Nintendo Limits Switch 2’s USB-C Port, Making Most Third-Party Accessories Incompatible

I just stumbled into this whole Nintendo Switch 2 thing and, let me tell you, it’s like they’ve beefed up the old one with some next-level stuff. Imagine this: a bigger screen that’s all shiny and smooth with that 120 Hz thingy. And they’ve got these Joy-Con controllers — yeah, the ones that usually slide around like they’re skating — now they snap on with magnets. I mean, magnets! Who thought of that?

But here’s the kicker (and it’s a weird one): they’ve gone and kind of blocked those third-party guys from making any gear for it. Seems like they’ve twisted the USB-C deal, and it’s not just about power anymore. Like, whoa. I read from two accessory makers — honestly, wish I remembered their names — who mentioned to some tech site that Nintendo’s introduced this annoying encryption voodoo, I guess to keep folks from freelancing docks and hubs. Makes me think of how they once messed with the power settings too, like throwing 20V into the mix — which sounds like gibberish, but whatever, right?

Anyway — no, wait, hitting rewind a bit — uh, where was I? This Verge guy, Sean, he took it upon himself to dig deeper. Showed up with this fancy USB-C gizmo and checked how the Switch 2 chats with its official dock. Turns out, there’s this secret language going on between them before they let the video do the talking. Weird, right? Like, over 30 messages swapping hands before anything’s on screen.

But here’s the twist in our little saga — some hero dock by Antank actually manages to keep up with this secret lingo. Costs around 36 bucks. They say you need the official Switch adapter too, or you might find yourself in a pickle.

And if you’re thinking of betting your horses on Antank, just know this might be short-lived — Nintendo could flip-flop and lock whatever backdoor is open with some update. Spoke to a rep who basically shrugged like, “Sure, but we’re updating too, so maybe chill?”

Oh, and if you’re the type who wants to keep your finger on tech’s pulse, go snoop around Tom’s Hardware or something. They’ve got all the goodies and whatnot. But hey, getting back to my original train of thought… or wait, maybe not. Whatever, you get the drift.