Nintendo will fix faulty controllers free of charge and refund customers who have already paid for a fix, as the company goes into damage control in the wake of the Joy-Con Drift debacle it now faces a class action lawsuit over.
An internal memo sent to Nintendo staff and seen by Vice outlines Nintendo’s new process for dealing with Joy-Con complaints.
“Customers will no longer be requested to provide proof of purchase for Joy-Con repairs.”
“Additionally it is not necessary to confirm warranty status. If a customer requests a refund for a previously paid Joy-Con repair […] confirm the prior repair and then issue a refund.”
Nintendo customer support representatives have reportedly been told to guide complaining Switch owners through a troubleshooting process before issuing a free repair if the problem persists, regardless of whether the controller remains under warranty.
A Vice producer suffering from Joy-Con drift was told to update the firmware on his faulty controllers.
A Nintendo representative then offered a pre-paid shipping label to send the controllers in for a free repair when the problem returned.
Joy-Con Drift recently became the subject of a class action lawsuit.
