Nintendo might not be the company best known for pushing cutting-edge technology, but it constantly brings new ideas to the table. Over the decades, Nintendo’s innovations have helped its hardware stand out from the competition. When Switch 2 was first announced, there was a concern from fans that Nintendo was failing to innovate. After going hands-on with the system earlier this month, I think there’s one element that’s going to really set it apart from its competition, and that’s the new Joy-Con mouse controls. In a short amount of time, Nintendo has already shown just how big a game-changer this feature could be.
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For those who haven’t been keeping up, the Nintendo Switch 2 Joy-Cons have gotten a major redesign. The controllers are bigger, they attach to the system magnetically, and they offer HD Rumble. When flipped on their side, the Joy-Cons can also be used like a mouse on a PC. As any PC gamer can tell you, there are a lot of practical reasons for having mouse controls, including precision targeting in first-person shooters and easier maneuverability for point-and-click games. These options were on full display during Nintendo Switch 2’s press event, where Sid Meier’s Civilization VII and Metroid Prime 4: Beyond were both playable. They’ll also likely be used when Microsoft starts to bring over the Call of Duty franchise.
Just from that standpoint, it’s easy to see how many games could benefit from having mouse controls as an option. Super Mario Maker is a game that benefitted greatly from having the touchscreen of the Wii U GamePad, and having a mouse would replicate that experience and make it way easier to create stages while playing Super Mario Maker 2 in TV mode. Pokemon Ranger is another series that could benefit; the original games utilized the DS and 3DS touch screens to draw circles around Pokemon. That could easily come back on Switch 2 without the associated risk of damaging a touch screen. One of my favorite things about Switch 2 is that Nintendo showed how games can easily swap between standard and mouse controls; the Metroid Prime 4 demo let players freely jump between control schemes without even having to swap to a different menu.
These uses are very practical, but they fail to get across the overall “Nintendo-ness” of the concept. Mouse controls were one of the worst-kept secrets about Nintendo Switch 2, with the concept leaking well ahead of an official announcement. Despite this, I was not prepared for the breadth of uses Nintendo would have on display at the hands-on event. The greatest example is the upcoming exclusive Drag x Drive. Based on the real-life sport of wheelchair basketball, Drag x Drive has players control the two wheels using both Joy-Cons in the mouse position. It’s a simple concept, but it immediately shows the versatility of the technology. In that regard, it feels like an important piece of software for the system’s first year because it’s an example of Nintendo showing developers (and the public) that the mouse controls aren’t just about replicating the PC experience. Instead, we’re seeing the kind of game that can only be offered on a Nintendo system.
This type of application was also seen in other Nintendo games available at the event. Super Mario Party Jamboree’s new mouse-themed mini-games showcased several clever ideas, including Pull-Back Attack, which used the mouse to simulate a toy pull-back car. Another mini-game, Bob-omb Makeover, combined the mouse mode with motion controls, making the Joy-Con simulate a can of spray paint, which had to be periodically shaken up by the player. Nintendo Switch 2: Welcome Tour‘s Find the Biggest Rumble game similarly combined mouse controls with HD Rumble, with the player searching for the greatest area of sensitivity on a line. Playing these mini-games, it feels like Nintendo is refining a lot of the ideas we saw from the original Switch.
In an era where most games are coming to PC, consoles run the risk of becoming irrelevant. As someone who has long preferred the console experience, the Switch 2 event showed that Nintendo isn’t content to just offer the same experience you can get anywhere else. Nintendo platforms have always been the exclusive place to play Nintendo’s games, but Switch 2 also seems like it’s going to offer unique gameplay as well. After playing several games that utilized mouse controls, I found myself reminded of the dual-screen setup for the Nintendo DS. That concept seemed odd at first, but it inspired third-party developers to create a ton of new and unique software. I don’t know how that will play out with Nintendo Switch 2; games are a lot more expensive to produce today, and developers want to make titles they can easily port to other platforms to recoup costs. However, if you had told me at the start of the DS era some of the ideas developers would come up with, I wouldn’t have believed you.
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Not all of Nintendo’s weird ideas work out. For every Rumble Pak or DS, there’s an e-Reader or Labo. The company takes some big swings, and not every one of them is a home run. But with Nintendo Switch 2, it feels like the new Joy-Cons are giving us a marriage between the practical and the weird. The practical part is exciting, and I hope it leads to more PC games like The Sims making the jump to the system. At the end of the day, though, I really can’t wait to see more of the weird. Nintendo has built the technology and shown how it can be used. Now, let’s see if other studios decide to follow suit.
Are you interested to try Nintendo Switch 2’s mouse controls for yourself? What do you think of the new system so far? Share your thoughts with me directly on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!
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Image Credit: Warner Bros.
