Remember the news and reports about the Joy-Con nightmare that seemed to plague just about every Nintendo Switch owner at some point? As it turns out, nearly a decade later, the controversy is still haunting the Mario company. Now, Nintendo is forced to pay a hefty €35 million (around $40 million) fine in France over its handling of the Switch Joy-Con drift problem.
This was announced by France’s General Directorate for Competition, Consumer Affairs, and Fraud Control (DGCCRF) in Early May. The agency concluded that Nintendo failed to inform consumers about defects affecting Joy-Con controllers despite being aware of the problem as early as 2018. The company’s radio silence on the issue until 2020 was seen by the DGCCRF as ‘misleading commercial practices.’
“Nintendo only began communicating about these issues in 2020, rather than as soon as it became aware of them,” argued the DGCCRF, translated using Google Translate. “[…] this practice had discouraged consumers from using Nintendo’s after-sales service and led some to purchase new controllers.”
Nintendo has accepted the fine but rejected allegations that it intentionally misled customers. In a statement to French media Le Monde, the Japanese company said that accepting the settlement ‘does not represent an admission of guilt,’ and was just an effort to resolve the legal proceedings.
The Joy-Con drift fine saga began after French consumer advocacy group UFC-Que Choisir filed a complaint in September 2020. Following a lengthy investigation, the DGCCRF eventually referred its findings to prosecutors, ultimately leading to this massive settlement agreement with Nintendo.
Reports about Joy-Con drift began appearing not long after Nintendo launched the Switch in 2017. While some initially dismissed the issue as isolated cases, complaints quickly flooded social media. Before long, hundreds of controllers were reportedly being sent in for repairs daily. It then became one of the most infamous gaming hardware problems after the Xbox 360’s Red Ring of Death.
At some point, Nintendo even offered to fix faulty out-of-warranty Joy-Cons for free for gamers living in Switzerland, Europe, or the UK. However, French regulators argued that those measures only came after years of complaints and growing public scrutiny over the issue.
The Switch 2 may have replaced its predecessor. But nine years after the original Switch debuted, its Joy-Con drift is still causing problems. Only this time, it’s not players fighting random inputs — it’s Nintendo paying a $40 million bill.
