Let’s be honest: that nagging Joy-Con drift on the Switch has finally caught up with Nintendo. The company has been hit with a hefty €35 million (approximately 61.3 billion KRW) fine for the persistent hardware blunder.

The French Directorate General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control (DGCCRF) dropped the hammer on the 8th. Their verdict? Nintendo was well aware of the internal defects plaguing the controllers but failed to alert the public in a timely manner.

According to the DGCCRF, Nintendo sat on the knowledge of the drift issue for years, only offering a formal apology in 2020—a full three years after the console hit shelves. Nintendo of Europe has since issued a statement claiming there was no malicious intent to deceive its users, yet they have opted to cough up the fine to settle the legal proceedings amicably.

This whole mess traces back to the 2017 launch of the Switch, where users frequently reported 'Joy-Con drift,' where the stick registers movement even when you aren't touching it. The French consumer group UFC-Que Choisir dragged Nintendo to court, arguing the company knew about the internal flaws and did nothing. It isn't just a French affair, either; a survey of 919 people by a UK consumer watchdog found that a staggering 57% were affected by the drift.