Paris (AFP)

The consumer association UFC Que Choisir asked Tuesday Nintendo (video games) to propose by the Christmas holidays a solution for reliability problems affecting according to it the featured console Switch and the new console Switch Lite.

The "Joy-Con" controllers used for the Switch console "suffer from recurrent malfunctions," the association said in a statement.

"These failures appear a few months after the purchase, regardless of the profile of the player", intensive or not, young or old, explained the association.

"The reduced life cycle of these controllers is all the more worrying as these failures are rarely subject to repair or free exchange by the brand once the manufacturer's warranty (note of one year) exceeded" she adds.

A similar problem seems to concern the brand new Switch Lite consoles, launched last September, also warned Que Choisir.

The association, which published Tuesday morning on the internet its notice to Nintendo and a call for testimonials from players, told AFP have received more than 1,100 consumer testimonials in a few hours.

Asked by AFP, Nintendo France invited discontented consumers to solicit their technical support service on the internet, without details on the merits.

"We want players to have fun with the Nintendo Switch, and if something does not meet that goal, we always encourage them to visit http://support.nintendo.com so we can help," he said. company in a brief statement to AFP.

"You have to be honest with parents or children" who will buy a Nintendo console for Christmas, "and tell them not to forget to set aside 70 euros to buy a new set of controllers," Raphael Bartlome told AFP. the head of the legal department of UFC Que Choisir.

The goal of the association is at least that Nintendo "assume the free replacement during the legal warranty of two years," he added.

According to UFC Que Choisir, Nintendo is already facing a group action in the United States for the same problem.

The Japanese manufacturer suddenly decided to systematically take over the repair of overseas controllers, even after the expiry of the warranty period.

According to specialists quoted by the UFC Choisir, the "recurrent dysfunction" of the joysticks is linked to "premature wear of carbon plates located under the joystick".

The Switch was launched in 2017. Nintendo has sold 6.93 million worldwide in the first half of 2019 (+ 37% over one year).

© 2019 AFP