Class action lawsuit filed against Sony over PlayStation 5 DualSense controller drift
PlayStation 5 DualSense. (Sony)
A US law firm has filed a class action lawsuit against Sony Interactive Entertainment for alleged drift in its Playstation 5 (PS5) DualSense controllers.
The law firm Chimicles Schwartz Kriner and Donaldson-Smith LLP (CSK&D) claims that Sony were aware of the issue without disclosing it and says their conduct is “fraudulent, deceptive, unlawful, and unfair”, as reported in VGC and IGN.
The law firm previously brought the first class action lawsuit against Nintendo for Joy-Con drift in their Switch controllers.
The lawsuit reads: “Specifically, the DualSense controllers that are used to operate the PS5 contain a defect that results in characters or gameplay moving on the screen without user command or manual operation of the joystick (‘Drifting’ or the ‘Drift Defect’).
“Sony is – and at all relevant times has been – aware of the Drift Defect through online consumer complaints, complaints made by consumers directly to it, and through its own pre-release testing.”
Further, the lawsuit claims there are few options available for consumers to fix the problem, either through long wait times to call PlayStation’s customer service or paying to ship their controller to Sony to be fixed.
“There is no indication, however, that Sony has developed an actual fix for the drift problem; rather, it appears to simply perform some sort of minor refurbishment and send the DualSense controller back to consumers still defective and susceptible to manifestation of the Drift Defect in the future,” reads the lawsuit.
“Nor is there any indication that Sony is extending the warranty, compensating consumers for various past expenses or damages, or notifying consumers about their secret repair program.”
The lawsuit comes directly from Virginia-based plaintiff Lmarc Turner personally and on behalf of consumers experiencing the same problem. It seeks a jury trial and “monetary relief for damages suffered, declaratory relief, and public injunctive relief”, as well as an order for Sony to recall defective products or offer free replacements.
Turner’s personal complaint is backed up by social media comments, with multiple users complaining about drift within days of purchase.
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