A new report on Nintendo's handling of the damaged Joy-Cons process reveals how the repair center responsible for repairing these controllers was overwhelmed by the work. While Nintendo will handle repair requests from customers, a company called United Radio is actually responsible for Joy-Cons' repairs.
Since the Switch first launched in 2017, the phenomenon of Joy-Con stick drift has been a big problem for Switch users. After a period of use, the joystick on the handle will move on its own even if it is in its original position. The issue is so common and serious that Nintendo has received multiple class-action lawsuits on the issue.
Maintenance personnel responsible for fixing hundreds of handles per day are most sensitive to the wrong perception of hardware design. They say, "Thousands of Joy-Cons show up every week. ”
Syracuse, NY-based United Radio soon found itself inundated every week by thousands of Joy-Cons who suffered from all sorts of glitches. "We eventually had to build a whole new workspace for Joy-Con repairs," a former United Radio employee told media outlet Kotaku.
Nintendo will send new replacements to customers who sent Joy-Con between 2017 and 2018, the first year of the Switch's launch, after which United Radio was allegedly tasked with repairing every handle sent in.
To cope with the number of Joy-Cons shipped to the company, United Radio had to hire agent staff to help with the repairs. Since many of these workers are not native English speakers, this leads to frequent communication problems in the work environment. Errors are frequent in the maintenance process, and the turnover rate is also high.
When first introduced, Joy-Con drift was a common problem with joysticks. Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa apologized for this in 2020, and Nintendo currently repairs the problematic Joy-Con for free. However, an increase in reports of shipments of Nintendo Switch Sports and accidental throwing of handles is expected, and these repair figures are expected to increase.
Switch's new OLED model has the same Joy-Cons as the basic model, and netizens also have a lot of "folk remedies" to solve the problem of stick drift.