After 25k complaints, EU calls for investigation into Nintendo Switch Joy-Con drift Eurogamer.net If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy. After 25k complaints, EU calls for investigation into Nintendo Switch Joy-Con drift UPDATE: EC confirms it will now consider potential action. News by Tom Phillips Deputy Editor Updated on 28 Jan 2021 75 comments UPDATE 28/1/21: The European Commission has released a statement outlining its potential next steps regarding Nintendo Switch Joy-Con drift, prompted by calls for it to act from its own European Consumer Organisation (BEUC). The matter is now in the EC's hands, and it will now decide how to investigate further and potentially coordinate action against Nintendo in line with Consumer protection cooperation (CPC) regulation, which enforces consumer rights consistently across the Single Market. "Early obsolescence is a growing concern for all consumers," an EC spokesperson told Eurogamer. "The Commission is determined to act against such trends and to empower consumers in the green transition. We are preparing a new legislative initiative aiming to provide consumers with better information on products' sustainability, including durability, and better protection against certain practices, such as early obsolescence." Nintendo has yet to comment on the matter. ORIGINAL STORY 27/1/21: The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC), the EU's joint consumer programme, has called for a Europe-wide investigation into Nintendo Switch Joy-Con drift after receiving more than 25,000 complaints from numerous countries. The group has now submitted its own complaints to the European Commission and national consumer protection authorities around Europe, based on its rules surrounding "premature obsolescence and misleading omissions of key consumer information on the basis of the EU's Unfair Commercial Practices Directive". In the vast majority of cases - 88 per cent - Nintendo Switch owners reported issues with their Joy-Con controllers within the first two years of use, the BEUC said. Complaints have been received from Switch owners in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal, Italy, Norway, Slovakia, Slovenia and Greece. Watch on YouTube The BEUC has called for Nintendo to repair faulty Joy-Con for free - something it has done in the past - and to inform consumers of the "limited lifespan" of Joy-Con at present. "Consumers assume the products they buy to last an appropriate amount of time according to justified expectations, not to have to pay for expensive replacements due to a technical defect," BEUC boss Monique Goyens said. "Nintendo must now come up with proper solutions for the thousands of consumers affected by this problem." We've contacted Nintendo for comment. Nintendo Switch Joy-Con drift - where the controller stops communicating properly with the console's base unit, or begins controlling itself - has been a widely-reported issue since the console first launched. In September 2019, a class-action lawsuit was filed by Switch owners in the US following growing reports of people facing Joy-Con issues. At the time, Nintendo said it would fix any problems of this nature for free. Asked about the still-ongoing issue in June 2020, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa apologised for "any trouble caused" and said Nintendo was "continuing to aim to improve our products, but as the Joy-Con is the subject of a class-action lawsuit in the United States and this is still a pending issue, we would like to refrain from responding about any specific actions". Become a Eurogamer subscriber and get your first month for £1 Get your first month for £1 (normally £3.99) when you buy a Standard Eurogamer subscription. Enjoy ad-free browsing, merch discounts, our monthly letter from the editor, and show your support with a supporter-exclusive comment flair! Support us View supporter archive More News Google announces cloud gaming Chromebooks less than a fortnight after Stadia shutdown GeForce Now preinstalled. 4 Atari will hold RollerCoaster Tycoon rights for another decade Ups and downs. 7 Lady Dimitrescu will be a tad smaller in Resident Evil Village's Mercenaries DLC Level the playing field. 1 Overwatch 2 suffers another DDoS attack and character roster bugs Mei Mei. 13 Latest Articles Digital Foundry Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090: a new level in graphics performance The Digital Foundry video review - and how the new GPU champion delivers for 4K 120fps gaming. Feature Evercore Heroes wants to wind people up the right way "There's less rage at them, because they didn't end your fun." Google announces cloud gaming Chromebooks less than a fortnight after Stadia shutdown GeForce Now preinstalled. 4 Genshin Impact Path of Gleaming Jade dates, login event rewards Including other anniversary rewards and how to claim them. Supporters Only Premium only Off Topic: Take a minute to appreciate Cookin' with Coolio's incredible scallops recipe. What a great book. Premium only Off Topic: Reading City of Glass in comic form "Where exactly am I going?" Premium only Off Topic: Il Buco is a transporting film about a really big hole Underlands. Off-Topic Netflix handled Sandman brilliantly It was Dreamy. 9 Buy things with globes on them And other lovely Eurogamer merch in our official store! Explore our store