US Legal Firm Bolsters the Case Against Sony Over PS5 Controller Drift Issue

Once upon a time, to be a drifter meant something very different. If you were a drifter, you moved, without purpose or provocation, from place to place, often ending up in positions you really shouldn’t be in and causing irritation to those around you. Not like today. With the advent of exciting new video game technologies, the term’s meaning has changed completely, as have so many others (The Flintstones theme has never been quite the same) and it now refers to a particular fault that controllers can develop. What is this fault, you ask? Well, it’s simple: if your control stick drifts, it moves, without purpose or provocation, from place to place, often ending up in positions it really shouldn’t be in and causing irritation to those around – okay, actually, maybe it’s not so different after all.

Yes, controller drift, that old chestnut, is the topic of the day once again. All joking aside, it’s a pretty irritating problem; whether it be due to hardware or software faults, if your console’s control stick starts registering ghost inputs you’re certain you didn’t, erm, input – and you’re reasonably sure it wasn’t the work of a resident poltergeist who thought it would be funny to chuck Mario off a cliff – then you’ve got yourself a drifter.

I myself have run into the issue more than once playing on the Switch, the system on which drift was first documented this generation. Xenoblade Chronicles’ Shulk took it upon himself to walk off mesas with alarming regularity, to the point where the game’s inclusion of an autorun button seemed like something of a practical joke; a few Splatoon 2 matches of mine have been utterly thrown to the dogs as my Inkling decided the sky looked like a more choice target than the opponent in front of him; and one accursed segment of Luigi’s Mansion 3, which required the petrified plumber to stand stone-still as a feline phantasm snuck up behind him, ended up dragging on so long I ran the risk of joining those being sucked up by the Poltergust. All of these oddities were the diabolical work of Joy-Con drift (not especially joyful, I’m sure you’ll agree) and to this day, short of shelling out for a Pro Controller, which may have been the grand plan all along, I’ve never been able to permanently stave off the issue. My partner – bless her soul – accidentally treading on the Joy-Cons one time appeared to briefly keep it at bay, but it returned soon after, and anyway this is, funnily enough, not a solution I’d recommend long term.

The problem isn’t exclusive to Nintendo, however, with similar situations arising on the Xbox Series X (to no constructive response) and, as we can today report, the PlayStation 5. It’s nice that, for all our differences, endless console wars and abject vitriol we hurl at fans of systems other than our own, we can all come together and be united under the common banner of being royally shafted by clunky hardware. Baby steps.

ScreenRant has published a story chronicling the ongoing legal dispute surrounding Sony’s continued supplying of faulty PS5 controllers. Consumers, understandably unhappy with being sold game playing devices that cause games to become unplayable, have filed suit in multiple forms against the entertainment behemoth. They’ve done so by contacting legal firm Chimicles Schwartz Kriner & Donaldson-Smith LLP, which is based in America and is representing the voices of the Sony install base in the dispute. The exact issue being contested is very basic: the DualSense controller, which has been much-lauded as an integral part of the immersive PS5 experience with its tactile feedback and 3D rumble (cheers, Nintendo), routinely develops a fault whereby one or both of the sticks register as being tilted in a direction they’re not. Sound familiar?

The problem was first brought to the firm’s attention earlier this year, but it initially gained little traction and was all but ignored by Sony itself. That is until Schwartz and Donaldson-Smith performed a survey among PlayStation players, and discovered that the drifting was far more prevalent among PS5 owners than any of the entities involved had assumed. It was at this stage they decided to press the issue, alleging that Sony had known of the potential fault since last November and did nothing to warn or advise buyers, nor anything to help those that had reported the PS5 glitch. Given how hard it is to get hold of the damn console, it’s easy to see why this might only be coming to light recently.

Things are really hotting up now, then, as it appears that today, six of the plaintiffs the firm is representing have decided to opt out of the arbitration phase. In non-legal jargon, this basically means a number of people taking action against Sony intend to bypass the initial steps and head straight to taking the company on in court over the drifting issue. Clearly, they must think they have a solid case, and not just the kind only Phoenix Wright could win. To reflect this, the digital copy of the law firm’s initial lawsuit has been amended, and it’s now over eighteen pages longer than it was originally, placing Sony squarely in sticky wicket territory.

As more and more stories come forward about faults with the PS5 controller, largely over social media, Schwartz and Donaldson-Smith will continue to update the lawsuit document, and the case will in turn keep strengthening. At present, Sony seem to be in radio silence on the matter, but if the plaintiffs win against them in court (should it come to that stage) it will be a landmark moment for the industry, and one which would force all three of the major gaming hardware giants to stop ignoring the problem and seriously re-evaluate their manufacturing.

Stay tuned to all our channels for updates as this potentially exciting saga develops.

Have you had any issues with the PS5 controller, if you’ve even been able to buy one? Have you suffered from stick drift in the past with another console? Should Sony be taken to task on this? Let us know your thoughts below!