The two small Joy-Con illustrate the user-friendly nature of the Nintendo Switch.

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Nintendo

  • UFC-Que Choisir joins European action against the recurring failure of Nintendo Switch Joy-Con controllers on Wednesday.

  • Letter of formal notice, complaint for planned obsolescence, guide for repair requests… The association is mobilized.

  • Nintendo acknowledges the problem, commits to all repairs, but dismisses the accusations of UFC-Que Choisir and speaks of a low proportion of affected controllers.

The famous consumer defense association UFC-Que Choisir announced on Wednesday that it was joining the European Bureau of Consumers' Unions (Beuc) to take coordinated action against the recurring failure of Nintendo Switch controllers.

One could almost speak of a soap opera, as this affair, known as the “Joy-Con Drift”, has been going on for several years and is not its first legal action.

You may not be concerned, or not yet, but

20 Minutes

takes stock with Mélissa Chevillard, responsible for institutional relations for Europe at UFC Que Choisir, on this dysfunction, support for players and Nintendo's reaction .

What's going on with the Joy-Con and since when?

“The Nintendo Switch console was put on the market in March 2017, recalls Mélissa Chevillard, and in the first two years, many consumers warned of a recurring failure of the controllers.

This is characterized by phantom movements, that is, the Joy-Con begins to perform movements that have not been commanded by the player.

This failure is totally blocking.

"A month after its release,

20 Minutes

reported on a problem due to" a variation in manufacturing "and which affected" a small number "of controllers.

A problem resolved according to Nintendo, which then referred to its after-sales service.

When and how did the UFC-Que Choisir sound the alarm?

“Our first action dates from November 2019,” says the responsible for institutional relations for Europe at UFC Que Choisir.

We sent a letter of formal notice to Nintendo asking them what solutions they offered to French consumers.

There was still a problem.

“In early 2020, the CEO of Nintendo France responded that he would repair all the controllers, even without a one-year warranty.

Yet we continued to collect testimonies throughout the year.

In detail, 25% of them experienced a failure within six months of purchase, and 60% in the first year.

Even in low usage.

”This is why in September, with 9,000 testimonies, the UFC-Que Choisir filed a complaint against Nintendo before the public prosecutor of Nanterre for“ planned obsolescence ”.

Does Nintendo's response measure up?

For the UFC-Que Choisir, not at all.

“Player complaints continue to come, and there, we have collected nearly 25,000 testimonies in the European Union, explains Mélissa Chevillard.

All controllers on the market can experience this malfunction.

"An expertise on several defective controllers, more or less recent, revealed that if Nintendo made changes to the design of Joy-Con, they do not concern the problem of failures, namely" premature wear of the printed circuits "and "A lack of sealing".

Hence a first complaint in France, and now a coordinated action at the European level.

Not to mention a class action lawsuit in the United States.

After an apology from the big boss

himself

, Shuntaro Furukawa, Nintendo France published a right of reply on November 19, 2020, to contest the accusations of the UFC-Que Choisir on "a practice of planned obsolescence" and inform that "to To his knowledge, however, these situations only concern an extremely low proportion of Joy-Con controllers in circulation in France (around 1% for three years) ”.

Asked by

20 Minutes

for a reaction after the announcement of a European action on Wednesday, Nintendo France has not yet followed up.

What can affected players do?

Nintendo invites consumers to contact after-sales service so that repairs are made in the best possible conditions, while the UFC-Que Choisir has set up a guide to support players in their repair process, as well as a form to collect their testimony.

“We cannot yet discuss the number of people who have requested redress and their experience,” comments Mélissa Chevillard.

We do not have the results yet, we will communicate about them a little later.

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"With this alert filed with the European Commission and national consumer protection authorities, we are calling for an investigation at European and national levels," continues the responsible for institutional relations Europe.

To make a joint and binding decision against Nintendo, ask them to offer a model without malfunction, and in the meantime, to repair the defective controllers and to inform the consumer about their limited lifespan.

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