April 9, 2020

This Nintendo Switch dock is tailor-made for Gamecube pads and Smash players

By Tech Online Things

The Nintendo Switch, with its transforming play-styles, going from handheld to TV play in an instant, is one of Nintendo’s best innovations. But that doesn’t mean intrepid third-party accessory makers haven’t been trying to improve upon near-perfection.

This June, Taiwanese manufacturer Brook will be launching its own take on the Nintendo Switch’s dock in the shape of its SW Dock Power-Bay – and it’s got a few tricks up its sleeve.

Not only does it look like a squashed Gamecube, the underrated Nintendo console from the early 2000s, but it’s also got built-in support for two Gamecube controllers – often considered the optimal way to play brawler Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Feature-rich

That’s not all it’s offering. As well as HDMI-output, the dock also has two USB ports for hooking up another pair of wired controllers, like the Switch Pro pads.

It also offers a sorely-missed feature from the Switch – Bluetooth headset support, letting two sets of Bluetooth headsets connect over Bluetooth 5.0, 4.0, 3.0 and 2.1, with support for low-latency aptX codec to keep the sounds in sync with onscreen action.

Definitely worth a punt if you’re on the hunt for an additional dock, the SW Dock Power-Bay will retail at $54.99 (about £45 / AU$90) later this summer.

Third-party Switch accessories do have the habit, on occasion, of bricking Switch consoles – due to Nintendo’s willing incompatibility with unofficial hardware.

However, the website for this product says that, “Made of high-quality materials, Power Bay can prevent over-voltage, over-current, over-temperature, short circuit and also provides fast and secure charging at the same time” – if that’s enough to put you at ease.