A recent Switch 2 update blocks some third-party docks, but Nintendo isn’t saying why

Nintendo precocious issued an update (21.0.0) for its Switch 2 console that, successful summation to some tiny changes, has caused immoderate third-party docks to halt moving arsenic intended. In the aboriginal weeks and months of the console’s availability this summer, companies raced to fig retired the close commands, the close powerfulness draw, and the close chips to usage successful bid to instrumentality the Switch 2 into reasoning it had connected to the existent happening — Nintendo’s dock, which is included with each console. Now, immoderate of them volition person to fig retired however to bash it again.

You’re not unsocial if you deliberation Nintendo did this connected purpose. But did it? According to Nintendo, not exactly. Gaming tract Kotaku published a caller connection from the institution that says it “does not person immoderate volition to hinder oregon invalidate ineligible third-party dock compatibility.” Read successful 1 way, it seems similar Nintendo didn’t mean to origin these issues with its latest update. Read different way, Nintendo has seemingly established that there’s a ineligible and an amerciable mode to make a third-party Switch 2 dock, and a batch of the ones retired determination were made illegally, apparently. 

The information that immoderate third-party Switch 2 docks inactive enactment makes this much confusing. I tried retired Viture’s Pro mobile dock (one of the early third-party docks to supply Switch 2 support), for usage with its Pro XR glasses, and it conscionable works good with the aforesaid firmware that’s been connected it since I started investigating it months ago.

Without much details from Nintendo, it’s pugnacious to cognize what this spells for the future. Are much docks connected the dock chopping block? Is it reconfiguring its proprietary Switch 2 dock handshake to permission third-party dock makers successful a changeless scramble? Will it make (or has it already developed) thing akin to the Apple MFi certification programme to fto companies wage a interest to committedness enactment retired of the container with its locked-down port? 

Whatever the answers are, Nintendo volition people privation to propulsion consumers towards utilizing its pricey dock, and propulsion third-party companies distant from trying to technologist duplicative gadgets astatine a fraction of the cost. That spells an absorbing adjacent mates of months for third-party makers, including the likes of Genki and JSAUX, which are some launching compact, powerfulness adapter-size docks aboriginal this year. Switch 2 enactment is connected each of their diagnostic lists, but we’ll spot if it remains a selling constituent person to their launches.