Nintendo has announced the upcoming launch of an official Joy-Con charging stand, but unfortunately, it will only be available in Japan initially. The charging stand is currently available for pre-order on the official Japanese My Nintendo Store for 3,300 yen, which is roughly $21 or £16. It is expected to be released on October 17 in the region.
The purpose of this charging stand is to provide a convenient way to charge your Joy-Con controllers without them being attached to the Nintendo Switch handheld. Any USB-C connection can be used for charging. Additionally, the central charging unit can be detached from the stand, allowing players to continue gaming while their controllers are being charged.
The translated store page description states, “You can easily charge the Joy-Con at any time without having to attach it to the Nintendo Switch console. This is recommended for those who have multiple Joy-Cons, such as when you want to charge the number of Joy-Cons for everyone to play games 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 is surprising that Nintendo has taken over seven years to release an official charging stand, especially when third-party options have been available since the Switch’s launch in 2017. However, this release could be hinting at future developments, such as the rumored Nintendo Switch 2 with revamped Joy-Con controllers that magnetically attach to the console.
It will be interesting to see how this charging stand fits into Nintendo’s future plans and what it means for upcoming console releases. Only time will tell, but for now, Nintendo fans in Japan can look forward to the convenience of the official Joy-Con charging stand.