Early Switch 2 Peripherals Want You to Make ‘Vroom, Vroom’ Noises

We’re at least four months from an official Nintendo Switch 2 release, but the peripheral makers are beating Nintendo to the punch. Judging by the latest trailer, Nintendo’s next-gen dockable handheld will likely feature a new Mario Kart game, and one maker wants you to drive with your JoyCons in style.

On Friday, Nintendo Life first hit upon accessory maker Nacon’s early peripherals. These include a steering wheel with docks for the new JoyCons. The €29.90, or approximately $30 steering wheel uses suction cups to stick to your table or desk when you take intense turns in a yet-to-be-announced mascot-themed cart racer. It has two modes, one standing and one flat, a unique feature you don’t normally get with many similar steering wheels. Still, it’s not something we haven’t seen before with the original Switch, which also included motion controls in its JoyCons.

The early renderings of the Switch 2 controllers don’t look like Nintendo’s recently revealed device, especially the joysticks, which lack the large overlapping bezel. This is likely another device designed around specs sent to peripheral makers before Nintendo could announce its Switch sequel. Nacon also has a few silicon-inserted JoyCon covers, some external Switch 2 covers, and a carrying case.

Nacon’s peripherals fuel fans’ suspicion that we’re finally due a sequel to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Even though the game’s footage appeared for a bare few seconds in the Switch 2 reveal trailer, fans have already spotted there could be up to 24 racers on the track at once. Fans have also noted that Donkey Kong’s character model resembles how he appeared in the Super Mario Bros. Movie than in the nearly 8-year-old cart racing game.

Thanks to their own leaks, we know Dbrand, Genki, and likely plenty of other small brands plan to share their own Switch 2 accessories. DBrand’s Killswitch case includes a cover and an additional kickstand to go along with the Switch 2’s U-shaped stand.

Genki’s original images seem especially interesting, considering it revealed early mockups of the new JoyCons, which were practically identical to what Nintendo revealed on Jan. 16, down to the blue and red accents around the joysticks. Genki also shared a charging dock big enough to fit two pairs together.

VIDEO — La Nintendo Switch 2 en avant-première au #CES2025.

L’accessoiriste Genki indique posséder la vraie console et expose une maquette 3D + des accessoires.

Les détails ici : https://t.co/5LDlnR2zC1 pic.twitter.com/IJ6taQggIQ

— Numerama (@Numerama) January 8, 2025

Switch 2 Leakers Take Flak From Devs

We already know of plenty of third-party cases thanks to the obscene number of early device mock-up leaks. However, we don’t have anything that suggests new capabilities for the Switch 2 JoyCons or the console itself. Based on Nintendo’s video, we can only speculate that the controllers could work like a mouse when slid along a table. We would also like to know if the Switch 2 dock adds any graphical capability to the handheld. Rumors and leaks suggest the Switch 2 could support 4K resolution when docked.

Unknowns continue to drive the collective wild, not some ill-considered idea that these brands ruined “the surprise.” On Friday, Bayonetta’s original director and current lead on an upcoming Okami sequel, Hideki Kamiya, wrote on Twitter how much he despised the leakers. According to a machine-translated post, he said, “I hope that all those who leaked Switch 2 information will be cursed for the rest of their lives to have poo on the soles of their shoes whenever they go home.”

He continued, “…Now that I’ve enjoyed the surprise announcement of Okami with all the users, I truly believe that… all those damn leakers should be cursed… The shitty leaker only acts for his own pleasure and self-satisfaction, not only is he not contributing to anyone’s benefit, he is incurring all sorts of opportunity losses, and has done nothing to be proud of in front of others.”

Former Nintendo PR manager Krysta Yang spoke a very similar sentiment on her YouTube channel alongside fellow ex-Nintendo staffer Kit Ellis. She said she was “100% sure” that Nintendo was “really mad… very, very, very upset” by the leaks, saying that Nintendo would have a harder time surprising fans. Ellis said Nintendo’s regular processes to control the spread of information “did not work,” and the leaks were “made worse by [Nintendo’s] mindset that they could control everything.”

Nintendo had been working on the Switch 2 for years and offered only the barest shreds of information at that time. The company’s corporate accounts had to eventually confirm the console’s existence for the sake of investors, not fans. Nintendo’s own closed-mouth attitude created this salivating sense among anybody who wasn’t directly in the know. If anybody should have to scrape poop off their shoes, Nintendo should look at its own soles first.