In less than a year, Nintendo will face a test of its approach to device durability. A European Union regulation that takes effect next February will demand one of the gaming industry's most restrictive practices: easy access to removable batteries. The company is reportedly preparing a response.
The EU's Batteries Regulation will require portable batteries to be readily removable and replaceable by end-users from 18 February 2027. The rule applies to any portable device weighing under 5 kg that isn't designed for industrial use. Nintendo's Switch 2 handheld will fall squarely within that scope.
Gaming companies have long locked batteries inside their devices using adhesive and proprietary design. The Nintendo Switch's battery is held down by significant adhesive, making removal challenging, even for technically skilled users. Third-party repair shops can manage it, but the process is deliberate friction. Once a battery degrades—a problem that afflicts thousands of Switch owners after years of play—owners face expensive official repairs or risky DIY attempts.
Japanese media outlet Nikkei, citing unnamed sources, reports that Nintendo plans to modify the Switch 2 design to allow consumers to easily swap batteries. The change isn't voluntary compliance with a distant regulation. It's compulsion. Any device sold in the EU after February next year must meet the standard.
The broader context
The battery rule forms part of a larger right-to-repair movement gaining momentum in multiple jurisdictions. Australia's Productivity Commission launched an inquiry into the right to repair and recommended giving independent repairers greater access to repair supplies, though implementation has stalled. The EU, by contrast, moved forward decisively. The regulation prohibits software practices that limit replaceability of batteries by influencing products' functionality, closing a common loophole where manufacturers block third-party components via software locks.
Manufacturers must ensure that batteries are available to independent professionals and end-users as spare parts for at least five years after the last unit is placed on the market. This matters. It means Nintendo couldn't simply introduce replaceable batteries, discontinue them, and force users back to service centres.
The case for the regulation is straightforward: batteries degrade over time. Device makers knowingly design products around finite power sources, effectively setting a lifespan before users face expensive service or waste. Forcing modularity extends product life, reduces electronic waste, and saves consumers money. Starting in 2027, consumers will be able to remove and replace portable batteries in their electronic products at any time of the life cycle.
What it means for Nintendo
The requirement affects not just the Switch 2 console but also Joy-Con controllers, which are notorious for stick drift and battery wear. Easier replacement could reduce both costs for consumers and friction in the support experience.
There's a practical decision ahead for Nintendo. It could create separate EU and global models, or adopt the EU design worldwide. Diverging from global standards by mandating EU-specific product variants increases design, manufacturing and certification costs ultimately borne by consumers. Making a single, globally compliant product is often cheaper. That calculation has already reshaped the smartphone industry, where the EU regulation requires portable batteries to be removable by end-users without specialized tools, likely shaping the global smartphone market.
Nintendo hasn't confirmed the Nikkei report. The company historically resists design changes it doesn't initiate, and battery access conflicts with its engineering philosophy around compact, integrated designs. But the EU deadline approaches. Retailers and distributors across the bloc can't sell non-compliant stock after February. That's regulatory pressure that cannot be negotiated.
The design challenge
Critics argue that making batteries easily accessible requires bulkier designs and compromises durability or thermal management. There's some validity to this. Nintendo's Switch currently prioritises compactness and integration. An easily removable battery requires a compartment, space around the battery, and materials that don't depend on the battery itself for structural strength.
The EU's guidelines do permit exceptions for certain products where removal poses safety risks. Gaming consoles aren't among them. The regulation is designed to catch everyday portable electronics; handhelds and controllers fall directly within the scope.
For Australian consumers, the implications are indirect but real. If Nintendo chooses a global design, Australians will benefit from longer-lived hardware and cheaper battery replacement. If not, Australian stock may diverge from EU models, complicating parts supply. The EU legislation may serve as motivation for the right to repair movement in Australia, where momentum has slowed since the Productivity Commission's 2021 recommendations.
The February 2027 deadline is not negotiable. Nintendo's choice now is whether to treat this as a cost imposed by regulators or an opportunity to design a more durable product. History suggests the industry tends toward the former framing, at least publicly. But the commercial logic points toward a global solution: build one device that works everywhere, and sell it everywhere.