Nintendo Announces Free Joy-Con Repairs for Switch Owners in Select Countries

Nintendo has now promised to repair Joy-Con controllers for Nintendo Switch consoles for those in select territories. Over the past few years, Joy-Con “drifting” with thumbsticks on the Switch’s primary controllers has started to become a widespread problem. And while this issue has led to Nintendo dealing with a number of class-action lawsuits, the Japanese game publisher is now going to repair these faults for those in certain European countries, even if they aren’t under warranty. 

In a new statement shared by Nintendo on its support site, it was said that Switch Joy-Cons will now qualify to be repaired by Nintendo completely free of charge. It was said that these free repairs will be happening “until further notice” and are part of an effort from Nintendo to continue providing “high-quality” video game products. These repairs, however, will only be made available to those in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland. 

“Until further notice, Nintendo will not charge you in the European Economic Area (EEA), UK, and Switzerland for the repair of the responsiveness syndrome irrespective of whether this is caused by a defect or by wear and tear,” the company said. “Nintendo takes great pride in creating high-quality and durable products and is continuously making improvements to them. Therefore and until further notice, Nintendo offers to consumers who purchased the respective product in the EEA, UK and Switzerland that repairs for responsiveness syndrome relating to control sticks will be conducted at no charge by official Nintendo repair centres. This applies even if the syndrome is caused by wear and tear and even if the 24-month manufacturer’s warranty provided by Nintendo has expired. The manufacturer’s warranty does not affect any statutory rights which you may have under consumer protection legislation as the purchaser of goods.”

All in all, this is a positive step to see from Nintendo given how problematic Joy-Con drift has become. Whether or not this repair program will be discontinued at some point isn’t currently known, but if you happen to have damaged thumbsticks of your own, you should definitely take advantage of this offer. 

Are you happy to see that Nintendo going to repair Joy-Con controllers for no cost in certain European countries? And do these free repairs happen to apply to you? Be sure to let me know either down in the comments or reach out to me on Twitter at @MooreMan12. 

[H/T Nintendo Life]