Nintendo is about to Official Joy-Con Charging StandThe accessory was initially announced for the Japanese audience. However, Nintendo UK’s Twitter account has since confirmed that it will be launching in the region, suggesting it will also be released worldwide.
Spotted by Nintendo lifethe charging stand is now available for pre-order on the Official Japanese My Nintendo Storeand it’s listed for 3,300 yen – or roughly $21 / £16. It’s scheduled to launch in Japan and the UK on October 17. Nintendo of America has yet to confirm whether the product will be released in the US. Likewise, pre-order pages have not yet appeared in regions other than Japan.
The purpose of the charging stand is to be able to charge your Joy-Con controllers without having to keep them attached to your Nintendo Switch handheld. Now, any USB-C port will do. Additionally, the central charging unit can also be detached from the stand; potentially useful if you want to keep playing while your controllers are charging.
“You can easily charge the Joy-Con at any time without having to attach it to the Nintendo Switch console,” the translated description on the store page reads. “This is recommended for people who have multiple Joy-Con, for example if you want to charge the number of Joy-Con so that everyone can play games such as the Mario party series of Nintendo Switch Sport together, or when you want to charge Joy-Cons that you are not using while playing in portable mode. It can also charge the Family Computer Controller for Nintendo Switch.”
It seems a little baffling that Nintendo would wait over seven years to release an official charging standard. Especially when you consider that third-party charging standards like PowerA exist and that they came out just before the console launched in 2017.
But this could lend credence to rumors surrounding the upcoming (and tentatively named) Nintendo Switch 2. Specifically, the rumor that it will feature redesigned Joy-Con controllers that magnetically attach to the console, rather than the rail system we have on the current Switch. As such, this charging stand could ensure that older Joy-Con controllers will remain usable with the Switch’s successor if they can’t attach to the console itself.
Time will tell, of course. But it is certainly very interesting why Nintendo would choose to release such an accessory now.