Since the Nintendo Switch’s launch, consumers have had issues with Joy-Con drift. Nintendo acknowledged reports of the same last year and is currently facing class-action lawsuit. In Nintendo’s 80th Annual General Meeting of Shareholders, president Shuntaro Furukawa apologized for the issues caused.
According to Kotaku’s translation, Furukawa said, “Regarding the Joy-Con, we apologize for any trouble caused to our customers. We are continuing to aim to improve our products, but as the Joy-Con is the subject of a class-action lawsuit in the United States and this is still a pending issue, we would it like to refrain from responding about any specific actions.”
Joy-Con drift occurs when the sticks have been used extensively (though some reported seeing it after just a few hours of use). Because of this, the sticks will start drifting during gameplay, causing all kinds of problems. The issue was thought to only be in the original Switch mode but was also discovered in the Switch Lite (which has since been added to the lawsuit).
Time will tell how Nintendo will address the issue, apart from a past internal memo that directed customer service towards fixing it for free. Perhaps a new model for the Switch or brand new Joy-Con design could be the cure? Stay tuned for more details in the coming months.