific to the Joy-Cons themselves, we’ve been working very closely with consumers if and when they might have issues, whether it’s a replacement or repair. And then, what I will say, as we look at our repair cycles, we’re always looking at what is being sent in and for what reasons, and understanding that better. And without going into any details, it always allows us to make improvements as we go forward.”
Doug Bowser
It looks like Nintendo is focusing on offering repairs for free but perhaps there is some kind of a revision in the works that would prevent this problem from happening in general. Unfortunately, Doug Bowser didn’t offer any details on plans, but this could put some gamer’s minds at ease knowing if something is already in the works for a Joy-Con revision.
