Seven years after the release of the Switch, Nintendo is introducing a new way to charge the Joy-Con controllers.
Previously, the easiest way to charge Joy-Con controllers was to plug them into the Switch console. But seven years after the Switch was introduced, Nintendo is finally offering a replacement for the Joy-Con charging stand.
This stand can hold two standard Joy-Con controllers or two NES version controllers that come with the Nintendo World Championship.
It is scheduled to be available on October 17, 2024, seven years after the Switch’s launch. The timing of the dock’s appearance is interesting because there are already plenty of charging docks from third-party manufacturers.
However, some fans believe the timing is intentional and part of a plan to lay the groundwork for the Switch 2.
Previous reports suggested that the Switch 2 would use a magnetic system to mount the next-gen Joy-Cons instead of the current physical rails. However, the Switch 2 should also be backwards compatible with the current Joy-Cons.
If these reports are correct, users who buy the Switch 2 will need a different charging method and keep their old Joy-Cons. Perhaps this is the real purpose of introducing the Joy-Con charging stand.
Social media users like VGC’s Chris Scullion have this compelling theory, and can “explain why they suddenly decided it was worth releasing the Switch seven years after it ended.”
The Switch 2 announcement is already highly anticipated, and this announcement can only add to the excitement and speculation.