We just passed the two-week mark since Nintendo first released its hotly anticipated next-generation video game console, the Nintendo Switch. For those who haven’t managed to get their hands on the sold-out console at this point (your only real option right now is to pay a slight premium and get one on Amazon), here’s a spoiler for you: it’s awesome. The Switch is a fun new take on the gaming experience. While it’s not quite the paradigm-shifting device that the original Wii was, it still succeeds in offering a novel experience that gamers won’t find anywhere else.
Aside from the frustratingly small list of available games at this point, there aren’t very many widespread complaints about the new Nintendo Switch. While that’s obviously a good thing, the few complaints there are somewhat serious, and now Nintendo has finally issued a formal response to the biggest one.
One of the coolest things about the Switch is Nintendo’s new controller design. The Joy-Con controllers consist of two separate pieces that attach to either side of the console, but can also be removed and used wirelessly as two separate controllers, or as one controller when mounted on a special grip. It’s a fun and smart new take… when it works.
It’s unclear at this time exactly how many units are affected, but there is an annoying problem with at least some Joy-Con controllers that has been plaguing gamers ever since the console was first released. In a nutshell, the left half of the Joy-Con tends to temporarily lose its connection with the console when being used wirelessly, either alone or on a grip. This causes the controller to become unresponsive for varying amounts of time up to 5 or 6 seconds.
Some users have found that unpairing and repairing the controllers helps, and you can see how to do that in this post. Many users have found that this quick fix doesn’t actually fix anything, however. Well, the good news is that Nintendo has issued a formal statement on the matter to Forbes. The bad news, though, is that the statement isn’t very helpful at all.
At Nintendo, we take great pride in creating quality products and we want our consumers to have a positive experience. It is common with any new innovative consumer technology for consumers to have questions, and Nintendo Switch is no exception. There are no widespread technical problems, and all issues are being handled promptly, including the reports regarding the left Joy-Con Bluetooth connection. To best support our customers, we continuously update the online consumer support site and provide real-time answers to the questions we are receiving. We want our consumers to get up and running quickly to have fun with Nintendo Switch, and if anything falls short of this goal we encourage them to contact Nintendo’s Consumer Service team. For help with any hardware or software questions, please visit: http://support.nintendo.com.
The company also added this nifty little tidbit: “The number is not significant. The total number of repair or replacement requests for Nintendo Switch, including for Joy-Con, is consistent with what we’ve seen for any new hardware Nintendo has launched.”
Of course if you actually visit http://support.nintendo.com, as Nintendo recommends, you’ll learn that finding a way to actually submit a “repair or replacement request” is anything but straightforward. Don’t worry though, we’ll save you some time and trouble: don’t bother. If you’re in the US and you’re experiencing connectivity issues with your Joy-Con controllers, call Nintendo at (855) 877-9099.
