With rumors surrounding the Nintendo Switch 2 seeming to reach a fever pitch, it’s likely fans can expect to see an announcement of Nintendo’s next console in the near future. While the details surrounding the Nintendo Switch 2 are still largely grounded in unconfirmed leaks and rumors, it seems likely that the console will retain much of the current Switch’s design—including the iconic Joy-Con controllers. If this is the case, Nintendo can take the Switch 2’s Joy-Cons to even greater heights by doubling down on an existing feature that has become one of the console’s most well-received.
Currently, one of the only confirmed pieces of information about Nintendo’s next console is that it will be backward compatible with the current Switch library. This detail suggests that the console will indeed be using the Joy-Con controllers like its predecessor, though they may come with an updated look. As part of the potential Joy-Con redesign, Nintendo could capitalize on the popularity of the original Switch’s Joy-Con color options to make customizing the controller’s appearance an even greater part of the console’s identity.
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The Nintendo Switch 2 Can Take Joy-Con Customization to the Next Level
Unique Joy-Con Colors Were One of the Switch’s Best Features
Although the Switch’s Joy-Cons have become notorious for their thumbstick drift, the controllers themselves are an ingenious way to allow the console to be both portable and stationary. With the detachability of the Joy-Cons, it’s easy for players to swap out one controller for another on a whim. Nintendo made doing so even more desirable by offering a multitude of colors for Joy-Cons so that Switch owners could customize the look of their console to fit their desired aesthetic through its controllers.
Over the course of the Switch’s life, Nintendo has released 15 different Joy-Con colors, excluding special editions. These colors include:
- White Joy-Con
- Gray Joy-Con
- Neon Blue Joy-Con
- Neon Red Joy-Con
- Neon Yellow Joy-Con
- Neon Green Joy-Con
- Neon Pink Joy-Con
- Red Joy-Con
- Blue Joy-Con
- Neon Purple Joy-Con
- Neon Orange Joy-Con
- Pastel Pink Joy-Con
- Pastel Yellow Joy-Con
- Pastel Purple Joy-Con
- Pastel Green Joy-Con
Although not every color was widely available for both Left and Right Joy-Con (for example, the Right Pastel Purple Joy-Con is only available in Japan), players could still easily mix and match many of the colors offered to create a unique look.
There were also several colors only available through the purchase of a special edition Nintendo Switch console, such as those included with the Pokemon Let’s Go Pikachu and Eevee bundle and the Splatoon 2 bundle.
It’s clear that Nintendo intended for Joy-Cons to be a source of customization for the Switch, but the controllers never achieved their full potential through official customization means. To take the customization options for the Switch 2’s Joy-Cons a step further, Nintendo could offer a service similar to Xbox’s Design Lab, where players can order controllers customized with a variety of different options. Giving players full control over the design of their Joy-Cons would go a long way towards alleviating some of the disappointment of having some colors unavailable or inaccessible on either the Left or Right Joy-Con.
Nintendo currently allows players to order custom combinations of Joy-Con colors, but they are limited to the pre-defined colors available in the player’s region.
Similar to the Xbox Design Lab, a service for creating a custom Nintendo Switch 2 Joy-Con could allow players to select not just the color of the controller’s shell itself, but custom colors for the buttons and thumbsticks too. The Xbox Design Lab even features special shells that include two-tone gradients or translucent effects, which would also make for great customization options on the Nintendo Switch 2’s Joy-Cons. While there are unofficial ways of customizing Joy-Cons, having an official service offered by Nintendo would likely ensure players could receive high-quality custom controllers that fit their desired look.
Nintendo Switch
The Nintendo Switch is a hybrid console launched in 2017, capable of being played in handheld mode or docked to a television. The Switch Lite, a handheld-only model, followed in 2019, with an OLED refresh coming in 2021.