Nintendo Forced to Alter Switch 2 Design in Europe

To comply with European Union regulations promoting sustainability and the right to repair, Nintendo is preparing to launch a revised version of the Nintendo Switch 2 in Europe with a replaceable battery. According to Nikkei, the updated console includes an easily removable battery to meet the EU's 2023 mandate requiring all portable consoles sold within its territory to offer user-replaceable batteries until 2027. As Nintendo's current-generation console, the Switch 2's hardware must be adapted to ensure continued sales in Europe. Nikkei also reports that Nintendo may extend this model and similar repair policies to the United States and Japan, contingent on increased consumer demand for right-to-repair options in those regions. The EU directive raises questions about the future availability of the original Nintendo Switch in Europe, given its lack of a user-replaceable battery. Without a hardware revision, the original Switch may become non-compliant with EU regulations in 2027, potentially affecting its market presence.

Updated Nintendo Switch 2 Controllers Enable Independent Battery Swapping and Charging, but Pro Controller Draws Repairability Concerns in Europe

The upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 will feature updated Joy-Con 2 controllers, which allow independent battery swapping and charging. However, iFixit, a repair advocacy group, has characterized the new Switch 2 Pro Controller as a "lousy replacement" for the standard controller, based on repairability assessments. In 2022, Apple transitioned to USB-C connectors on European iPhone models in response to similar EU regulations. Nintendo Switch 2 users recently received a software update introducing a Handheld Mode Boost feature. This update allows original Switch games to run with TV resolution and performance while in handheld mode, at the expense of increased battery consumption.

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