Nintendo announces new product revisions in Europe with replaceable batteries

https://www.nintendo.com/en-gb/Support/Nintendo-Switch-2/Information-about-upcoming-battery-related-revisions-to-some-Nintendo-products-3132901.html

by akyuu • 16 days ago

367 219 16 days ago

nintendo.com

smashini• 16 days ago

Honestly, amazing stuff. For all the flak that the EU gets this is absolutely an essential regulation

xandrius• 16 days ago

They will still get all the flak, facts never mattered.

bryanlarsen• 16 days ago

And just like everything moving to USB-C, they won't get credit for the Switch 3 et al having replaceable batteries world-wide.

hbn• 16 days ago

I'm preparing to release my first app to the App Store and they're currently requiring me to dox myself if I want to sell in the EU. Which facts am I missing that makes this not very inconvenient for me?

patall• 16 days ago

One might argue that this is one of the reason why the EU is getting flak: because it sets up regulations that lower some companies profit.

Y-bar• 16 days ago

It’s equal parts funny and frustrating to see how deep into the ”a few hypothetical percent of profits for corporations matters more than customer rights and less e-waste” some are.

drstewart• 16 days ago

This. The top problems facing the world are gaming consoles' charging sources. Everything else is thankfully solved.

patrickmcnamara• 16 days ago

Nothing should be improved unless it solves world hunger.

bluescrn7• 16 days ago

It's not about games consoles. It's about reducing the mountains of e-waste.

We shouldn't be throwing away laptops, smartphones, or consoles - or soon, entire EVs, just because the battery has degraded.

wilg2• 16 days ago

It might be a good regulation but it is definitely not essential!

benoau2• 16 days ago

Amazes me they don't just sell it like that everywhere because it sounds a lot like a product improvement...

The revised products will be available on a rolling basis in territories where Nintendo of Europe conducts business, either directly or through a distributor, namely: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom.

thih92• 16 days ago

Quite a few of these aren't EU members, some aren't even in Europe; do we know why they were added? e.g.: Switzerland or United Kingdom; but also Oman or United Arab Emirates.

suddenlybananas• 16 days ago

It's everywhere Nintendo of Europe (the subsidiary in the EU) operates.

yokoprime• 16 days ago

Norway is in the ECC together with Iceland, but for some reason Iceland is not on the list where these SKUs will be available.

Ylpertnodi• 16 days ago

Storage, and distribution costs.

rtkwe7• 16 days ago

It's easier for Nintendo of Europe to switch over everyone than to stock and supply 2 versions of every product. Also I'd bet most of their sales come from the EU countries where the replaceable battery requirement is forcing this new SKU deployment anyways.

weberer• 16 days ago

For logistics reasons, a lot of companies operate a EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa) division. That probably applies to one of their suppliers.

Grombobulous3• 16 days ago

It’s infuriating that it’s not just the default, especially for a game console where the majority of profit is coming from software sales.

Every Switch that becomes unplayable where fixing it costs more than a $20 battery replacement is a console that is not buying games from the Nintendo eShop.

khurs• 16 days ago

Or a new switch being bought by the parent for the distressed child

brookst2• 16 days ago

Shorter battery life is just fine

mcphage3• 16 days ago

Amazes me they don't just sell it like that everywhere because it sounds a lot like a product improvement...

I'm not so sure. The first laptop I bought, a Titanium Powerbook, had replaceable batteries. And even better than that: you could hot-swap them while the laptop was running on battery power, and the laptop wouldn't even shut off. It felt leagues ahead of even modern replaceable battery functionality, and honestly? After owning that laptop for years, I felt like I just wasted my money with that additional battery.

Part of it, I'm sure, was that I didn't have an external charger to charge the battery not currently in the laptop. But on the whole, it just didn't feel like it was actually worthwhile, and when Apple stopped shipping replaceable batteries, I've never missed it.

(Hot swapping the batteries really was awesome, though)

toyg• 16 days ago

Compulsory Apple-defending post is compulsory.

Non-replaceable batteries are worse for consumers and worse for the environment. The fact that you "do not miss" a better world, does not mean it is not better.

NDlurker2• 16 days ago

Phones used to work like that too. I think all my feature phones and first Android phone worked if it was plugged in with the battery removed.

InsideOutSanta• 16 days ago

I had an Apple laptop that had two bays, one on the left and one on the right. Usually, you'd have the battery on the left and the CD drive on the right. But for lots of people, battery life was more important than a CD drive on a laptop, so you could double your battery life by putting in a battery on both sides.

Tech used to be fricken cool :-)

rickdeckard5• 16 days ago

According to their latest fiscal report [0], Europe sales-volume of Switch2 is ~24% of the total global sales volume.

The change surely eats into their margin per device, so they prefer to keep the higher margin for the rest of the world and recalculate their margin for europe.

However interesting: "The Americas" sells 34% of all Switch2 in the world [0]. I wouldn't expect the US to mandate the same changes, but if e.g. Canada or Brazil also demand replaceable batteries, it could push the needle to making it a default HW-feature of Switch2...

[0] https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2026/260203_2e.pdf

square_usual2• 16 days ago

The higher margin is mostly coming from assembly costs, right? I can't imagine it comes from the actual cost of the battery being so much higher. I hope that once they start pushing these out and retool factories for them they can sell them more broadly.

orloffm• 16 days ago

I would prefer the current versions without anything replaceable. I have the Switch bought on day 1 and a Pro Controller which is 9 years old. Yes, the Switch was mostly used docked, but the battery is last thing failing there, it rather has issues with the fan, the screen scratches etc. The controller works perfectly and I charge it once a month. The replaceable battery would only make it less solid.

The biggest Switch issue by far is joystick drift on joycons. I've replaced 3 on my Switch 2 already and we have the same issue on the new Switch 2 in the office.

benoau2• 16 days ago

EU also forced Nintendo to provide lifetime free repairs on drifty joycons since Nintendo chooses not to address the issue.

https://www.euroconsumers.org/game-over-for-faulty-nintendo-...

bluescrn7• 16 days ago

My day 1 Switch battery was definitely significantly degraded when I did a DIY battery swap a couple of years back.

Battery longevity varies based on usage patterns and likely other factors (temperature?), but it's normal to notice a significant reduction in capacity within 4-5 years.

And the amount of adhesive holding the old battery in made replacing it an unnecessarily hard and actually dangerous (risk of battery fire due to physical damage) process.

annagio_2• 16 days ago

So now the rest of the world will try to put a hand on these models. Lets see how this goes.

WhyNotHugo• 16 days ago

It's kinda crazy that they're releasing an improved version only in places where it's mandatory by law. You'd think it's cheaper (and definitely better PR) to just release the new version everywhere.

annagio_2• 16 days ago

I will agree with you! Just release it for all. Also now they have to make 2 devices, which it should probably be more hassle.

ChocolateGod• 16 days ago

Are the batteries in the Nintendo switch locked in anyway? Wonder if its viable that third party batteries could have an increased capacity.

Grombobulous3• 16 days ago

There are definitely third party batteries, but the replacement process is not trivial for a typical person. Lots of adhesives are involved.

bigfishrunning2• 16 days ago

Also, third party batteries vary wildly in quality -- I've replaced the battery in my Nintendo switch twice, both times using brands I've heard of, and neither battery is as good as the original OEM battery was when i first got it.

kuerbel• 16 days ago

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.

Understandable, but maybe that shouldn't be buried in the FAQ...

rickdeckard5• 16 days ago

More complete:

The below products will not be replaced by versions that contain user-replaceable batteries in Europe:

- Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) Controller for Nintendo Switch

- Pokémon™ GO Plus +

- Nintendo Switch

- Nintendo Switch Lite

- Nintendo Switch – OLED Model

- Nintendo Switch Pro Controller

- SEGA Mega Drive Control Pad for Nintendo Switch

- Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) Controller for Nintendo Switch

Nintendo will no longer offer the above-named products on Nintendo Store after mid-February 2027.

HelloUsername• 16 days ago

Related page posted on 04-jun-2026: "Compliance with EU Directives and Regulations" https://www.nintendo.com/en-gb/Corporate/Consumer-Informatio... (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48402926)

rickdeckard5• 16 days ago

Interesting, in the fineprint they actually confirm that they set the "Switch 1" End-Of-Life by Feb.2027 and stop selling it.

This means they will lose the revenue of that product-line (currently ~15% of their total hardware unit sales according to their fiscal report [0]), which may help accelerate the need for a "lite" version of the Switch2 to recover this market-segment...

...or not, because console sales is generally dropping and there's actually no competition to Nintendo in the handheld console segment...

Bleak times ahead for the gaming industry, and for the gamers...

[0] https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2026/260203_2e.pdf

rock_artist• 16 days ago

Not sure what they'll do (Maybe they'll release Switch2 Lite or Switch 2 OLED in Q2/Q3 2027). but I guess like Apple stopped with Lightning until they finished their transition to USB-C they'll just let the transition work.

jerjerjer• 16 days ago

Wish they'd do a Switch 2 edition without a screen. I use mine (Switch 1) 100% docked.

mdrzn2• 16 days ago

"There is no difference in functionality between current products and revised products containing user-replaceable batteries."

So there was nothing "limiting" them from making it already with user-replaceable batteries, they just didn't care enough until EU forced them (like all the smartphone brands). Love EU.

xd1936• 16 days ago

Except for an up-to-16% reduction in capacity, and slightly increased weight, depending on the product.

vrganj5• 16 days ago

The 16% is for the Pro Controller though, to be fair.

The Switch 2 itself loses 1% of battery capacity, most other products none at all.

Your framing seems a bit selective to the point of being misleading.

mmunj• 16 days ago

seeing as the product itself already advertises that it's best to not charge it to 100% feel like nothing's being lost here no matter how one tries to spin it

GuB-42• 16 days ago

You mean an up-to-5% increase in capacity, and slightly decreased weight, depending on the product?

The truth is that the product with the 16% reduced capacity (Switch 2 Pro controller) is 7g lighter and the one with the 5% increased capacity (Gamecube controller) is 5g heavier.

Besides those two, the general idea is that the capacity is the same with 2-3% extra weight.

bluescrn7• 16 days ago

How do those stats look 5 years later, when one is stuck with a degraded battery, and the other has had an easy battery swap?

brookst2• 16 days ago

Important to understand non-functional requirements (NFR). They’re saying the core features are the same. They are not saying they’re identical in weight, repair cost, water/dust resistance, battery lifetime, or cost.

Zambyte2• 16 days ago

It's not that they didn't care, it's that they did care in the wrong way. A non-replacable battery means people will be more likely to buy a whole new device if (when) the battery fails.

endemic2• 16 days ago

My take is they didn't optimize for something that a small percentage of users would have problems with.

SpicyLemonZest2• 16 days ago

I don't understand why battery failure is a "when". The only batteries I've ever had fail in rechargeable electronic devices were replaceable packs where water got into the compartment. Perhaps I've just gotten lucky?

Waterluvian4• 16 days ago

I think the more likely explanation is that there was not sufficient market motiviation to include the additional requirement of a user-swappable battery. ie. people care, but they don't care enough or in enough volume for Nintendo to decide it's required.

I celebrate user-swappable batteries and I think I like the battery regulations. I just don't think the Ghost of Iwata is under your bed twirling a Wario moustache while thinking about how to screw you over. The current Switch battery situation is simply a result of user-swappable not being a requirement, among the countless other requirements already in contention.

schmorptron• 16 days ago

I don't think that's it for console manufacturers. They make the majority of their money on game sales, so they want the console itself to be used for as long as possible.

arghwhat7• 16 days ago

To be clear, all the mentioned Nintendo products are already designed for battery replacement, with well-contained battery units and easy connectors, and the batteries are available and problem-free to replace unlike for a certain fruit company.

The redesign is because the ease of accessing the batteries did not comply with the new rules. The pro controller in particular requires almost complete disassembly to get to the module, and the Switch 2's battery uses double-sided adhesive which is finicky. Joycons can also be a bit finicky to navigate for the uninitiated.

Also, as the device is Japanese, it uses JIS screws rather than Philips (in addition to triwing), which could surprise some. These are superior for service - Philips screws are specifically designed to strip during assembly to prevent over-torquing - but they do require you to have the right, "exotic" screwdriver. As JIS screwdrivers are compatible with and superior in bite even for Philips screws, it's a good habit to just always use those instead for electronics. iFixit kits and such include them.

resonious• 16 days ago

This is an old rumor but I thought Nintendo made a loss on the devices. If that's true, why would they want to sell more?

juancn• 16 days ago

Battery life is shorter, and some are a tad heavier.

josu2• 16 days ago

Is it?

Battery capacity: 5172mAh, approximately 1% smaller than current version (5220mAh)

bluescrn7• 16 days ago

5 years later, after a battery swap, the model with a replaceable battery has a longer battery life than the one stuck with a degraded battery.

parineum2• 16 days ago

So there was nothing "limiting" them from making it already with user-replaceable batteries, they just didn't care enough until EU forced them (like all the smartphone brands). Love EU.

At the very least, the design will be more complicated to accommodate replaceable batteries. That costs money. There's a lot more to "limiting" than functionality.

vrganj5• 16 days ago

They could've just designed it that way to begin with.

Thanks to this regulation, they will the next time around.

sva_• 16 days ago

like all the smartphone brands

But there is at least some argument that smartphones nowadays have some pretty crazy waterproofness that I'm not sure is physically possible with a replaceable battery?

everdrive• 16 days ago

This is not true. There are old replaceable-battery dumbphones that were rated in feet of submersion.

rtkwe7• 16 days ago

I expect smartphones to look more like the Pro Controller tradeoffs than the joy cons. The issue with replaceable batteries is you need the extra space for the battery structure so unless phones grow they'll have lower capacities. There's also IP ratings, phones have pretty good IP ratings these days often surviving drops in puddles etc where none of these products have any official IP rating to preserve when adding doors etc for replacement batteries.

braiamp• 16 days ago

I'm baffled that we still are thinking that we want thin phones. We have a gigantic camera bump that would be removed if the phone was thicker. Who wants a razor in their pocket, like really?

bogdan• 16 days ago

they just didn't care enough

Of course there are extra costs. The parts and the extra assembly isn't free and it does add up.

cogman102• 16 days ago

We are talking about plastic parts and metal tabs. I'd be shocked if the actual impact on per unit price was above $0.10.

Perhaps the most expensive part of this whole process is then engineering time to figure out how to place a replaceable battery.

matchbok32• 16 days ago

Didn't care? Consumers don't care about this. Like most EU laws, this is a solution in search of a problem. Nintendo, like every other tech company, did the research and found that people simply don't care about this stuff. Now we have more complicated devices and have to buy our own batteries for what, exactly? There is just very little benefit here.

scheme271• 16 days ago

I think consumers do care when they have to throw away a device or pay for a repair because the battery health has significantly degraded. This is really similar to the argument against having a standardized charging port or requiring usb-c charge ports for cellphones.

Danox• 16 days ago

This is like the Germans decommissioning their nuclear power plants, What have they gained by doing so? Dependency on the Russians?

marysol5• 16 days ago

While it's not functionality, the batteries will be physically smaller, and thus less capacity.

Luker88• 15 days ago

* 2 products: no change

* 2 products: -1%, -16%

* 1 product: +5%

more of a mixed bad if you ask me

delta_p_delta_x• 16 days ago

Brussels effect, please do your magic; thanks.

reaperducer2• 16 days ago

Brussels effect, please do your magic; thanks.

"Brussels Effect" is the new "California Emissions."

cromka2• 16 days ago

Please keep the conversation merit based.

LelouBil• 16 days ago

Glad to live in the EU, but then we also have Chat Control trying to pass again.

Melatonic2• 16 days ago

I almost bought a Switch 2 but then remembered this was going into effect. Decided to push it off and keep using my still quite functional Switch 1 until I can get one.

Why would anyone not want a user replaceable battery ?

I also specifically ordered an electric toothbrush from UK Amazon awhile back that was (on the surface) identical to the American version. The UK and EU version however had a sort of (not super easy but still not that hard) user replaceable battery. Because they had to redesign with a user replaceable battery it uses a fairly standard sized lithium rechargeable (I forget the exact size - smaller than an 18650 but somewhat common).

The side effect of this was the battery inside is also much higher quality and much higher capacity than the US version. The diameter of the device is slightly larger (to accommodate the larger battery) which also fits my hands better. Even if I never replace the battery the device itself lasts insanely long between charges which is a huge plus. The cost was the same (excluding a small extra charge for shipping).

Animats• 16 days ago

The push for replaceable batteries is coming just as battery life is increasing.[1] We're already seeing that with electric cars. When solid-state batteries finally come out in volume, they should outlast the devices they go into. The big players are saying that solid state batteries in phone size should start shipping in 2027. Cars are further off.

[1] https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2026/05/20/...

alkonaut• 16 days ago

What constitutes a replaceable battery in this regulation? I don’t want hatches on things. Especially not phones. It’s fine to have some screws between me and a battery, if that makes it have 1% more capacity, 1% more rigid or be 1% more water proof.

jackvalentine• 16 days ago

https://prodlaw.eu/2025/02/eu-battery-regulation-removabilit...

Basically changeable with normal tools and safely without risk of destroying the battery or product.

kalleboo• 16 days ago

Screws are fine, glue is not

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/1542/oj/eng

A portable battery should be considered to be removable by the end-user when it can be removed with the use of commercially available tools and without requiring the use of specialised tools, unless they are provided free of charge, or proprietary tools, thermal energy or solvents to disassemble it. Commercially available tools are considered to be tools available on the market to all end-users without the need for them to provide evidence of any proprietary rights and that can be used with no restriction, except health and safety-related restrictions.

SlightlyLeftPad• 16 days ago

Tangentially, How much would maintaining two different skus cost I wonder.

Stitch4223• 16 days ago

Working with multiple SKU’s and hardware revisions is standard practice. Just like the Switch and OLED Switch.

PlayStation always had a whole series of SKU’s, from 1 to 5. People sometimes search for a specific one, due to certain chips being used. https://www.psdevwiki.com/ps5/SKU_Models

Similarly the WII is also known to ship several hardware revisions, with different properties such as video output quality.

https://bitbuilt.net/forums/threads/revision-identification-...

The same goes for many electronic products, from TV’s to iPhones. Sometimes the features are noticeably different per revision or region. Still it is called the same product.

Edit: added phone/tv example.

mvkel• 16 days ago

I wonder what the average battery life is on these

shark1• 16 days ago

Unfortunately, programmed obsolesce is the unspoken motto for most companies. Only fierce competition or regulation can push them to do a better job.

Nintendo announces new product revisions in Europe with replaceable batteries

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