Nintendo have recommended users avoid using alcohol and non-alcohol based cleaners on the Nintendo Switch and Joy-Con controllers, to prevent damage.
The news comes via the The news comes from the Japanese Nintendo Customer Service Twitter account. A series of tweets discouraged users from cleaning the Nintendo Switch and Joy-Con controllers with alcohol-based cleaners.
Unfortunately, they also advised against non-alcohol based disinfectants- presumably due to other chemicals. Instead, they recommended only a dry, soft cloth.
“Recently, some customers have inquired about ‘I want to use alcohol to remove dirt from the Nintendo Switch and Joy-Con’.
We are very sorry, but please avoid using alcohol as plastic parts may fade or deform.
We do not recommend using non-alcohol disinfecting sheets, as they may damage plastic parts depending on the components contained.
※ To wipe off dirt, use a dry soft cloth.”
(Translation: Google Translate, modified where text was illogical)
This may be of some dissatisfaction to users, considering the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, and advice by the United State’s Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommending the frequently cleaning and disinfecting of frequently touched surfaces.
The coronavirus (also known as COVID-19 officially, or Chinese Flu to others) has affected many worldwide, from businesses to public gatherings and events. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]. This includes the postponement of GDC, and the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, along with the cancellation of E3 2020 (including digital events), and Comiket 98.
We also recently reported on Japanese ratings board CERO suspending operations during the state of emergency in Japan.
The Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering are mapping the virus’ spread [1, 2]. As of this time of writing, there have been over 1.650 million total confirmed cases worldwide, and over 1.182 million active cases. There have been over 100,000 deaths, however over 368,000 people have made a “total recovery.”
The fear of the Joy-Con being damaged by alcohol-based cleaners may have some merit, due other issues with fragility. In case you missed our prior reports, the Nintendo Switch’s Joy-Cons have issues with drifting–which is when the joystick remains untouched, yet input is still registered.
This resulted in a class action lawsuit by Chimicles, Schwartz Kriner, & Donaldson-Smith in July 2019. Reports suggest Nintendo even began repairing Joy-Cons for free mere days after the lawsuit became public knowledge.
The Nintendo Switch Lite was later added to the lawsuit, and the hardware failure causing the drift was exposed. Curiously, a Tencent representative (the distributor of the Nintendo Switch in China) told a customer that the drift was caused by playing an imported game.
In late December, 2019 we also reported how French consumer magazine 60 millions de consommateurs awarded Nintendo their “Golden Cactus” award (specifically the “Cactus of the Too Fragile Product”), which is given to products and services that cause the most frustration.
In late February, Belgian consumer organization Testankoop demanded Nintendo repair all Joy-Cons for free, and honor a two year warranty.
Image: Nintendo
