Original Nintendo Switch Will Be Discontinued In Europe

Nintendo hasn’t signaled when the Switch will be retired in North America, but the company had a greater incentive to shut it down in Europe first. The European Union passed a new regulation that requires Nintendo and other console makers to ship products that allow users to change their own batteries. Changing the design of the first Switch to allow owners to change its batteries wouldn’t be very cost-effective, given it was already near the end of its lifetime. So Nintendo discontinued it instead.

However, Nintendo will comply with Europe’s Right to Repair directive and begin releasing Switch 2 consoles with replaceable batteries as soon as this summer. Nintendo has indicated that these new models are virtually identical to the Switch 2 console that’s already on the market. While those plans are in motion, Nintendo added that “Due to a variety of factors, revised products may not become available in all European countries simultaneously.” Presumably that means the ongoing memory and component shortages may slow down the pace of that rollout.

Given Sony’s recent decision to stop releasing games on disc, Switch 2 is one of the few remaining consoles that still uses physical media. Regardless, Nintendo has leaned more heavily on Game-Key Cards for its current generation of third-party titles on Switch 2, much to the annoyance of games preservation activists.