A few days ago a class-action lawsuit was brought against Nintendo claiming it ships the Switch with defective Joy-Con controllers. Now, Nintendo has apparently dropped the charges associated with repairing Joy-Cons.

As Vice reports, internal Nintendo documentation seen by the publication confirms the change of policy with regards to Switch controller repairs. The memo reads as follows:

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.

So not only is Nintendo dropping the charges associated with Joy-Con repairs going forward, but any already carried out are eligible for a refund if a customer requests it. The typical charge for such a repair is thought to be $40, meaning if you have paid for one it's worth contacting Nintendo and asking for your money back.

Nintendo is facing a class-action lawsuit due to the frustration of Switch owners and what looks to be widespread examples of Joy-Con drift. Drifting is the term used to describe a Joy-Con registering input when the player isn't interacting with it, and it can easily ruin gameplay.

For now, Nintendo isn't confirming the contents of the internal memo is its new policy for Joy-Con repairs. The Japanese company has acknowledged it is aware of reports of Joy-Con controllers "not responding correctly" and encourages anyone experiencing a problem with them to visit the support site. This is a typical way of dealing with a problem you don't want to talk about publicly, it's frustrating for us consumers, but most likely the best legal way forward considering the active class-action.

What's clear now is that this problem isn't going to go away and Nintendo may find itself in court in the near future. However, the change in policy on repairs is a sign the Joy-Con drift problem is now on the radar and although we may never hear about it, an internal team will be looking at the hardware and figuring out how to stop it happening.