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The European Commission (EC) has announced that it will look into complaints of Joy-Con drift. The EC is now another of many other organization investigating Joy-Con drift including the Quebec-based Lambert Avocat Inc.’s lawsuit. A spokesperson from the EC speaking 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-Con drift problem could be categorized as early obsolescence. This is when companies create products that intentionally 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 filed complaints relating to Joy-Con drift according to The European Consumer Organization with 88 percent of Joy-Con breaking within two years of use. This rings true with my own personal experience with Joy-Con. I purchased my Switch in 2017 and I am now on my fourth pair of Joy-Con (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 its Joy-Con, it has a history of avoiding the issue. With these stacking lawsuits and investigations, Nintendo will hopefully at the very least put more effort into the manufacturing of Joy-Con.
How many Joy-Con have you been through? Have you had better luck than me? Should Nintendo take more responsibility for its hardware or are consumers not doing a good job at maintaining their controllers?
Source: IGN
