Judge Denies Nintendo's Request To Dismiss Lawsuit

Nintendo is continuing to have a rough time dealing with complaints over the design of the Nintendo Switch's Joy-Con controllers. The company currently faces a class action lawsuit filed against them last year, and it looks like the case is going forward. Game Rant is reporting that Nintendo's request to have the lawsuit thrown out has been dismissed by the judge presiding over the case. This means that the battle over the drifting Joy-Con controllers will continue on for the immediate future.

For those unaware of the drama surrounding the Nintendo Switch's Joy-Con controller's, here's the deal: since the console's release, many fans have had an issue with the controller's joysticks drifting. In other words, the action either doesn't match the player's input or the joystick will get stuck in a movement position, causing the character on screen to be uncontrollable in any proper way. While this is a regular issue with many joystick-based controllers, consumers took issue with how quickly the problem arose into the new system's life. In other words, it really shouldn't be an issue that has set in after less than a year of owning a console. 

Nintendo released an official statement regarding the issues with the Joy-Con last summer, which read, ""At Nintendo, we take great pride in creating quality products and we are continuously making improvements to them. We are aware of recent reports that some Joy-Con controllers are not responding correctly. We want our consumers to have fun with Nintendo Switch, and if anything falls short of this goal we always encourage them to visit http://support.nintendo.com so we can help." In addition, Nintendo added a section to their website specifically for customers to report problems with they Joy-Cons.

These statements came amidst rumblings that a few different law firms were exploring the possibility of filing a class action lawsuit against Nintendo for the faulty controller design. In other words, Nintendo was clearly in damage control mode.

Nintendo also stepped up to offer an even better service for consumers who were dealing with faulty JoyCons. Not only did the company begin offering free repairs for the controllers, but Nintendo also extended full refunds to players who had already paid to have their Joy-Cons repaired. Unfortunately, for many consumers, these steps from Nintendo were too little, too late. The company was in hot water with fans and news outlets, even being ridiculed by French magazine 60 millions de consommateurs, who "awarded" the Joy-Cons the unflattering title of "Most Fragile" product of 2019.

Once it became clear that some fans were not placated by Nintendo's efforts, the lawsuit was filed. Nintendo did attempt to have the lawsuit thrown out, but their request was denied. However, the matter will now go into arbitration. This means, as explained by Game Rant, "the issue will be resolved outside the courts by a neutral party known as an arbitrator. In the US, arbitration is often used in consumer and employment cases, such as this one. So in other words, the class action lawsuit is still happening, but the final and binding outcome is no longer the judge's decision." 

However, there's still a chance that the case could return to the courts after arbitration. This all depends on the arbitrator's findings. Whether this spells good news or bad for Nintendo is still unclear, but it's definitely not a proud moment for the company. 

Regardless of the outcome of this lawsuit, the hope here is that Nintendo will take these criticisms to heart and make some changes to the way the Joy-Cons are being manufactured in the first place. That's surely the only way to avoid this being an ongoing issue for the rest of the console's life span.

Unfortunately for Nintendo fans, the company's ability to manufacture new Switch consoles has become something of an unknown in recent weeks. Due to concerns surrounding the Coronavirus outbreak, Nintendo has announced that the production and delivery of new Nintendo Switches and related peripherals has seen a significant delay. North American and European markets were not expected to be affected. However, continuing concerns with the virus have caused several esports tournaments and events to be postponed or outright canceled, so it's hard to say whether or not that's still a detriment to Nintendo Switch production.

While Nintendo's next moves are still an unknown factor, we will be sure to keep you updated on any news regarding the ongoing suit against the company. Hopefully this can be resolved swiftly and disappointed fans can still get the functional Joy-Cons they'd hoped for all along.