02 October 2026
by rawmeatcowboy0
Due to changes in European law, Nintendo has had to revamp their hardware lineup to allow for easily replaceable batteries in devices like the Switch 2, Switch 2 Pro Controller and more. Those same changes are in the works for the N64 controller for Switch and the GameCube controller for Switch 2, and it seems like there might be a chance those products release outside of Japan.
Nintendo hasn’t made a peep about bringing their replaceable battery hardware outside of Europe, but some new filings may point to plans for at least a couple of controllers. As discovered by Nintendo Patents Watch, Nintendo has been grabbing some noteworthy certificates in recent weeks, including the following:
- the Japanese wireless certificate of BEE-021 GCN Controller was updated on Sep 10, adding a new model number BEE-021(-01)
- the Canadian radio certificate for HAC-043(-01) was approved on Jul 22; HAC-043 was the N64 Controller
- “(-01)” is already used to denote known EU products, such as the new Switch 2 console BEE-001(-01)
It would be odd for Nintendo to snag certificates for these updated N64 and GameCube controllers outside of Europe unless they had some plans of releasing them in other locations. This could be an indicator of worldwide launch plans, or it might be nothing at all. We’ll be sure to keep tabs on the situation to see if any other discoveries are made.
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