New Switch accessory might confirm some leaked details about Switch 2
Nintendo puzzled the internet on Thursday by unveiling, out of the blue, a new official accessory for Switch — seven and a half years into the console’s life, and not long before the expected unveiling of its successor, “Switch 2.”
It’s a simple and utilitarian piece of kit, too. The Joy-Con Charging Stand (two-way), to give it its formal title, does just what it says: charges two Joy-Con controllers for the price of $29.99. Official images released by Nintendo on social media show the stand plugging directly into a Switch dock via USB cable to draw power. It also seems the central charging block can be detached from the stand, perhaps so it can serve as a wired controller while the Joy-Cons are charging. The charging stand will be released on Oct. 17.
Joy-Con Charging Stand (two-way), a device dedicated to charging Joy-Con controllers, as well as Nintendo Entertainment System controllers for <a href=«https://twitter.com/hashtag/NintendoSwitch?src=hash&ref_src=» https:>#NintendoSwitch
, is releasing 10/17! pic.twitter.com/YMErjxeIaI
The stand looks useful enough. The question is: Why is Nintendo choosing to put this peripheral into production now, when the Switch seemingly has so little road left to run? And why didn’t Nintendo make it before?
The answer to the second point is that Nintendo already markets officially licensed charging stands from third-party manufacturers Hori and PowerA, and likely saw no need to add to these with its own device. The only major difference is that these stands charge four Joy-Cons, not two.
That leaves the “why now” part, and some online speculation points to the stand being an essential bit of future-proofing for the next Nintendo console — and, if so, one that confirms some of its leaked features.
In April, it was reported that Switch 2’s new Joy-Cons would attach to the console magnetically, rather than using the sliding rail system on the current machine. The same reports asserted that existing Switch Joy-Cons would still be
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