The Nintendo Switch is one of my favorite consoles for multiplayer gaming. With so many great multiplayer Switch games, there’s something for everyone no matter their gaming skills. If your more adept gaming buddies are over, you can start up a serious Super Smash Bros. Ultimate tournament or have some intense Splatoon 3 matches. And if you’ve got some more casual gamers or absolute noobs in the mix, you can jump into more straightforward fun like Super Mario Party or Mario Kart 8 where everyone can have a little fun.
But whatever Switch game you’re turning into an event, the most important thing is having enough controllers for everyone — and making sure those controllers are charged.
There’s nothing worse than getting everyone excited to play a game only to turn around and break the bad news: “Uh, sorry — we’re going to have to wait for the extra controllers to charge.”
Over the past couple of years, I had become notorious for letting this happen in my circle of friends. It got to the point that someone would bring their own Joy-Cons over in secret to whip out at the last second, knowing I wasn’t going to be prepared. Tired of having to sit around waiting to charge my Joy-Cons two at a time on the docked console, I finally found a solution.
The HyperX ChargePlay Quad is a sleek, small standalone device that can charge four Joy-Cons at the same time, ensuring that you’re always prepared for a night of gaming. Extra Joy-Cons can just live on this charger while not in use instead of being tucked away and forgotten. The charging doesn’t happen lightning-fast (HyperX claims a charge time of about three-and-a-half hours) so you do still have to be a little on top of the ball, but this accessory makes it so much simpler than rotating out pairs of Joy-Cons.
And I don’t know why the rest of the world is keeping this design secret from Nintendo, but Joy-Cons easily glide in and lock into place on the charger. It isn’t an absolute pain to remove the Joy-Cons like it is on the Switch console. You’ll never feel like you’re going to snap one of your controllers in half.
The HyperX ChargePlay Quad is only $14.99 (50% off) right now at Amazon, so there’s never been a better time to pick one up. The peace of mind that comes with the extra charger is well worth the price. Also, if you want a bit more flair, there’s an updated ChargePlay Quad that looks like a Poké Ball , although it’ll cost you a few extra bucks.
