Third-party dock maker Nyko is facing a proposed class action lawsuit alleging the company’s portable docking kits are defective, bricking users’ Nintendo Switch gaming consoles.
Plaintiff Michael Skiathitis filed the class action lawsuit against Nyko in California federal court last week. Skiathitis claims that the Nyko portable docking kits “are prone to causing numerous problems to the devices that they are intended to support.” Additionally, the lawsuit contends that Nyko failed to properly inform users that the bug is with their docking kit and not the Nintendo Switch.
Nyko’s portable docking kit is a less expensive alternative to Nintendo’s official Switch dock, which costs around $130, so it makes sense many gamers would choose to buy Nyko’s product. In fact, many Nyko portable docking kit users were happy with the convenience and price of the dock. However, that all took a turn for the worse when Nyko released a software update mid-March that reportedly caused many Nintendo Switches to stop turning on or “brick”.
In Skiathitis’ case, he purchased his Nyko portable docking kit from a Jacksonville Walmart in 2017 and soon after experienced many of the same functionality issues as other users. Specifically, he received an error code that the console and docking kit could not connect.
According to Skiathitis, he sent his Switch in to Nintendo for a repair and was informed about the Nyko defect. Nyko told him that since his console was out of warranty, there is nothing they can do. He says that repairing the portable docking kit means losing all his saved data, since Nintendo’s consoles don’t allow users to back up their data, meaning that once a system is “lost” or “bricked”, all files are essentially gone.
Several affected gamers took to Reddit and Nintendo forums to complain about the same problem as Skiathitis. In fact, the Nyko Defective Nintendo Switch Portable Docking Kit class action lawsuit notes that “many owners of Nyko’s Portable Docking Kits for Nintendo Switch have communicated with Nyko’s employees and agents to request that Nyko remedy and/or address the Docking Kit Defect and/or resultant damage at no expense. Nyko has failed and/or refused to do so.”
Shortly after the software update in March, Nintendo began advising Switch users to not buy third-party docking kits. “Unlicensed products and accessories do not undergo Nintendo’s testing and evaluation process. They might not work at all with our game systems, and they could have compatibility problems with certain games, the Nintendo Switch system itself, and other licensed accessories and peripherals.”
Skiathitis is seeking to represent a nationwide class of consumers who purchased a Nyko portable docking kit for the Nintendo Switch, as well as a Florida subclass and California subclass.
Skiathitis is represented by Richard D. McCune and David C. Wright of McCune Wright Arevalo LLP; Joseph G. Sauder, Matthew D. Schelkopf, and Joseph B. Kenney of Sauder Schelkopf LLC.
The Nyko Defective Nintendo Switch Portable Docking Kit Class Action Lawsuit is Skiathitis v. Nyko Technologies Inc., Case No. 2:18-cv-03584, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.