Five-Year Joy-Con Drift Lawsuits Finally Over as Parents Drop Nintendo Lawsuits

After five long years of legal battles, it appears that the Joy-Con drift saga is finally coming to an end.

In a recent development, two major lawsuits – Diaz vs. Nintendo and Carbajal vs. Nintendo – have been called for dismissal by the plaintiffs themselves.

These cases, filed in 2019 and 2020 respectively, were brought forward by parents on behalf of their children, alleging that Nintendo had sold defective controllers knowingly.

However, after half a decade of proceedings, the plaintiffs have decided to withdraw their complaints, marking a significant turning point in this ongoing controversy.

What is Joy-Con Drift?

Before we go deeper let’s understand the Joy-Con Drift’s constroversy first.

Joy-Con drift has been a notorious issue plaguing Nintendo Switch owners since the console’s launch in March 2017.

It refers to a defect in the Joy-Con controllers where the analog sticks register movement even when not being physically moved or touched.

This annoying problem caused characters to move on their own, disrupting gameplay and frustrating many users.

According to a 2022 study by the British consumer protection group “Which?”, a staggering 40% of Nintendo Switch owners have experienced Joy-Con drift.

In 2019, customers began filing lawsuits alleging the Joy-Con controllers were defective and prone to drifting issues.

Multiple individual lawsuits across different states were consolidated into a class-action lawsuit against Nintendo in 2020.

The lawsuit alleged that Nintendo was aware of the defect but continued to market and sell the controllers without addressing the issue or offering an effective fix.

Nintendo initially did not admit fault but in 2020 president Shuntaro Furukawa came forward and issued a formal apology offering free repairs for drifting Joy-Cons even outside of warranty periods.

Despite Nintendo’s efforts to offer free repairs, the lawsuits persisted for years, causing a significant headache for the gaming giant.

Why Did the Plaintiffs Withdraw Their Complaints?

The reasons behind the plaintiffs’ decisions to drop the lawsuits remain unclear.

According to Game Rant, the Diaz vs. Nintendo case had been in arbitration since 2020, as Nintendo insisted that disputes of this nature be settled through private arbitration rather than public litigation.

It’s possible that the plaintiffs grew weary of the lengthy legal proceedings or reached a settlement with Nintendo behind closed doors.

As we know, Nintendo is preparing for the highly anticipated successor to the Switch, and it appears the company wants to resolve all issues beforehand.

Rumors suggest that the new console will feature a similar hybrid design with detachable controllers, akin to the Switch.

Source: Stephen Totilo of Game File and GameRant