Cast your mind all the way back to April last year, and you might remember a lawsuit filed against Microsoft, claiming that the joystick component of Xbox One controllers - and specifically the Xbox Elite Wireless Controller - contains a design flaw that Microsoft has failed to disclose.
The lawsuit was amended in October, adding an additional seven plaintiffs and demanding a jury trial (thanks VGC), and Microsoft later opted to extend the warranty of its Xbox Elite Series 2 controller to one year.
Now, Microsoft has asked for the lawsuit to be taken out of court, arguing that by assenting to the Microsoft Services Agreement, plaintiffs "promised to arbitrate disputes on an individual basis using a consumer-friendly process".
“Plaintiffs repeatedly agreed not to bring a lawsuit like this in court. Instead, they assented to the Microsoft Services Agreement and to warranty agreements in which they promised they would arbitrate disputes on an individual basis using a consumer-friendly process before the American Arbitration Association. The Federal Arbitration Act requires enforcing these agreements.”
According to the original plaintiff back in April, the potentiometer within the analogue stick of Xbox One controllers contains an issue in which unwanted electrical contact occurs, and they also claimed at the time that "a large volume" of people had been getting similar 'drifting' issues going back to near the launch of the Xbox One.
What are your thoughts on this lawsuit? Have you experienced drifting? Let us know in the comments.
[source videogameschronicle.com]
Comments 17
The whole "arbitration" thing to take issues out of the courts needs to be taken to task and abolished as fast as possible. It's become an click-wrap "all sales final" statement.
Not thrilled with either Nintendo or MS on this issue. MS has had serious issues with their analogues since the 360. Nintendo's joycons introduced a special kind of bad for the issue where they fall apart if you look at them sideways.
Sony has previously sidestepped the problems by setting enormous deadzones so that modest drift simply won't register. It also has made their controllers dead and lifeless. Yet I've still seen plenty of complaint out there about theirs over the years....I've never seen one actually suffer from it due to the huge deadzones.
But this time, Sony's new controller seems to have normal (like Xbox) deadzones, so I imagine drift is going to become a bigger problem in the industry in general once the PS5 starts really going mass market. We're a long way from hearing the end about drift.
I've personally burned through probably 6 360 controllers with the issue, one XB Elite, 1 3DS, and one WiiU Gamepad...but the Gamepad was after months of abuse with Bayonetta and Splatoon. Joycon are at least easy to replace sticks but I've burned through 4 sticks I've replaced.
Much as the Elite 2 is tempting, and much as I dream of an Elite 3 with the ergonomics of the new Series controllers, I think I'm done with premium controllers until these companies address drift. I'll stick with throwing out cheapies every so often.
I favor the lawsuits. A lot of suits are frivolous and designed for lawyers to get SOME money, but the motive behind these lawsuits, at least from the plaintiffs, is to compel the companies to redesign their products that have been faulty for 15 years. We can send a tin can to the moon and back, but we cant make a waggle stick survive a living room for a few years? I don't buy it. It's like the time Fords started exploding if unattended, traced to a wire harness they refused to install because it would have cost them $0.07 more per car.
In the U.S. you can literally go to the Microsoft support site and return a drifting controller, no questions asked. I think it's been this way for quite a while now. Do I need to sue for money for emotional distress too? I don't think so.
@Grot i have 3 elite 2 controllers 2 of which are out of warranty and they wont fix it and they are under a year old.. the third is 2 months old and just started showing signs of drift, 3 elites all have the drift...cousin has a elite it has the drift...they are ***** controllers...meanwhile i have a dreamcast controller where the thumbsticks while worn still work like new no drift...same can be said of my xbox controller 360 controller and my ps3 controllers none have drift....they are made like *****...
@Grot I've had the issue sent back and got it repaired the only issue was a 3 week turn around, not having my controller that long... (I bought a 2nd one 😆)
Nintendo on the other hand 😒 I've read and heard from a few different people now that when you send back a controller for drift issues they demand payment for a seperate issue they have found during the repair thats tenuose as best.
@Blessed_Koz something sounds wrong there. 2 controllers under 1 year old are not out of warranty. As @swedetrap says you can just go onto the website to get them replaced. Same in the UK, I got mine replaced as up on the left stick stopped working. Its just a matter of logging into your account and raising a case against it.
@Grot There certainly must be something about certain levels of pressure, angles, or something that affect controllers. In my case, 4 joycon left sticks, used by 2 different users, and I'm "appropriately rough" with controllers, meaning I'm not like kids throwing them in backpacks and slamming them around, but boss battles and intense splatoon sessions, they're going to see some fast and furious operation, and they've had lots of problems. 360 had terrible sticks that broke all the time. But I haven't broken any One sticks except that Elite. The stock controllers were all fine. Never had drift on a PS controller, but I assume they really did have drift and just didn't register it with the deadzones. I do expect to start burning through Dual Senses. I'm still hopeful the Series controllers will be reliable for me like the One controllers were....but the Elites just seem like bad news. I suspect some of that is the fact that they sell so relatively few of them there's a lot lower production and thus less QC overall. Nintendo's problem is too small a part for the task.
But something about the shape/size of one's hand and the angle of force one ends up putting on the stick must have some effect. It's the only reason I can think of that some people like you basically never experience drift, even on the most drift-prone controllers, and others have a pile of dead controllers in the trash can.
Pro players burn out sticks constantly. You'll never see an eSports player without a heap of drifting/dead Scufs behind them.
@Grot That's all the more amazing that you haven't had problems with them! Splatoon, in particular, I've tagged as a controller destroyer just through intense regular play (well, intense regular play as a roller main in S+ ranks, anyway... ) It's just frantic, intense play that invariably puts a ton of stress on the sticks. In that regard, the Joycon are probably better than 360 controllers. I can't think of anything I played on 360 that was especially intense. Lots of play, lots of shooters (it was 7th gen afterall) but nothing close to the intensity of Splatoon. Halo and friends just aren't at that pace.)
That's interesting that you swab down the plastic dust. I used to remove that dust, but was actually told that's harmful - that dust basically creates the "self lubricating" function of the sticks and removing that makes it wear down the gate and stick more and more than leaving it as a sort of graphite. But yours seem to last forever that way. Huh.
@Grot Dual Sense may give Switch Pro a run for its money. I have a good deal of dust on that thing and it's only a month and a half old.....and it mostly played Spiderman and Deus Ex: MD until Sackboy last week. Not exactly high intensity games.... XSX controller is low dust, but I've mostly been playing random variety games, and I took out Elite v1 for Doom Eternal - the rear paddles are really essential for all the R3 pressing in that game.
Aren't the PS & XB sticks soldered to the board instead of nicely ribbon-connected like Joycon? I've always avoided doing soldering repairs on them - never trusted my hand with a soldering iron!
I really hate drift
@Nexozi yea when i go to the website it says for 2 of my three controllers the warranty is only 90 days and they expired one 9 months ago the other 6 months ago.. the third one is in process to be sent out as of writing this...i double checked serial numbers and everything on their site and it says they aren't covered....but either way a 180$ controller should NEVER break in under 6 months of use....
Have had drift twice while on PS4, and it's frustrating. Both cases on the left stick, around the time of Ghost of Tsushima (July), so may be from harder play. Saying that, I am careful with my gear.
Having quit intense PC gaming, and the timesink known as Warcraft (account deletion), I expect the new XBox controllers will have a significant workout.
Having received one faulty controller out of the box (unresponsive D-Pad), it was incredibly simple to send of for a replacement, where all costs are covered by Microsoft (Delivery and Hardware).
@Grot my elite one NEVER had drift and my father still uses it that controller the only thing i have ever had to do to it was replace the thumbsticks assembly as the magnet stopped working or came out or something the sticks didnt stay on anymore.
It seems like analog stick drift has become this big lawsuit situation when in my experience it has always been a part of controllers wearing out over time. It also seems like some people are far more prone to experiencing the issue over others, and have their analog sticks wear out quickly on the regular. I will often hear these people claim they aren't hard on their controllers but I have heard people say that then I will see them being really rough on the controller the whole time they're using it. While I am not going to rule out any defects, I am sure the way people use their controllers has a lot to do with it.
@JayJ It definitely send to be somewhat user dependent, but that use also qualifies as normal use if it's the way someone naturally plays three games. I think ultimately the part ought to be designed for the application. If it were an industrial control for operating construction equipment, you bet it would be designed we handle that use. Maybe "for most people it's fine" statistically on the $50 controller. But one would think that the people buying almost $200 controllers night represent as certain type of user and that cost would accommodate an industrial grade component...
I would love to get in on this i have warranty about 26 Elite Series 2 remotes warranties are running out The remotes break after a week of using them this is *****
@Grot yeah I had my car in the garage for a week once 😬 you don't know how truly dependent you are until you don't have it. Even In the short term.
I've had drift on a joy con and the switch was barely used. I just fixed it myself it was easy enough it's just a ribbon cable.
The only controllers I've ever had an issue with are the N64 controller and the joy cons, frankly the joy cons are the worst controllers I've ever used before they break. However I've never come across a controller that breaks as easily as that, I have one set that drifts, a friend has 4 sets that drift and a nephew has had one from new for about 6 months and the left stick drifts whilst the right stick barely functions.
As for Xbox One I've not had a problem but its also probably my least used system over the last few years. I think I had one PS2 controller fail at some point but in general the dualshocks have been reliable and my 3d Saturn and Dreamcast controllers work flawlessly still
Tap here to load 17 comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...