Switch 2 Hardware Revision With Replaceable Battery Coming Later This Year In Europe

The pro controllers being 16% smaller is the real change here, thats pretty brutal

@HatesCheese The controller already lasts a lot 173mAh of difference won't do a thing.

That‘s how to announce such a massive change. Others would keep silent until the last possible day. Chapeau, Nintendo!

Seems like battery life will be 1-2 mins shorter, so that's probaby a good trade-off. I'm mostly sad for the SNES controller, I might need to get an extra one before then just in case!

Replaceable batteries are broadly a good thing, but otherwise there's not a lot worth getting excited about here

Nice! Hopefully this becomes the norm. Kinda tired of devices that turn into bricks when their batteries fail unless you wanna do some risky surgery.

Sad that there are a lot of products delisted. I have 2 snes, 2 nes and 1 mega drive pad (+1 Japanese mega drive pad), so I should be save can’t imagine a 3rd (or 4th) of those controller is needed

For me the switch 2 is already heavy enough for comfortably playing in handheld, if its heavier thats a big no from me.

Hopefully Nintendo will put out more SNES switch pads before then. As I don't want to pay the price that they are going for on ebay now.

A good change, sure, but someone will complain about the console being heavier now; mark my words.

EDIT: reloaded the page and lo and behold it's already happened haha — just know that this wasn't meant to be a specific callout, just a general statement. I wasn't targeting anyone!

I wonder how much they will end up charging for the replacement batteries because this is not going to be standard AAA batteries and will likely be very specific batteries that can only be obtained from specific retailers.

14g heavier may not sound much on paper and it probably could've been worse but that's quite a bit heavier. Good to have the option for a replaceable battery model though

@caleboi25 me! 😅

I need to get atleast one each of those NES, SNES, and Sega Megadrive controllers.

Seems like I need to get replacement Switch 2 Pro controllers before this happens then. I'd rather have the better battery life than replacement batteries.

Most notable point is the OG Switch line no longer being sold on the Nintendo Store!

The beginning of the end???

You missed the most important bit.

Bye Bye Switch 1 in Europe.

"Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch Lite, and Nintendo Switch – OLED Model will all continue to be manufactured in 2026, and should be widely available in Europe all year.

From mid-February 2027, almost ten years after Nintendo Switch launched in March 2017, Nintendo will no longer sell to retailers hardware in the Nintendo Switch family of systems – specifically Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch Lite and Nintendo Switch – OLED Model. Sales of Nintendo Switch hardware on Nintendo Store will also end in mid-February 2027.

Regarding availability at retail, please check with your local retailers in the future for more information."

So the system with joycons attached is going to weigh 2.5% more and have 1% less battery capacity, the pro 2 controller is going to lose almost 20% of the battery life.

The upside... you can take the battery out of it now? I guess if you were going on a long trip you could buy a spare battery and bring it with you but you could already do that with the use of a usb battery bank without needing the system to be heavier.

My general feeling towards this is that it's a net negative for all parties. There is effectively zero upside to this on a day to day use case of the system, I've owned 3 Switch 1 systems and my Switch 2 and none of them ran into battery issues, would not have wanted those systems to be heavier and have less battery capacity for the last decade for zero gain.

Curious if the replaceable-battery hardware/controllers will be released outside of Europe? It makes sense to do so in order to simplify supply lines so that they aren't producing two types of each product (with vs without a replaceable battery), but thus far nothing has been announced outside of Europe.

Nice with this heads up.
Guess I will wait to buy my second pro controller till this new one is out.
Rather have a smaller battery that is replaceable, than a bigger and dead battery down the line.

The SNES controller being discontinued is the biggest hit for me. I've kind of wanted one for a long time but never got around to it. Now I'm on a time limit while it's often out of stock already and I'm low on cash. I might just have to give up on it forever.

16% hit to the Pro controller battery - booooo

A 5% gain to the Gamcube battery - yay

@Stormcloudlive eh, I've owned one of each and am constantly running into battery issues, did it 2 weeks ago in rather embarassing fashion.

Hopefully, this becomes a thing in the US. I'll gladly take slightly smaller battery capacity with replacement batteries, any day.

I already have 4 SNES controllers, so the rest of the devices being removed from the Nintendo Store doesn't bother me, if that also applies to the US, of course.

@StorminNorman it could be down to different climates having a bigger impact on the system or their batteries, I'm from Ireland and our weather is incredibly moderate, basically can wear the same clothes year round here just at times with an umbrella. Or could just be down to either good luck on my part and bad luck on yours. I'm just curious what the actual % of people who've owned a Switch have had a desire to swap the battery in the system.

@Stormcloudlive
For me the main point is that I eventually want to store the system.
Then I'd preferably do that with the battery out, no fun with built in batteries that swell and stuff.

@RupeeClock isn’t the only place you can really get them now Japan anyways? Couldn’t find any months ago except those being shipped out of Japan.

Tough choice for me. I need a second Switch2. Buy before price increase or after for replaceable battery

Where is the version without Dock, JoyCons, Display and Battery? That is the version I may be interested in.

Hopefully the consumer friendly battery changes roll out to other regions. You'd think sticking with one SKU would be easier on manufacturing than multiple. I'd happily wait out the impending Switch 2 price increase if this will be the case.

Hopefully we will eventually get this in N America. If not I’ll have to import one before the generation ends. I already had to replace my Switch 1 battery and I understand the Switch 2 battery is on another level. Don’t want to end up with a dead, unrepairable Switch 2 after Nintendo ends support one day.

I'm already sweating because I want it so badly. I want to play Onimusha: Way of the Sword, Cyberpunk 2077, Resident Evil: Requiem and few others. Come on, Nintendo... hurry up!

Just after the price goes up, of course

Keep me posted on that new Pro controller. I like the idea of a battery pack.

Excellent, If the new model hits the stores before Christmas, then I know what will be my present this year.

@betterman best of luck - i got mine last week after 6 months of daily checking and my friend wanted one (they work, and this is uk im in), next day; sold out 🤣

American collector here who still has every Nintendo system he’s ever bought going back to the 80s, I will definitely save up and order one of these, it is the best chance to have a switch 2 that still works in a few decades

Dang those SNES controllers always seem to be out of stock in the UK and now the prices will go up on eBay, I bet. Been after one for ages and keep missing them. Do we reckon there's any chance of one last restock before Feb 2027?

EU doing us American customers so much good over the years.

I don't think replaceable batteries are that big of a deal. But I understand not every consumer is willing to put in the moderate effort to split a case to replace the battery.

Im kinda glad Im in the US for this one. Im all for replaceable batteries, but why not just allow them to be replaced like a ssd? Remove a couple screws and take out the pack.

Having battery packs makes things heavier and more unsightly.

Good news. Unfortunately won't affect me being in Australia, but good for the Europeans.

@NerdyPaul
"I wonder how much they will end up charging for the replacement batteries because this is not going to be standard AAA batteries and will likely be very specific batteries that can only be obtained from specific retailers."

I would guess the same they charge for fixed-installed ones, without the need to send your console in for repairs and without the charge they take for a replacement.

I recognize the need for pro-consumer regulations like these. However, Nintendo was already extremely pro-consumer in its battery quality. I have never had a rechargeable Nintendo battery die in 20+ years of owning them, going back to my Game Boy Advance SP which is still kicking.

They could have designed this generation with removable batteries from the start of course. But more importantly, they don’t put cheap, planned obsolete batteries in their products to begin with, like most companies that are targeted by this regulation. Now we have these compromises and discontinuations, all over batteries that won’t need to be replaced in most people’s device lifespans. The sticks, fans and screens could all give out before the batteries do.

I think there could have been a carve out in the law for batteries that test above a certain lifespan, as Nintendo thoroughly tests theirs to do.

Just a friendly reminder for those unaware that 14g, which is the total additional weight of the system with controllers attached, is half an ounce. It's not nothing, but it's also not much.

I think this is good overall. I am definitely in favor of replaceable batteries. One of the main benefits is it adds longevity to the device. Yes, that depends on battery availability, but a system designed for battery replacements will likely lead to fewer people discarding their systems.

I don't have a Pro Cintroller 2 yet, how much is 16% in actual time?

@Manah I would say there's still time to get an "old" one and a new one, so you can compare it yourself. But honestly, I think it won't be much. My current Resi-themed Pro Controller 2 lasts 40 hours easily. If it were a PS5 controller, 16% would probably mean a lot more than for these controllers. Nintendo's designs are vastly superior, especially battery consumption wise.

@westman98 Most likely, but not immediately. It’ll probably be exclusive to Europe for the first couple months and then they’ll slowly roll it out in other regions and phase out the current model in the process.

Battery life is already short enough as it is, and I'm concerned these forced regulations are just making it worse. If manufacturers know consumers can simply replace the battery, what incentive is there to invest in making batteries last longer in the first place? They will much rather sell you a new battery.

I support reducing waste and improving repairability, but I can already see this having unintended consequences for consumers.

@NerdyPaul - You can buy replacement lithium ion batteries off Amazon for a wide assortment of protects, include ps vita, DS and 3DS. They’re super easy to replace assuming the device was designed to have them be replaceable.

This is how it should've always been, from the beginning, everywhere.

Big corporations need government oversight to force them to do the right thing. Nintendo is no different.

@swoose While I also haven't had very many issues with Nintendo batteries, they're still lithium and even well-tested batteries can start to bloat. In my household we had it happen to both a 3DS and a Switch 1 Pro Controller.

@axelhander That's a dangerous generalization. I approve of the result of this particular regulation, but it doesn't help justify any other potential regulation. Everything on its own merits. For instance, governments are not forcing corporations to do the right thing as they push OS-level age verification. Conversely, the corporations who are fighting it are indeed doing the right thing.

Returning to batteries, it would've been better if consumers had forced this change by voting with their wallets. But as that didn't happen, and as high-energy batteries sealed away from inspection is a real safety issue, I can support regulation.

@8bit-Man The other side of this new EU regulation is that it's making companies put higher recharge cycles batteries on the devices as well (it made the iPhone go from 500 cycles at 80% of battey health to 1.000 charge cycles at 80% battery health).