According to reporting from major Japanese outlet, Nikkei, Nintendo is moving to launch a revised model of its hugely-successful Switch 2 console in Europe. This new model would align the company’s ‘right to repair’ policy with legislation in the European Union (EU), in particular the European Battery Regulation, which requires by 2027 that portable batteries in consumer products must be user-replaceable.
Thus, this revised Switch 2 model will make it possible for consumers to safely remove and replace the internal lithium-ion battery, making it easier and more affordable to update a console that’s suffering battery degradation or damage without resorting to costly repairs or simply replacing the entire unit.
Nikkei says that this plan will so far go into effect only in the EU to satisfy these requirements, but that Nintendo may also implement it similarly in the Japan and US should consumer awareness of the right to repair increase.
And really, it can only be a net positive for everyone if this is rolled out more widely, rather than Nintendo producing a fundamentally different unit for one region and not the others (existing regional differences aside). Plus, cheaper repairs and longer life hardware for everyone means less e-waste and a healthier resale environment to get Switch 2 consoles in use in more hands!
We’ve already seen this in action in other gaming devices, such as Sony’s PlayStation 5 DualSense wireless controllers, which also have user-serviceable batteries in applicable regions.
There are some questions remaining, such as what happens to the millions of Switch 2 units already out there in Europe and how these changes might interact with existing warranty application, but so far Nintendo has not made any comment to reporting outlets.
The Switch 2 also just had a bit of an update on the software side of things, with a new system firmware allowing Switch 1 games to be played with their TV Mode specs even when played in Handheld Mode on the new console, offering an increase in fidelity and performance in a huge number of titles. Read more about that here.
What do you think about these changes? What other products in your daily life would benefit from this? Let us know in the comments or on our social pages!