The Bundled Nintendo Switch Joy-Con Grip Doesn't Charge Controllers
The Joy-Con grip that comes with the Nintendo Switch will just let you grip, not charge, your Joy-Con controllers.
Nintendo didn't explicitly state that the Joy-Con Grip that comes with the Nintendo Switch charges your controllers, it was easy for us to infer that it did. However, after some research, it seems that the grip that comes with the Nintendo Switch may just be a plastic shell with a player indicator light.
After seeing Eurogamer first report on the existence of two separate Joy-Con models, we investigated the claims that the Joy-Con Grip bundled with the Nintendo Switch doesn't charge the Joy-Con controllers. On the Japanese Nintendo Switch website, there exists a diagram of the Joy-Con Grip that comes with the Nintendo Switch, and a diagram for a Joy-Con Grip available for purchase separately.
Nintendo Switch Bundled Joy-Con Grip
As you can see, the Joy-Con Grip that comes with the Nintendo Switch is black and has only two features labeled:
- Joy-Con controller number assignment display.
- Grooves for attaching Joy-Con controllers.
Joy-Con Charging Grip Sold Separately
This Joy-Con Grip is made of smoky translucent plastic, similar to that seen on the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller, and has a USB-C port clearly labeled. Additionally, the top right Japanese phrase translates to "charging light," giving more confirmation that this Joy-Con Grip is meant to charge the Joy-Con controllers as you play.
Nintendo didn't explicitly state that the Joy-Con Grip that comes with the Nintendo Switch charges your controllers, but it was easy for us to infer that it did. We've reached out to Nintendo for a statement concerning the difference in models of Joy-Con Grips. The Joy-Con controllers can be charged by attaching them to the Nintendo Switch while it's docked, and with a battery life of 20 hours, it's not a huge loss to get a Joy-Con grip with the Switch that doesn't have charging capabilities.
However, highlighting that the charging Joy-Con Grip would be an optional accessory would have been appreciated. I know that many who watched the Nintendo Switch Reveal Event will be confused by this, as it seemed as though the Joy-Con Grip included with the system would be able to charge the controllers.
The Nintendo Joy-Con Charging Grip will retail for $29.99 and launch with the system on March 3.
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replyJason Faulkner posted a new article, The Bundled Nintendo Switch Joy-Con Grip Doesn't Charge Controllers
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I know people are sick of me poo-poo'ing on the switch, and so I'm trying to temper my comments. But I think a new problem for this system might be... Isn't this all just so confusing? How many different controllers are there, all doing different things? How many play configurations? Versatility can be a good thing, but like with the Wii u, I think consumers will be asking in the back of their minds, "how does one actually play this thing?
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Which is great, except that means you're walking up to the dock every time you want to play. My Wii U gamepad is sitting next to my chair which is where it should be.
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Either it's going to die and I'm going to have to play off the TV or I'm going to be pulling the controllers up off the Switch every time in order to make sure that doesn't happen. It's an annoyance, not a major issue. Still preordered and everything, just wish they'd included the charger in the box.
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i think the issue is its a bit of hassle to dock the controllers every time instead of putting in a micro usb cable.
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Eh, once I can get a Pro controller, I'll likely never touch the Joycons anyway.
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So I have to take my controller apart every time I'm done playing, and put it together every time I want to start playing? Or maybe every 3 times I play? As somebody who will be mainly a home/TV user, that doesn't sound great. It will work fine, but definitely not ideal and not a complete non-issue.
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Yeah i think it's way too confusing personally, it does so many things, but none of them great..
In my mind they should have made it a mobile device first, that can optionally stream to your tv. Just sell the tablet with the joy cons (not removeable, actually attached, with none of the motion and hi-tech rumble crap) stand alone, which would be considerably cheaper, maybe around $225, then an optional dock + pro controller, or streaming solution to get it on your tv. -
yah I've also seen quite a few comments from friends on Facebook about how small these controllers are.. and likely how their kids will lose them and the cost of the accessories is rather high.
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Do you just come here to threadshit?
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I honestly don't understand how that comes about. The problem with this switch coverage is the hype was all over the palace, and a certain level of A + B /= C going on. So the Grip doesn't charge controllers? The life on those things is like 20 hours. I'm trying to figure out a hypothetical scenario in switch use where this is a major inconvenience to average users.
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The grip included with the console doesn't, but they sell a separate grip that has it's own battery on top of being able to charge the controllers. I still don't know which grip the joy-con double pack comes with :/
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Fuuuuuuuuuuck.
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It seems like they packed in as much as they could afford with the $299 price tag from what I've been reading. If they were to have stripped back some other features they may have been able to hit a lower price point and include something like this. But this is pretty inoffensive, the joycon controllers themselves have a relatively high battery life of 20 hours, and they charge when attached to the console. Far less worrying than the lower battery life of the main unit, combined with the lack of quick charging. With the variety of configurations and functionality they're offering, it's really a blessing that there aren't more gotchas.
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*sigh*, it would be nice if they didn't fuck up the bundle, at least you have a charger in this one...
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Except I'll want to be playing it now when I turn it on, and oh shit it's not charged, so either I plug them in and pull it out of the doc or I find another charging solution.
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Damn bouxdag, you sure got my lazy ass in the fire.
Seriously it's just an annoyance and they should've included it in the box.
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How is this much more inconvenient than plugging in any other controller to charge? And as a bonus, there are no cables.
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I keep a bunch of charging stuff within arm's reach. I know, first world problems.
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This is fucking dumb. This presents a scenario where you sit down to play the switch on the couch and your joy cons are dead so you have to go hook them up to the docked switch to charge. And since they are then on the dock you can't play on tv so your options are fuck off and play something else or plug power dire try I to switch and play it handheld while the joy cons charge off it I guess? This is too fucking confusing for the average consumer. This is bad design.
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I don't get it? You have to charge the Joy-Cons anyway, so you have to connect them to something to charge.
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imagine you havent played your switch in a week and it's completely dead along with the controllers. if you wanted to go play zelda on your couch right now you'd need to spend 30 bucks to get the charging grip or just play off the tablet because there is no way to charge your controllers while you use them on the couch and have your switch connected to the dock.
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If it's been a week why hasn't the unit been docked? At some point it's up to the owner to ensure devices are charged.
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I dunno, shit happens? I mean at some point these issues go from deal-breakers to "things we can live with". I would be surprised if this charging process prevents a single sale and I'm sure Nintendo has considered the impact as well.
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with the PS4 when shit happens, i have extra controllers i'd use. for $99 canadian, i'm in no rush to buy an extra set. i can also sit on my couch and hook up a micro USB to AC adapter at a plug next to my couch and keep playing.
it'd just be nice to have an option without spending extra for another piece of plastic that has a USB port on it when they could have easily just put a USB port on the one in the box.
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to be fair isnt this the case with PS4? I had to buy a dock to make sure they were charged all the time
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$30, charges four: https://www.amazon.com/PowerA-Joy-Charging-Dock-Nintendo-Switch/dp/B01MR6JD1M
The fact that the charging grip doesn't even have a battery and only does passthrough power makes this a moot point. Charging the joycons off of the Switch is no big deal, they have 20 hours of battery life, and who wants to be plugged in while they play? -
I think we've actually got one already from one of the third parties and it works for two of them. I'll probably pick one of those up.
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No? Doesn't everyone have at least one A/C adapter from charging their cell phones these days? Charge the controller with that when the phone's not in it.
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hoping for best case scenario it charges really fast, so like the apple pencil you only need like a few mins of charging to play for an hour.
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$300 for all the tech in the switch, you're going to have to make tradeoffs
that USB port that would be "so simple" to add to the controllers. what are you willing to give up for that? because it's likely the tech is crammed in those things and every millimeter matters.-
It should have been a priority from inception since it's being marketed as a quasi-portable device. 3 hours for a full charge fucking sucks. :/
I try not to play armchair engineer whenever possible, but surely they could have made this happen somehow without making large sacrifices to the kit. Without knowing more I just feel like it's overly Nintendo for them to leave this out in 2017.-
honestly I think the message is if you want it as a home console, its a $370 device, because you'll want the pro controller :/
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I don't understand why you would need to charge them that way anyway. Why not just stick them back on the docked system? Why is that a big deal. Hell, you can play 20 hours straight then plug the joycons in and play for another potential 4 hours undocked without ever charging the Joycons. They'll probably recharge that way too which means you can dock it back and go use the grip again and just keep going.... :P
This is is so dumb to get upset about.-
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Wait till they find out it doesn't come with a USB-C cable for on the going charging. The one that comes with it is for the dock (AC to USB-C), not really great for traveling. Probably gonna need a USB-A to USB-C to work with everyone's already existing phone charging stuff.
I'm surprised people haven't complained about that.
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