Nintendo Prepares the Original Switch for the End

All products featured here are independently selected by our editors and writers. If you buy something through links on our site, Gizmodo may earn an affiliate commission. Nintendo’s original Switch handheld is nearing its 10-year birthday, but instead of blowing up the balloons and setting out the party hats, Nintendo may be preparing to put the original Switch out to pasture. Europe will be the first to see the original Switch go, and soon Nintendo may turn all its focus to the Switch 2. In an update to its support page FAQ, Nintendo says of the European market: “From mid-February 2027, almost ten years after Nintendo Switch launched in March 2017, Nintendo will no longer sell to retailers hardware in the Nintendo Switch family of systems – specifically Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch Lite and Nintendo Switch OLED Model.” By next year, you won’t be able to buy any new Switch hardware from the Nintendo Store if you live in the EU. While you can still buy OG Joy-Con replacements, you won’t be able to purchase the NES, SNES, or Sega Mega Drive recreation controllers directly from Nintendo. The move is sure to concern some OG Switch diehards. Nintendo blames European Union regulatio