Microsoft appears to be looking to speed things up regarding the Xbox drift affair affecting the brand’s controllers. The Seattle giant wants to get out of the courtroom and plans to go through the arbitration solution to settle the dispute.
Above all, it is necessary to reposition the context. In April 2020, Microsoft is the subject of a class action lawsuit filed by several Xbox users over concerns from drift – see incorrectly recorded joystick movements due to wear and tear – observed on several models. The action claims that these problems are due to a flaw in the design of the controls. In addition, the company would have been aware of this and would have been careful not to warn consumers. A new complaint was filed last October, adding the Elite Series 1 and 2 models, plus seven other plaintiffs, who filed for legal action against the jury.
We are now at the beginning of the year with Microsoft’s petition for arbitration in the Washington Court of Justice. To resolve a dispute, the parties have the option of going to a private court, composed of independent and specialized arbitrators, to deliver a judgment. This accounting method offers several advantages such as speed, quality and confidentiality of the award.
In defense of his position, the arbitration is in line with the service agreement plaintiffs entered into when they purchased their Xbox controllers. The company states that simply using the controllers and Xbox Live obliges any applicant to abide by Microsoft’s service agreement that they must initiate arbitration.
Plaintiffs have repeatedly agreed not to take such legal action. Instead, they accepted the Microsoft Services Agreement and the Warranty Agreements, in which they promised to resolve disputes on an individual basis through a user-friendly process before the American Arbitration Association. The Federal Arbitration Act prescribes the application of these agreements.
Microsoft, of course, has set itself the goal of following Nintendo’s path last March. The Japanese company won its case by referring to arbitration against the Joy-con Drift. Will it be the same for the American giant? We should find out soon enough.
