Nintendo Switch owners are going to be thrilled... or not. Nintendo has just unveiled an accessory, which will go on sale later this year. In theory, it's a product that gamers have been waiting for years. In practice, it will probably be useless. 8 years after the release of its console, the company is going to market its first official controller charger.
The device comes in the form of a base that can hold two Joy-Cons, which must be slid along the rails provided for this purpose. These will then charge the controllers while providing them with a dedicated storage space. Everything is connected by a USB-C cable to a charger block, or even to the USB port of the console's charging base. According to Nintendo's images, we can see that retro Joy-Cons inspired by the NES will also be supported.
Back in 2017
The only problem is that this accessory arrives 7 years too late. As useful as it may be, it seems obvious that gamers were not going to wait for the official manufacturer to wake up to find a storage and charging solution for their controllers. Today, there are a bunch of third-party accessories that fulfill this function wonderfully, with more benefits for gamers.
Indeed, Nintendo's version can only hold 2 Joy-Cons, while most products already on the market can hold 4 simultaneously. This means that it can only be used if you have more than two Joy-Cons because, as we recall, they charge automatically when connected to the console and that it is itself connected to its charger (via the base or not).
Nintendo does not make up for it in terms of design, which is an extremely sober and versatile black/gray. The ergonomics regarding the location of the cable do not seem ideal either and only the possibility of detaching the charger from the base seems to be to the company's advantage.
Wait 8 years, but at what price?
For the moment, Nintendo has not announced the price of this accessory. With competing products at formidable efficiency at less than 20 euros for 4 slots, the manufacturer has every interest in selling its product below this symbolic bar. The Joy-Con charger will go on sale from October 17, the date on which players will be able to get their hands on the next Super Mario Party Jamboree.
The only good news to come out of this announcement is the possible compatibility of the Joy-Cons with the next Nintendo console. Marketing an accessory for controllers only 6 months before the reveal of the next generation could mean that the latter plans a smooth transition in terms of hardware compatibility. Or maybe Nintendo is trying to squeeze every penny it can out of its most loyal players, even at the risk of premature obsolescence, to break some kind of profitability record for a console nearing the end of its life. Only time will tell.
0 Comments