Nintendo needs to take Switch 2 accessibility seriously, and here’s why

In 2025, with the Nintendo Switch 2 launch looming, accessibility is everywhere and nowhere all at once. If you scroll through TikTok, you’ll likely come across something along the lines of ‘Best iPhone Hacks You Never Knew About,’ and most will be from the accessibility section.

Yet some of these features are a lifesaver for so many users. For example, Eye Tracking can let you control your iPhone, iPad, or Mac with your eyes, or Vocal Shortcuts can launch a bunch of features by using your voice. But when it comes to hardware devices for accessibility in gaming, it’s only in recent years that we’re starting to see progress.

For example, Microsoft’s Xbox Adaptive Controller, released in 2018, and Sony’s Access Controller, from 2023, have been well-received, enabling many players to use Xbox and PlayStation consoles with ease. However, with the Nintendo Switch 2 arriving in under a month, there’s no sign of the company launching its own accessible take on its Joy-Con 2 controllers.

With the Switch 2 likely to be a mammoth success and a future pick for our guide to the best handheld consoles, I think it’s time for Nintendo to take notice and look into its approach. Since Nintendo released its Game & Watch devices in the early 80s, games have come a long way. They’ve become sophisticated in telling a story, sophisticated in graphics, sound, and more. Yet it’s only in the last decade or so that accessibility has become a priority for game developers.

Oddly enough, The Last of Us Part II, developed by Naughty Dog and released in 2020, followed by its remaster earlier this year, stands out as a game with an incredible amount of accessibility features. So much so, the game earned an ‘Innovation in Accessibility’ award at The Game Awards in 2020.

Plenty of other games, such as Bugsnax and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, offer similar features, but this is all at a software level. When you look at the efforts that developers are making with their games to cater to disabled players, as well as Sony and Microsoft with their own controllers, you can’t help but think that Nintendo is lacking in both.

As it stands, there is just one third-party controller for disabled players on the Switch called the Hori Flex, but you can only use it when the console is in its dock. It’s also expensive at £249.99, pricing out many disabled players from experiencing some of the best Switch games. Granted, Nintendo has been accused of pricing out many gamers already with high price tags for some of its Switch 2 games, such as Mario Kart World, as well as offering its Switch 2 Pro Controller for $109, but there should be a different mindset when it comes to an accessible controller.

For now, at least, there should be a focus by the company on looking at a dedicated hardware controller for the disabled that’s a variant of the Joy-Con 2. Players can already remap the buttons on both Switch consoles, so the main aim here would be to design a controller that can work much like Microsoft’s Adaptive Controller. Have it so that there can be multiple buttons to plug into a main base, allowing almost anyone to play Switch games with ease.

Even better, the Switch 2 camera, which lets players show off to others when playing multiplayer games, could help disabled users by using motion to select different settings within the Switch 2 software, as well as enabling others to make their own gestures. There’s also a microphone built into the Switch, so voice control, much like how Apple offers a similar feature on its devices, could also work with this accessible controller.

For decades, Nintendo has been known to define what a controller is. They’ve also redefined the category with the Nintendo Wii in 2005 with the Nunchuck and Wii Remote. It’s one of the few companies that have shown off how they can appeal to audiences who have had no prior interest in gaming. The same can apply to accessibility.

The company would do well to look at the awareness out there, too, championing accessibility, such as Laura Kate Dale’s YouTube channel, which offers several deep dives on how game companies are making their products available to disabled players. AbleGamers, a charity dedicated to making games accessible for disabled gamers, also has a great YouTube channel on how they’re making a difference.

Ultimately, Nintendo has a real opportunity here, more than it did with the original Switch. New and existing players are going to be buying the Switch 2 from June 5, and so will disabled players. The company wants to make their games available to everyone – it’s time for Nintendo to practice what they’ve been preaching for 40 years now, on a whole other level.

For more handheld goodness outside of the Nintendo Switch 2, take a look at our guides to the best retro handhelds and the best Steam Deck alternatives while you’re here. Or, for our thoughts on Nintendo’s much-hyped successor, see our Nintendo Switch 2 hands-on preview.