Nintendo was fined 35 million euros due to Joy-Con stick drift

In France, an investigation into Nintendo related to defective Joy-Con controller sticks has concluded. The outcome was not in the company’s favor.

The French Directorate-General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Prevention found that Nintendo had been concealing crucial information from gamers for years. The regulator claims that the company was aware of the Joy-Con stick drift issue as far back as 2018 but failed to inform customers until 2020.

Notably, in 2020, the French consumer advocacy organization UFC-Que Choisir filed a lawsuit against Nintendo. They argued that Nintendo might have been practicing “planned obsolescence” — intentionally designing controllers to have a shorter lifespan, prompting gamers to purchase replacements sooner.

Nintendo’s European division agreed to pay a fine of €35 million but did not admit any wrongdoing. In a statement to the media, the company asserted that the settlement was merely a gesture to ensure “peaceful resolution of the legal proceedings,” without any admission of guilt.