Nintendo Switch Lite added to lawsuit over Joy-Con drifting problem

By Aaron Mamiit September 29, 2019

Some Nintendo Switch Lite owners have joined the class-action lawsuit against Nintendo over the Joy-Con drift problem, as they have started experiencing the frustrating issue on their portable consoles.

The law offices of Chimicles Schwartz Kriner & Donaldson-Smith filed the lawsuit against Nintendo in July, alleging that the Joy-Cons of the original Nintendo Switch are defective. This results in drifting, which is when the controllers register movement even when they are not being used, leading to interference in gameplay.

The lawsuit is now expanded to include complaints of drifting on the Nintendo Switch Lite, which was just released on September 20.

“I beat Link’s Awakening over the weekend on my original Switch Lite system, I had only put like 20 something hours on it, and it started to show joy-con drift,” according to one of the owners who was cited in the complaint, an updated copy of which was acquired by Polygon.

Shortly after the lawsuit was filed in July, Nintendo instructed customer service representatives to stop charging customers when fixing Joy-Con drift and to refund those who have already paid for repairs. Nintendo Switch owners experiencing the problem were suggested to contact the company through its support page to take advantage of the offer.

Gamers expected that Nintendo would have fixed the drifting problem in the Nintendo Switch Lite, as the issue was one of the glaring pitfalls of the original version of the console. However, a teardown by YouTube channel Spawn Wave revealed that the device’s analog sticks are similar to the ones used in the detachable Joy-Cons, which meant that the risk of drifting was still present.

Unfortunately, the risk has now turned into reality. It remains unclear, however, why the problem has started cropping up in Nintendo Switch Lite units very early, compared to the standard edition of the console. Also, it remains to be seen whether the free repairs for drifting issues will be expanded to include the device’s portable-only version.

Owners of the Nintendo Switch Lite, as well as either version of the original Nintendo Switch, who are suffering from drifting problems may join the class-action lawsuit by signing up online.

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