consumer remedies extend to European level

After a complaint in France against Nintendo, accused of selling controllers for its Switch game console that wear out too quickly, consumer defense associations want to give the case a European dimension, they announced Wednesday.

The European Bureau of Consumers’ Unions (BEUC) “calls for an investigation to be launched at European level on this issue and for Nintendo to be obliged to urgently remedy the premature failures of its product”, sold worldwide to more than 68 million units, according to a press release from the organization.

“Consumers assume that the products they buy last long enough (…) and that they do not have to pay for costly replacements due to a technical defect,” said the director general of BEUC. in the press release. “The creation of unnecessary electronic waste goes completely against the objectives of the Green Deal for Europe”, she also argues.

Contacted by AFP, Nintendo was not able to react immediately. The European Commission, also requested by AFP, did not respond at midday either.

Complaint for planned obsolescence

In France, the UFC-Que Choisir association said it was joining BEUC “to trigger the European ‘external alert’ mechanism, and shed light on this recurring blackout which goes beyond our borders,” according to a separate press release.

Que Choose had filed a complaint last September against Nintendo France for planned obsolescence, “with more than 9,100 consumer testimonials attesting to the defect of their Switch console controllers”, a defect called “Joy-Con Drift”.

Almost 25,000 European consumers have come forward

However, since then, other Belgian, Dutch, Portuguese, Italian, Norwegian, Slovak, Slovenian and Greek consumer associations have launched calls for testimonies. Almost 25,000 European consumers have come forward, producing similar testimonials.

“Unexpected phantom movements”

According to Que Choisir, the blackout causes “unexpected phantom movements, which prevent consumers from using their game consoles properly.” The organization evoked two causes at the time of the complaint in France: “premature wear of the printed circuits, and a lack of sealing which causes a worrying amount of debris and dust within the joystick”.

In January 2020, the director of Nintendo France offered to repair defective controllers free of charge, even if they were no longer covered by the warranty. But according to the French association, the basic problem has not been resolved.

Concretely, the BEUC sent a letter to the European Commission “via the external alert mechanism for deceptive, aggressive and unfair commercial practices”, specifies the UFC Wednesday. The international action aims to encourage the launch of a European investigation and to force Nintendo to settle these premature failures. This, by repairing defective controllers free of charge and by warning of the limited lifespan of these controllers, adds Que Choisir, which once again calls on consumers affected by the failure to come forward.

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