Nintendo has announced an all-new official charging solution for the Switch’s Joy-Con controllers, just seven years after the console launched.
This new 2-way charging station isn’t much different from other third-party products, aside from being an official Nintendo product, and allows those of us with multiple Joy-Con sets on hand to easily charge a second pair without a second console/dock. It looks and works pretty much exactly like the Charging Grip that Nintendo already sells, albeit without the grip functionality and in a form factor more suited to a shelf or cabinet.
Conveniently, it can also be used to charge official NES wireless controllers, which is great for anyone who uses them to play classics via Nintendo Switch Online or has just picked up Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition (you can read my review of that here).
We discovered the existence of this device through a report by Vooksbut it has now been officially confirmed for a worldwide release on October 17. It will cost $39 in Australia and is available for Pre-order now at JB Hi-Fi (other retailers will follow).
It’s a move that some speculators believe could be an indication that Nintendo is moving forward with a charging solution so people can use their existing Joy-Con controllers with the “Switch 2,” which is supposed to ditch the current console’s Joy-Con rails.
And for my money, a lot of what Nintendo has done this year, even in terms of their game production and performance decisions, feels like there was a time when the Switch and its successor coexisted in 2024. But also, this is Nintendo, and I don’t think I’ve once anticipated or confidently understood any of his decisions.
Regardless, the Switch isn’t set to become Nintendo’s longest-running games console of all time, so it’s great to see it’s still getting support from all angles.