If this class action actually goes anywhere it will set a bad precedent for any electronic manufacturer that purposefully puts built-in obsolescence into their products.
Good. I'm sick of corporations deliberately building things to fail not long after the warranty period. Things use to be built to last. Now I cannot find a table fan that doesn't have a sealed motor to allow me to re-lubricate the bearings myself every 3-4 years from heavy use. I really hope it does set a precedent and serves as a stark deterrence from screwing over consumers any further. If the Joy-Cons were like $20 it would be acceptable, but given the cost of these they should be built like a tank.
I'll never buy Lasko products again because they seem to be dead obvious when it comes to planned obsolescence of their fans.
If Nintendo keeps it up I'll only buy their hardware used if at all to avoid them getting any money from me until they start building high quality hardware again. I have a GameCube controller from 2003 that still works 100% fine. The R button was sticky but that was because something somehow got in it, but that was my fault not Nintendo and I disassembled it and cleaned it and now it works as good as new. I've used that thing for thousands of hours. It's the only controller I use for GameCube emulation and N64. If the Joy-Cons were even HALF the quality of the GameCube controller I'd be satisfied.
I bought a used Pro controller - was going to buy it new but decided I'm not giving Nintendo any more money until they seriously address this issue and offer to replace problematic Joy-Cons and THEY pay for shipping both ways. Given the egregiousness of this, they should in this one case do what Logitech does or use to do and just send out a replacement Joy-Con using a new analog stick design to anyone who submits an RMA. Perhaps requiring attached proof in the form of a video taken with a cell phone pointed at the Switch when in the stick calibration screen showing the cursor off-center with nothing touching the stick. When I had a Logitech mouse go bad and submitted an RMA, I had a new one waiting on my porch two days later -- they didn't even ask me to mail in the broken one.
I think given that they probably had prior knowledge by their QA department of this problem before the launch of the Switch, that they should also replace the out of warranty ones. Also they should recall all existing stock that was shipped to stores as soon as they have a revision that uses a different stick mechanism.
I've owned Nintendo hardware since 1990 when my first console as a child was the NES. My NES controller still works, my N64 controller still works, SNES, DS, 3DS, and so on. I also have a DualShock 2 that sustained abuse over the years that still works as the day I bought it. The Joy-Con is the first controller made by anybody that I've experienced drift with - including a brand new set of neon yellow Joy-Cons that drifted out of the box even with the non-solution software 'solutions' such as the calibration menu.
Also, given reports of malfunctioning d-pads on the Pro controller and failure of the SL SR and shoulder buttons in the Joy-Cons this firm should investigate those as well. While probably not as widespread as the drift issue, they still warrant investigation.. Though I have yet to experience those issues myself I've seen plenty of posts from people who did.
Remember, all consumers benefit when tort against faulty electronics makers succeeds. It deters companies from excessively cheaping out forcing them to use a higher minimum standard of quality. Suits such as these are watched by Nintendo's competitors as well. If Nintendo is found liable for damages, other companies that design peripherals with analog sticks will be less likely to overly cheap out. Remember, the Joy-Cons are not cheap -- they are controllers of bottom shelf quality being sold at mid-to-high shelf quality prices. When you buy some $10 third party controller off eBay you have a reasonable expectation that it is not high quality and thus it's expected to not last, but when you charge top shelf prices you had better have top shelf quality to go along with it.