The Nintendo Switch fans who want a greater deal of control when playing touchscreen games can now purchase a compatible stylus from the Nintendo Store, but only in the United Kingdom. The Nintendo Switch has a touchscreen that is similar to the ones used in smartphones, which means that they respond better to a human finger than to a stylus, unlike the screens used by the Nintendo 3DS or Wii U GamePad.
There are some fans who prefer to use a stylus in Nintendo Switch games that allow the player to create drawings, such as in Splatoon 2. There are games like Super Mario Maker 2 that benefit greatly from a stylus and the physical version of Super Mario Maker 2 was bundled with a stylus, but only in Europe and Japan. The physical version of Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training for Nintendo Switch also comes with a stylus in some regions, as there are tasks that involve writing letters and numbers quickly on the touchscreen, which can be difficult when only using a finger.
Nintendo is finally selling a compatible stylus for the Nintendo Switch, but only in the United Kingdom. According to Eurogamer, the Nintendo UK Store is selling individual styluses for £6.99, with a standard delivery cost of £1.99. It should be noted that most styluses that work with smartphones will also work with the Nintendo Switch, and most will mention Switch compatibility in their product description, so there is nothing special about purchasing the Nintendo-brand stylus.
The Nintendo Switch was released in 2017, so it's surprising that the company waited so long to release an official stylus. Nintendo promised to release more 3DS ports for the Switch in the past and having easy access to a stylus would make this process easier, considering how most 3DS games used the touchscreen. Nintendo also released the Nintendo Switch Lite in 2019, which is a handheld version of the system that cannot be connected to a TV. It would have made sense to have a stylus ready to be bundled with the Nintendo Switch Lite, seeing as how gamers are going to be using its touchscreen more than the regular Nintendo Switch.
Nintendo's plans for the Switch in 2020 are still unclear, but there are rumors regarding more Nintendo Wii U ports coming to the system this year. It's possible that ports of Super Mario 3D World or Pikmin 3 would retain their touchscreen functionality from the GamePad and that Nintendo is preparing for more touchscreen-focused games with the release of its own separate stylus.
Source: Eurogamer, Nintendo UK