A US law firm has filed a class action lawsuit against Sony over alleged ‘drift’ in the PlayStation 5’s DualSense controller, Eurogamer.
Chimicles Schwartz Kriner & Donaldson-Smith (CSK & D), a firm already engaged in ongoing class action on ‘drift’ in the Joy-Con controller for the Nintendo Switch, asked affected customers to contact to make via an online form.
Shortly thereafter, the DualSense case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on behalf of a plaintiff named Lmarc Turner, of Virginia, and other customers in the United States against Sony Corporation of America and Sony Interactive Entertainment.
According to the website, the complaint alleges that the DualSense controllers’ have a defect that causes characters or game to move on the screen without the user’s joystick or manual operation … this defect significantly impedes the game and therefore jeopardizes the core functionality of the DualSense controller. ”
‘Drift’ is essentially the controller that sends directional input, but without moving the thumb sticks or the d-pad. The complaint cites several online reports of DualSense drift on Reddit and social media, with the plaintiff saying he had DualSense drift on the same day they bought their PS5, which led to them being released a few days later had to buy a $ 69.99 DualSense controller.
In the complaint, Sony is accused of being aware of this alleged DualSense drift via online consumer complaints, because they equipped the DualSense with ‘virtually the same analog components’ as the PlayStation 4’s DualShock 4, which apparently also suffered from drift . It also reportedly indicates that the repair options are ‘slim’ and that customers have to pay for sending the controller to a Sony repair center, even for repairs under warranty.
The complaint requires a jury trial, with the plaintiff seeking monetary relief “for damages suffered, declaratory relief and public order”. Sony did not comment.
The issue of driver eviction has become increasingly important in recent times. Rival Microsoft is reportedly working on an ongoing class action on ‘stick drift’ on Xbox One controllers – one that also specifies their recent Elite Series 2 controller.
The European Commission is reportedly considering potential action against Nintendo over Joy-Con drift after more than 25,000 complaints from numerous countries.
Source: EuroGamer