Well we weren’t sure if it was going to make it stateside or not, but the official Nintendo of America X (Twitter) account has now confirmed the new official first-party two-way Joy-Con Charging Stand will be releasing come October of this year. This announcement and release comes nearly 7.5 years after the launch of Nintendo Switch…is this better late than never or just a sign of the all but imminent Switch 2 inching even closer to release?
New Nintendo Joy-Con Charging Stand (two-way) launches in October
There are no surprises here from what we can tell. This, just like the name suggests, is simply a pretty bog standard charger that can juice up a pair of Joy-Con controllers at a time. It can, judging by the official imagery, also juice up a pair of the official wireless NES controllers Nintendo is selling at a discount right now.
Official details on the actual charger are thin at best at this point, but it does appear it can connect directly to the Switch to draw power over USB-C.
Also hinted at in the imagery above is the potential of using the charger unit as a wired controller of sorts – it looks as though you can pull of the middle piece that connects the Joy-Con to the charger and use it as a sort of Joy-Con grip, effectively charging both of the smaller attached Joy-Con while you’re playing with them.
There are already loads of third-party Joy-Con controllers out there, many of them with the official seal of approval from Nintendo and prices lower than the reported $30 price tag the new Joy-Con Charging Stand (two-way) will launch with on October 17. It is also incredibly late in the game for Nintendo to suddenly introduce a new charging stand it should have been selling for the better of a decade already now.
Is this in some way hinting at the Switch 2? Maybe.
Some rumors and reports suggest the upcoming Switch hardware will use a magnetic system to attach and charge Joy-Con on either end of the console. That would also mean that existing Switch controllers would require some sort of peripheral, be it third-party or now the new Two-Way system to juice back up. Obviously you can always use the Switch you have now as well, and your new Switch 2 will, presumably come with another set of Joy-Con anyway….or will it?
It’s all a little confused and odd if you ask me, and only time will tell at this point, but either way a new Switch controller charger is launching in August and you might need it or something like it to continue using the Joy-Con you have now on the next-generation Switch.
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