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Eurogamer -: Nintendo Switch's bundled Joy-Con grip doesn't charge controllers

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K

Kuni

Member
Did a quick search for this but couldn't see anything about Eurogamer's confirmation today that the Joy-Con grip bundled does not provide any way for a user to plug in a usb cable and charge the Joy-Con's while playing.

Thought this was worth calling out again proper as, in classic Ninty fashion, this was not clear at all over the weekend and a lot of confusion occurred on here.

They do have a reported 20 hours battery life but I still think this sucks since it's been standard on consoles now for numerous generations to have an instant solution to keep playing on TV.

Nintendo Switch's bundled Joy-Con grip doesn't charge controllers
The Joy-Con grip bundled with Nintendo Switch does not charge your Joy-Con controllers.

This was a detail left unclear after Nintendo's 4am Switch event last Friday, but which has now been clarified by shop listings for a separate, chargeable Joy-Con grip peripheral - priced £27.99.
Click to expand...

£28 man... Ninty please adjust your accessories pricing. You're hurting the fans that want to stick with you:(

Detach and reattach me every time after playing if old.
 
D

Dystify

Member
Pretty sure we've had topics about this confirming it. Seems almost like a non-issue anyway, cause who's gonna play 20 hours at once until the Joycon battery is empty..
 
A

Alpha_eX

Member
The pack in one is £10 alone and the charging one is £28, I'm happy without it so I don't have to pay an extra £10-15 for the console.
 
J

jwk94

Member
Dystify said:
Pretty sure we've had topics about this confirming it. Seems almost like a non-issue anyway, cause who's gonna play 20 hours at once until the Joycon battery is empty..
Click to expand...
Probably not anyone but people probably won't leave it to charge when they're done either.
 
O

oatmeal

Banned
Dystify said:
Pretty sure we've had topics about this confirming it. Seems almost like a non-issue anyway, cause who's gonna play 20 hours at once until the Joycon battery is empty..
Click to expand...
THats a bad way to look at it.

What if I leave it in the grip after a 5 hour session and then do the same the next time. Then by the time I realize it I'm locked into a tethered handheld or I'm unable to play.
 
O

OrbitalBeard

Member
I'd have an issue with this if the controllers didn't last for 20 hours per charge. Of course it'd be nice if the superior grip was included, but whatever.

I still find it funny that a number of people thought the system wouldn't include a grip at all before last week.
 
D

Deleted member 752119

Unconfirmed Member
Dystify said:
Pretty sure we've had topics about this confirming it. Seems almost like a non-issue anyway, cause who's gonna play 20 hours at once until the Joycon battery is empty..
Click to expand...

Yep. It's an annoyance with the price of the charger grip and especially pro controller for those like me who'll mostly play on the tv as I'd rather not have to move joycons back and forth from docked tablet to grip, but hardly a deal breaker or anything.

I'll probably just shell out for a pro controller as I'll want the dpad eventually anyway and would rather leave the joycons attached so it's a quick Switch to play on the crapper or whatever.

RichiRamjag said:
I thought we found out it did have a charging port?
Click to expand...

Nope that was bad info and the original thread stupidly got locked before it could be sorted out. Included one is just a plastic shell. Separate $30 charger grip adds the USB c port and charging rails.
 
C

Chindogg

Member
oatmeal said:
THats a bad way to look at it.

What if I leave it in the grip after a 5 hour session and then do the same the next time. Then by the time I realize it I'm locked into a tethered handheld or I'm unable to play.
Click to expand...

What if you leave your cellphone unplugged overnight then do it again? Now you're locked into a tethered phone or you're unable to make calls.

Charge the damn things in the console when you're done. Even if you forget a couple of times they have 20 hours of battery life anyways. Sheesh.
 
B

Brawl96

Member
I don't think this is true. At the Nintendo event, a rep told me that the bundled grip has a usb c port that charges the controller(as a pass through) but doesn't have a charge itself. I don't know what to believe. We'll see in march.
 
S

Santiako

Member
Chindogg said:
What if you leave your cellphone unplugged overnight then do it again? Now you're locked into a tethered phone or you're unable to make calls.

Charge the damn things in the console when you're done. Even if you forget a couple of times they have 20 hours of battery life anyways. Sheesh.
Click to expand...

It's more the principle of the thing, I think it's just pathetic that they removed the USB port from the shell and try to make you spend another 30 bucks for the fucking USB port. Just sad, pure nickel and diming, it would cost them less than 1 cent to include them on the boxed grip.
 
M

mrklaw

MrArseFace
Dystify said:
Pretty sure we've had topics about this confirming it. Seems almost like a non-issue anyway, cause who's gonna play 20 hours at once until the Joycon battery is empty..
Click to expand...

almost. But with good battery life you won't charge every day, so you might forget as it gets low. Especially if you're playing as a 'home console' which Nintendo is pitching it as - just leave the joycons attached to the grip all the time.

When an Xbox controller loses charge, you can swap batteries and continue. When a PS4 controller loses charge, you can plug into USB and keep playing tethered while it charges. When the joycons lose charge, you have to unclip them, and clip the onto the switch. Again, can't continue playing on TV.
 
C

Chindogg

Member
Santiako said:
It's more the principle of the thing, I think it's just pathetic that they removed the USB port from the shell and try to make you spend another 30 bucks for the fucking USB port. Just sad, pure nickel and diming, it would cost them less than 1 cent to include them on the boxed grip.
Click to expand...

That's a fair argument that you shouldn't have to spend $30 on a charging unit. That said there's not much of a difference between plugging in the Joycons directly and plugging in a USB cord. Something's charging in the system regardless.
 
A

Alpha_eX

Member
Brawl96 said:
I don't think this is true. At the Nintendo event, a rep told me that the bundled grip has a usb c port that charges the controller(as a pass through) but doesn't have a charge itself. I don't know what to believe. We'll see in march.
Click to expand...

The people manning the demo station were event staff, not Nintendo staff. Most of them didn't know much at all and others just repeated rumours or got things wrong.

Talk anything new from event staff as false.
 
C

Cosmo Clock 21

Banned
Chindogg said:
What if you leave your cellphone unplugged overnight then do it again? Now you're locked into a tethered phone or you're unable to make calls.

Charge the damn things in the console when you're done. Even if you forget a couple of times they have 20 hours of battery life anyways. Sheesh.
Click to expand...
It's a good thing I can just charge my cell phone by plugging a cable into the entire thing. Shame if you couldn't directly charge the device...
 
I

iFirez

Member
I'm just sticking with the pro controller for tv play and then the joy cons either side of the screen for handheld play.
 
S

Sora the Cat

Member
This is a non issue, there isn't any situation where this could be a problem unless you play for 20 hours straight, you just charge the joy cons with the console. The console comes with everything you need to play.

Also, what standard are you talking about? XBO launched with a joystick that was not possible to charge at all.
 
F

Firemind

Member
oatmeal said:
THats a bad way to look at it.

What if I leave it in the grip after a 5 hour session and then do the same the next time. Then by the time I realize it I'm locked into a tethered handheld or I'm unable to play.
Click to expand...
I don't understand. Don't you need to put it in the dock to charge the machine anyway? Or are people really going to throw these small controllers all over their house?
 
M

Mr-Joker

Banned
At first I was annoyed by this but then after learning that it had a 20 hours battery time, which is more than the PS4 controller, and that I can just recharge it by putting in the dock or play in tethered handheld mode its omission didn't bother me.

Plus it would have probably bumped price of the system itself.

oatmeal said:
THats a bad way to look at it.

What if I leave it in the grip after a 5 hour session and then do the same the next time. Then by the time I realize it I'm locked into a tethered handheld or I'm unable to play.
Click to expand...

Then that would be your fault for not taking it and popping it in the dock to be recharged once you have finished your play session.

It's like someone blaming Apple for not including a battery bank with their iPhone for the exact same reasoning.
 
P

Pie and Beans

Look for me on the local news, I'll be the guy arrested for trying to burn down a Nintendo exec's house.
As ever with this news reported, one finds it curious how many parrot the 20-hours battery life with "non-issue" assuredness.

If such an accessory had no use at all in the world, why would Nintendo be making and selling one separately?
 
C

CaviarMeths

Member
Sora the Cat said:
Also, what standard are you talking about? XBO launched with a joystick that was not possible to charge at all.
Click to expand...

Besides electricity itself, AA batteries might just be the oldest tech in a current gen console.

Plastic is a newer, more modern invention than AA batteries.
 
O

OrbitalBeard

Member
Uh, no one is saying a chargeable grip doesn't have any use. Such a nonsensical statement.

Cosmo Clock 21 said:
Why do you suppose the included grip doesn't have the capability to charge the kit kat controllers?
Click to expand...

I don't think there's a single reasonable person who doesn't know the answer to this question. It allows Nintendo the opportunity to sell a subset of their audience an additional accessory.
 
C

Cosmo Clock 21

Banned
Chindogg said:
Yeah you can. It's called putting the controllers into the console.
Click to expand...
Which involves additional steps beyond what a simple cable for the grip would accomplish.

Why do you suppose the included grip doesn't have the capability to charge the kit kat controllers? How much would its inclusion add to the BOM for Nintendo?
 
P

phanphare

Banned
maybe I'm crazy but this makes sense to me as you wouldn't need the charge grip unless you bought an extra pair of joycons. the system itself charges the first pair.
 
A

Alpha_eX

Member
Springy said:
I am very skeptical that these things cost to produce what you seem to think they cost.
Click to expand...

Ok but the prices are as said, regardless of the actual cost, you can not ignore that a plastic shell will be much cheaper to pack in / mass produce than an electrical shell that enables charging.

I think people are overreacting here, it's not like you can't charge them. Once you finish playing, put the controllers back and let them charge overnight. Don't worry.
 
Z

Zalman

Member
Pie and Beans said:
As ever with this news reported, one finds it curious how many parrot the 20-hours battery life with "non-issue" assuredness.

If such an accessory had no use at all in the world, why would Nintendo be making and selling one separately?
Click to expand...
It's a luxury item that not everyone needs. Would you rather see them charge $350 for the Switch and include it in the box? It's the exact same thing with the Pro Controller. Bundling it doesn't make sense from a business perspective, but there is enough interest to sell one separately. This isn't exclusive to Nintendo or even gaming. Companies sell accessories separately all the time.

There are a lot of things I think are wrong with the Switch, but this is not one of them. The Joy-Cons last 20 hours according to Treehouse. That is great battery life compared to most controllers. On top of that, they charge while connected to the dock. This means there is a way to charge them out of the box. My Xbox came with non-rechargeable batteries, and they still do in 2017. This is a worse scenario in my opinion, yet people have come to accept it.
 
F

Firemind

Member
Cosmo Clock 21 said:
Which involves additional steps beyond what a simple cable for the grip would accomplish.

Why do you suppose the included grip doesn't have the capability to charge the kit kat controllers? How much would its inclusion add to the BOM for Nintendo?
Click to expand...
Why would you want additional cables?
 
D

Deleted member 752119

Unconfirmed Member
Firemind said:
I don't understand. Don't you need to put it in the dock to charge the machine anyway? Or are people really going to throw these small controllers all over their house?
Click to expand...

I'm mean I'll mostly only play on the tv so the controllers will stay in a basket under the side table next to my recliner in my mancave with my PS4 and PC controllers when not in use.

I have a USB charger and all my needed cables there and can plug in a ds4 or my wireless headset etc when they die and keep gaming on the TV.

It would have been nice to be able to do that out of the box with Switch, or for the accessories to have been cheaper, but c'est le vie. I'll nut up and buy a pro controller and rarely touch the joycons or tablet. That way I can also keep the ugly dock out of sight since I don't need regular easy access to it.
 
T

ThanksVision

Member
I cannot believe people still think this is an issue. Even if the controllers only lasted like 8 hours this would not be an issue. Who is playing videogames for this long per sitting??
 
C

Cosmo Clock 21

Banned
Zalman said:
It's a luxury item that not everyone needs. Would you rather see them charge $350 for the Switch and include it in the box? It's the exact same thing with the Pro Controller. Bundling it doesn't make sense from a business perspective, but there is enough interest to sell one separately. This isn't exclusive to Nintendo or even gaming. Companies sell accessories separately all the time.
Click to expand...
Let's assume the Switch was announced at $350 MSRP and included the charging grip. Out of everything that everybody will bitch about, how many would have suggested removing the charging ability of the grip to cut costs?
 
T

The_Lump

Banned
This is known, and it's really not the issue it's being made out to be imo. If after 20+ hours you haven't docked the thing and taken a break you have enough of a habit to warrant a dedicated charging cradle.

Was there a big deal made when PS4 launched with abysmal controller batteries and a tiny cable to charge them with (meaning you couldn't carry on playing without sitting next to the TV?) Your option was: "stop after 4 hours and take a break or go buy another cable". Fine.

Now with Switch we have the option "stop after 20 hours and take a break or go buy a charging cradle". I don't see the issue, personally.
 
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