After what seemed like an eternity of waiting, Nintendo Switch 2 was finally announced this morning. Nintendo kept the details light on its new system, instead letting a brief video do most of the talking. However, there are a lot of interesting details that can be determined throughout the trailer, from changes to the Mario Kart franchise, to new features that can be expected. The trailer seemed to confirm one major change to the Joy-Con controller, which leaked several months ago. According to that leak, the Joy-Cons will have a new function that allows one to be used like a mouse on a PC.
Videos by ComicBook.com
At the 1:12 mark in today’s video, the two Joy-Con controllers can be seen in a position on their side moving upwards. The Joy-Con wrist straps can be seen growing out of the controllers, making them resemble something similar to a tail. So not only does it look like it’s being used as a PC mouse, it also resembles its animal namesake. If Nintendo isn’t hinting that Joy-Cons can be used like a mouse on Switch 2, that would seem like a pretty big coincidence. The trailer for the system can be found below.
Allowing developers to use the Joy-Con controller as a mouse could open up a lot of possibilities. First-person shooters are the most obvious use case, and would be a huge deal, especially with Call of Duty games coming to the platform. Nintendo and Microsoft signed an agreement ahead of the latter company’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, and the series is guaranteed to start releasing on Nintendo Switch 2. However, there are a lot of other games that would work as well. Games like RollerCoaster Tycoon 3, which had a cumbersome control scheme on Switch, could be far superior now. The Sims games have largely avoided the current Switch, but that could change on Switch 2, and mouse support would make the experience closer to PC.
Another possibility is that Nintendo could use a mouse-like feature to bring old Super Nintendo games to Nintendo Switch Online. Last year, datamines suggested that games that used the old SNES Mouse peripheral might be coming to Switch. Mario Paint and Mario & Wario could both make the jump to Switch 2, and it’s possible Nintendo could even make new versions of these games as well.
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While all of these possibilities are pretty exciting, Nintendo fans will have to wait and see what gets officially revealed. The company has already confirmed that a Nintendo Direct will take place on April 2nd, which will offer more information about the new system. It’s possible we could get some announcements in the weeks leading up to that presentation, including details about the Joy-Cons, and backwards compatibility. There’s simply no way of knowing what the plan is right now, but Nintendo fans seem pretty excited, judging from the early reactions!
Do you think the Joy-Cons will have a feature similar to a PC mouse? Do you think developers will put that feature to use? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp, on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!
