Nintendo has reportedly decided to fix defective Joy-Cons for free following a class action lawsuit over "drifting" problems.
The company has been taken to task due to the fact that certain gamers have been complaining about the joysticks on their controllers triggering actions during gameplay despite receiving no input.
The law offices of Chimicles Schartz Kriner A & Donaldson-Smith went through with a suit against Nintendo after an initial investigation. And, as Vice has reported, the company isn't waiting around for possible judgment.
According to a report from the publication, Nintendo has instructed its service representatives to repair all Joy-Cons with drifting issues free of charge and without the requirement of proof of purchase.
“Customers will no longer be requested to provide proof of purchase for Joy-Con repairs,” says the report from an internal source who wishes to remain anonymous, Vice claims. “Additionally it is not necessary to confirm warranty status. If a customer requests a refund for a previously paid Joy-Con repair [...] confirm the prior repair and then issue a refund.”
According to the bit above, users who have issues with their controllers but have no warranty could have them repaired at no cost. Nintendo previously charged $4 to fix Joy-Cons but, per a report from Kotaku, the fix is only temporary and problems resurface within months (in extreme cases, even a day).
Persons who have paid for repairs only need to show proof that their devices have been fixed by Nintendo to be eligible for a refund.
Nintendo hasn't officially confirmed that they're willing to fix all drift-prone Joy-Cons for free but provided Kotaku with a statement this week.
“At Nintendo, we take great pride in creating quality products and we are continuously making improvements to them,” a company representative said. “We are aware of recent reports that some Joy-Con controllers are not responding correctly. We want our consumers to have fun with Nintendo Switch, and if anything falls short of this goal we always encourage them to visit http://support.nintendo.com so we can help.”
Gamers experiencing the infamous drift can submit a ticket at the above link to get the ball rolling as it relates to a repair - but whether or not Nintendo will actually repair them for free remains to be seen.