Nintendo fined €35 million for stick drift in Switch Joy-Con controllers

9 years after the original Switch release date, Nintendo is still dealing with the fallout from Joy-Con stick drift. Over time, physical mechanisms in the analog sticks wear down, which can lead to spontaneous inputs. The French government’s consumer protection agency has imposed a €35 million fine on the gaming giant.

Nintendo negligence?

In response to a 2020 complaint from another consumer advocacy group, the Directorate General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control (DGCCRF) launched an investigation. It determined that Nintendo was too slow to address the stick drift epidemic, delaying an official response until 2020.

The French government believes many consumers bought new Switch controllers rather than contacting Nintendo Support. For “deceptive commercial practice” between 2018 and 2023, the company was issued one of the largest fines in the agency’s history. Nintendo agreed to the judgment and committed to publishing a press release about the resolution on its website.

In the U.S., Nintendo has also faced class-action lawsuits over defective Joy-Cons. In most cases, the plaintiffs were unsuccessful. Courts acknowledged the issue, but the End User License Agreement (EULA) signed by buyers often spared the company legal consequences or fines.

Gamers still affected by misbehaving Switch controllers may be eligible for free replacements. Even if the normal warranty period has expired, the support site allows buyers to register for the service.

Joy-Con 2 reliability

Potentiometer-based analog sticks are prone to stick drift, as components gradually degrade. That has prompted manufacturers to embrace Hall effect or TMR technology that relies less on mechanical parts. To the disappointment of many fans, the changes were not implemented in the Switch 2 Joy-Con 2.

Still relatively new, it’s unclear if the latest-gen accessories will display the same symptoms. Nintendo claims to have reinforced the parts most prone to damage. However, that may not be the case with the more conventional Switch 2 Pro Controller. While it’s a separate concern, a Japanese YouTuber exposed how flaws in its construction can cause sticky analog sticks.