A French regulatory authority has accused Nintendo of Europe of deceptive marketing practices.
The Joy-Con Stick Drift saga never ends. The French equivalent of the Federal Trade Commission, the Direction Générale de la Concurrence, de la Consommation et de la Répression des Fraudes or DGCCRF, has fined Nintendo of Europe 35 million euros, or more than 40 million dollars. The French authority said the fine was aimed at misleading consumers about stick drift issues seen in Nintendo Switch Joy-Cons.
Nintendo Europe agreed to pay the fine, but this isn’t the first time the company has faced legal issues over its Joy-Cons. After its release in 2017, Switch owners found that after years of wear and tear, their controllers were registering movements without even touching the controller. This widespread problem has led to class action lawsuits and investigations, but this latest fine focuses on Nintendo’s handling of the situation. According to the DGCCRF, Nintendo only acknowledged the issue in 2020, instead of when it first became aware of the stick drift issue, leading the DGCCRF to accuse Nintendo of committing deceptive marketing practices between 2018 and 2023.
In addition to paying the fine, Nintendo must bear a scarlet letter by publishing a notice of deceptive marketing practices on the home page of its French website. Nintendo has been providing free repairs for Joy-Cons for affected customers since 2019.
