Summary
Nintendo has announced a new Joy-Con charging stand for theSwitch. The newly unveiledSwitchaccessory will hit the store shelves ahead of the 2024 holiday season.
TheSwitch has received a wide variety of accessoriesover the years. But with the hybrid console currently being in the twilight of its life cycle, not many new products of that sort are still being announced nowadays.
Switch Finally Getting First-Party Two-Way Joy-Con Charging Stand
Be that as it may, Nintendo has just unveiled one such offering in the form of yet another controller charger. Officially called the Joy-Con Charging Stand (Two-Way), the device is the first-ever first-party power dock designed to accept a singlepair of Switch Joy-Cons. The gadget is scheduled for release on October 17, although its full list of target markets has yet to be confirmed. Nintendo has historically treated such first-party accessories to global releases, offering them in the vast majority of markets in which the Switch itself is officially available for purchase. However, the Joy-Con Charging Stand (Two-Way) has so far only been announced by Nintendo’s Japanese and UK branches, with the latter confirming that the gadget will also reach continental Europe.
Nintendo UK’s announcement did not attach a concrete price tag to the newly revealed gadget. Meanwhile, the charging stand is already available for pre-order in Japan, where it’s priced at 3,300 yen, or approximately $20.99. This puts it in a similar price range as the standard Joy-Con Grip, which regularly retails for $19.99. The dock will hence serve as a more affordable alternative to the $29.99Switch Joy-Con Charging Grip.
The gadget’s October release will arrive seven and a half years after Nintendo introduced its inaugural Switch Charging Dock in April 2017. That $29.99 device was designed to accept four Joy-Cons in total, but has been listed as sold out on Nintendo’s U.S. website since at least late 2023, according to a cached version of the company’s online storefront reviewed by Game Rant. The social media reactions to the newly unveiled controller power base suggest that its announcement came as a surprise to some Switch owners, who weren’t expecting Nintendo to invest in new manufacturing lines for an accessory that has long had third-party alternatives. Some fans labeled the announcement as particularly surprising in light of the fact that the Switch itself is pushing eight nowadays, thus being at the tail end of its life cycle.
New Switch Charging Stand Might Be Compatible With Switch 2 Controllers
One potential explanation for this move is that Nintendo plans to ensure the accessory’s long-term appeal by also making it compatible with its next console, which is expected to debut in early 2025. This sounds like something that’s well within the realm of possibility, as the company itself recently suggested that theSwitch 2 will retain the overall form factor of its predecessor, meaning it will likely feature detachable battery-powered controllers.
Nintendo Switch OLED
Nintendo’s newest system features a vibrant 7-inch OLED screen, a wide adjustable stand, a dock with a wired LAN port, 64 GB of internal storage, and enhanced audio. Improvements to visuals, audio, and connectivity make a strong impact on highly detailed gameplay and setup is extremely easy.
