“Defective” PS5 DualSense Lawsuit Filed

The only thing slower than time during quarantine seems to be continental drift, but seemingly the only thing worse than that is controller drift. Shut up, that’s a great joke; It is also the only thing I can think to open with. We’ve discussed on several occasions, the controller drift of the Nintendo Switch Joy-cons. That case is currently under legal scrutiny with a class-action lawsuit in the courts right now. Well, the same firm behind that case (Thanks Eurogamer) is taking Sony to task with the PS5 controller, as the DualSense possibly features a little bit of drifting too.

In the copy of the lawsuit that Eurogamer and others like GamesIndustry.biz received, the claim by Chimicles Schwartz Kriner & Donaldson-Smith is that the DualSense is “Defective.” Something that comes following a post on R/PS5 from two months ago, noting that uptick in continental drifting with a piece of Destiny 2 gameplay. All last week, places such as Kotaku, Eurogamer, and GamesIndustry.biz noted this drifting issue and the hassle with repairs or replacements. Something inherently makes me think of the current PS5 shortages that may be one of those reasons.

The firm filed this recent lawsuit in New York’s southern district of the United States District Court on behalf of the plaintiff, Lmarc Turner, of Virginia. The suit also notes, “similarly situated consumers.” Of course, the case is against Sony Corporation of America and the sister subsidiary of Sony Corporation, Sony Interactive Entertainment. Those privy to the copy of the lawsuit noted that it was filled on the 12th of February.

According to the lawsuit the options for repairs and replacement of the DualSense controller are, “Slim.” The lawsuit also goes as far as to state (according to Eurogamer), “[T]he 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[s] or manual operation of the joystick.” As well as the quoted line that the claimed defect “significantly […] compromises the DualSense controller’s core functionality.”

The suit also claims Sony is actively being deceptive, in a quote this time from GamesIndustry.biz, noting: “As a result of Sony’s unfair, deceptive, and/or fraudulent business practices, owners of DualSense Controllers, including Plaintiff, have suffered an ascertainable loss, injury in fact, and otherwise have been harmed by Sony’s conduct.” Now, I am no lawyer (I have a soul, I think), but having a controller slowly drifting to the left a little when I am not touching it wouldn’t be harmful. Maybe I am being too realistic, though Sony could simply do as most reasonable platforms do and allow for in-built systems that allow you to tweak a controller.

Options such as Microsoft’s Elite controller tweaks in their Xbox Accessories app, allowing for different profiles with special configurations. Sony is just the latest in the series of suits for this same issue, with reports last April alleging Microsoft/Xbox knew of issues with their controllers. This comes alongside several cases with Nintendo across waters between Europe, the US, and Canada. Meanwhile, Eurogamer notes in their reporting on this case that there are known PS4 issues as their analog stick components are “virtually the same.” The suit (of course) is noting that the plaintiff, Turner, is seeking “monetary relief for damages suffered, declaratory relief, and public injunctive relief.” We’ll just have to wait on this one to see where it all goes.