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The interface of Switch 2 is encrypted, and Nintendo is also preparing to launch authorized accessories.

三易生活2025-07-14 08:02
It's only natural for Nintendo to launch the "Made For Nintendo Switch" initiative.

With the Switch having achieved over 152 million cumulative global sales, Nintendo's latest gaming console, the Switch 2, has set a new record for the company's best - ever sales start for a gaming console, selling 5.4 million units in its first month. Currently, if there's one major obstacle to the sales of the Switch 2, it's probably the high price. Even Shuntaro Furukawa, the president of Nintendo, admitted that "compared to previous consoles, the price of the Switch 2 is indeed higher."

For some players who haven't bought the Switch 2 yet due to its high price, they now have one more reason to wait. Recently, there have been reports that the USB - C port of the Switch 2 has an encryption authentication mechanism, which makes it almost impossible for third - party accessories to be compatible with this gaming console.

According to tests by The Verge, when the Switch 2 is connected to the dock, the system outputs a set of about 30 unstructured data packets. These data packets act like identification keys. If the accessories fail to recognize them, the video and audio signals cannot be transmitted through the Switch 2. It's worth noting that the Switch 2 has only been on the market for a short time, and some users have already complained about problems with the dock, such as failure to charge, malfunctioning heat dissipation, and no video output.

Even if players manage to contact Nintendo's official after - sales service, they will only get a solution that requires them to pay a mandatory repair fee of about $180 and cover the round - trip shipping costs. Therefore, many players are hoping that third - party expansion docks can solve their problems. After all, before the release of the Switch 2, peripheral manufacturers like Jsaux had already announced the development of a series of feature - rich third - party expansion docks for this new console.

However, according to a report by The Verge, players who encounter problems with the Switch 2 dock or hope to buy a dock with an active cooling fan may be disappointed. After inquiring with relevant accessory manufacturers, it was confirmed that the Switch 2 uses a dedicated encryption chip to restrict unauthorized products. The relevant accessory manufacturers said that even if they can now create peripheral devices that can bypass this authentication, Nintendo may block the loopholes through system updates.

It seems that after Apple's "Made for iPhone/iPad/iPod" program, Nintendo also seems to be ready to establish its own "Made For Nintendo Switch" system.

As one of the most successful consumer electronics companies on the planet, Apple's MFi certification system is undoubtedly an important source of profit for them. By embedding an encryption chip in the device to distinguish between authorized and unauthorized accessories, unauthorized accessories will pop up a warning message when connected to Apple devices, and may even switch the device to airplane mode, indicating that the accessory is not compatible.

By directly rejecting the use of non - certified accessories at the system level, and considering that third - party MFi accessories are cheaper than Apple's official versions, their cost - effectiveness is highlighted. So, even though accessory manufacturers need to pay an annual authorization fee of $99, a $2060 review fee for each application, and Apple takes a 20% - 25% cut from the sales of each MFi accessory by third - party manufacturers, these accessory manufacturers are still willing to participate.

Public data from 2023 shows that before the iPhone fully switched to the USB - C port, the MFi certification system contributed billions of dollars in revenue to Apple each year.

So, for Nintendo at present, building its own official authorized accessory system makes quite a lot of sense. Nintendo's 2024 fiscal year performance report shows that its sales for the entire fiscal year decreased by 30.3% to 1.1649 trillion yen, and its net profit dropped significantly by 43.2% to 278.8 billion yen.

The Switch approaching the end of its lifecycle and only 24 games selling over one million copies throughout the year are undoubtedly the key reasons for Nintendo's sharp decline in performance in the 2024 fiscal year. To reduce its dependence on the console business, Nintendo is accelerating its transformation into an "IP ecosystem company." Through diversified businesses such as mobile games like "Pikmin Bloom," the "Super Nintendo World" theme park at Universal Studios, and the "Super Mario Bros." movie, Nintendo aims to expand its revenue sources. This is also the practical basis for Shuntaro Furukawa to say that "players with limited budgets are advised to experience Nintendo IPs through other channels."

Since diversification is the focus of Nintendo's transformation, it's not surprising that it is expanding its accessory sales system. In fact, Nintendo does have the ability to create a system similar to Apple's MFi. Like Apple, it has its own "walled garden," and as a dedicated device, the gaming console doesn't inherently prioritize compatibility. So far, the "Big Three" console manufacturers have had absolute control in their respective markets.

Therefore, with both the motivation and the ability, it's only natural for Nintendo to launch the "Made For Nintendo Switch" program. It's just tough on the players, as in the future, they'll not only have to buy the expensive Switch 2 but also spend more on accessories.

This article is from the WeChat official account "3eLife" (ID: IT - 3eLife), written by 3eLife. It is published by 36Kr with authorization.