Nintendo wowed us all by officially announcing the Nintendo Switch 2 in January, including a quick look at the Joy-Cons coming with the console, but now we've got a proper look at the console and how the mouse functionality works on the Joy-Con controllers.
The Joy-Cons include mouse controls and gyroscopes, allowing you to grab and rotate items in certain games. You can test out the full range of movement in the Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour, which works as a game, tech demo, and hardware manual to explain all the new features on the Switch 2.
The Joy-Cons for the Nintendo Switch 2 look similar to the original controllers in terms of shape, but as seen in the reveal trailer, the colorway is swapped, the casing now being black with a pop of color running down the side.
A patent appeared earlier this year, showing "a sensor for mouse operation. […] The sensor for mouse operation detects reflected light from a detected surface, the light changing by moving over the detected surface in a state in which either the first side surface or the second side surface is placed on the detected surface."
@pockettactics We got to check out the #NintendoSwitch2 ahead of its June release date, and this year's most-anticipated console is well worth the wait 🎮✨
Nintendo originally filed the patent in early 2023, which isn't surprising as the company will have been making the Switch 2 in the background for many years now. The patent also confirms the 'inventors' of the new Joy-Con system as Masaya Takei and Kazuhiko Koriyama, members of the hardware team at Nintendo.
Naturally, my brain immediately goes to us getting a Sims Nintendo Switch version that we can use the mouse-cons with, but other people are probably expecting FPS games and shooters that'll work much better with a mouse-type control over a regular controller.
I also wonder about the potential longevity of using a Joy-Con against a surface. Will it take damage? Will it get scraped? We all know about the original Joy-Con's issues with drift, so let's hope that the new iteration doesn't follow the same path.
We're gearing up for the big release by keeping an eye out for more of the best Nintendo Switch accessories and upcoming Switch games, so we suggest you check out our guides, too.