Nintendo JoyCon Drift Lawsuit Dismissed: Kids Can’t Sue, EULA Pop-up Agreements on Switch

Isaiah Richard, Tech Times 06 February 2023, 08:02 pm

Nintendo once faced a class-action lawsuit against parents who complained about the JoyCon drift issue on the Switch gaming console, which a US Judge already dismissed. This is because their children agreed to an end-user license agreement (EULA), claiming that parents cannot sue if a child uses the console.

However, when refiling the case to make their children the plaintiffs, another clause also centers on kids not being able to sue companies as they are still minors.

Nintendo JoyCon Drift Lawsuit Dismissed Due to EULA

(Photo : Lucas Santos on Unsplash)

US District Judge for the Northern District of California, William Alsup, has dismissed the lawsuit filed by two teenagers against Nintendo of America Inc., per the court's filings.

One of the main reasons here is that on the initial setup of the Switch console, users are given a EULA where they need to agree, appearing as a pop-up. This tells users that for minors, their parents are the true owners of the console and cannot sue the company should there be a problem with the gaming console, with the judge ruling that they should assign ownership.

According to Ars Technica, Nintendo's EULA has arbitration and forum-selection clauses, which users agree to initially. An arbitrator ruled out that parents cannot push for a case because of this.

The mothers and their teenage children were the first plaintiffs in the lawsuit.

Kids Cannot Sue Nintendo for Switch's JoyCon

The parents tried to refile the case with the children as the plaintiffs, but the District Judge denied their request to push for this class-action lawsuit against Nintendo. The main reason is that parents should be responsible for the device and their children.

Switch JoyCon Drift Issue

There have been numerous complaints regarding the Nintendo Switch having controller drift issues on its JoyCon devices, and it heavily disrupts gaming when it moves on its own. As per the Nintendo Engineer, who said that it is an issue, this would not be fixed by Nintendo at the moment, and it is something they also wished to address with the Switch OLED.

However, this issue was also something that Nintendo could not address with the latest version of the Switch console.

The JoyCon drift problems on the console are a normal result of wear and tear for the Switch devices, and people, no matter how destructive or delicate, will still end up with the issue. This became a problem for repair shops in the past, especially as the demand for its fix worsened throughout 2022, with Nintendo wanting gamers to pay for its repairs.

The Nintendo JoyCon drift issue will be a problem for gamers moving forward, resulting from hours of gaming and using the controller. It may be filed against the company in court, especially if complainants feel they have not maximized the experience and use of the console fully. Still, there are several legal technicalities they need to overcome.