The Nintendo Switch during its presentation in 2017. -

TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP

After the complaint lodged by UFC-Que Choisir against Nintendo France last September, the association announced on Wednesday that it was joining the European Bureau of Consumers' Unions (BEUC) to trigger the European “external alert” mechanism, and shed light on this recurring failure of the Switch controllers, which goes beyond our borders.

This is the famous “Joy-Con Drift”.

Nearly 25,0000 testimonials in Europe

"With more than 9,100 consumer testimonials attesting to the defect of their Switch console controllers, the UFC-Que Choisir filed a complaint last year against Nintendo for planned obsolescence," the association recalls in a press release.

However, since then, other Belgian, Dutch, Portuguese, Italian, Norwegian, Slovak, Slovenian and Greek consumer associations have launched calls for testimonies.

Nearly 25,000 European consumers have come forward producing similar testimonials.

According to Que Choose, the blackout causes "unexpected phantom movements, which prevent consumers from using their game consoles properly."

The organization mentioned two causes at the time of the complaint in France: "premature wear of the printed circuits, and a lack of sealing which causes a worrying amount of debris and dust within the joystick".

An alert for deceptive marketing practices

In January 2020, the director of Nintendo France offered to repair defective controllers free of charge, even if they were no longer covered by the warranty.

But according to the French association, the basic problem has not been resolved.

Concretely, BEUC will launch an alert to the European Commission and national consumer protection authorities via the external alert mechanism, for deceptive, aggressive and unfair commercial practices.

The international action aims to encourage the launch of a European investigation and to force Nintendo to settle these premature failures.

This, by repairing defective controllers free of charge and by warning of the limited lifespan of these controllers, adds Que Choisir, which once again calls on consumers affected by the failure to come forward.

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