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Nintendo’s game controllers have been a thorny issue for years because they can start to “drift” over time. This causes the controller to register movement that isn’t actually there, causing your character to unintentionally move in one direction.
The gaming computer maker is allowing US and French customers to send in all of their controllers for free repair. Now the company has also put a webpage online where Dutch people can register their faulty equipment.
Dutch page
On the page Nintendo explains what customers can do to properly calibrate their faulty controllers themselves. If this fails and there is a hardware problem, customers can send the gamepad in for repair.
Nintendo points out that it can refuse to repair a controller free of charge if it is found that an accessory from another manufacturer caused the problems, if the game console was rented to other people or if the device fell, for example.
Critical consumer associations
In recent years, controller issues have been raised by several consumer organizations. For example, the Consumers’ Association launched a hotline in 2020. A year later, European consumer associations were calling for a European approach to Nintendo.
Nintendo said in 2017 that the drift simply cannot be solved. In recent years, other manufacturers have increasingly invested in so-called “hall sensors”, sticks for controllers that are much less sensitive to drift.
Previously, internal documents had already been leaked showing that Nintendo was already repairing controllers for free in many cases.
