Joy-Con Mouse Functionality Seemingly Confirmed In Switch 2 Trailer

Wonder if it'll get more use than the IR sensor on the existing right joy con.

I wonder what games will use this mouse feature? Splatoon maybe?

I thought they were just having a little joy-con race. Didn’t realise this confirmed mouse-functionality

They gave Sakurai what he always wanted

With this functionality, i can see a lot of classic PC games making their way over to the Switch. Quite honestly, its pretty impressive that all these play styles can be on a single console out of the box.

@Drew250 The red Joy-Con and the blue Joy-Con had a race, all red wants to do is stuff his face, he eats everything he sees, from trucks to prickly trees, but good old blue he took the Milky Way.

Combined with the wider kickstand, tabletop play seems to get more attention.

That's Joy-Con Drift 2.0!

yes RTS game finaly will get avaible on switch

I want to see new dock details.

@Drew250
It doesn't confirm it, that's why the article said 'seemingly'.

Finally made a game out of drift. Kudos Nintendo!

I just don't see that many games utilizing it because wouldn't that force the player to have access to a flat surface for put the joycon on? Not to mention that game would not be able to be played handheld. And I don't know anybody that was like "Man, this form fitting mouse for my computer is too sleek, wish I had a hard uncomfortable rectangle to slide around my desk instead." Perhaps someone else can explain the angle where this would be useful? Because I just can't see it.

@nukatha They wouldn't show this if mouse functionality wasn't included. Would've been a catastrophe for the communication team.

Haven’t been following the rumours, but that’s pretty slick if true.

I’d never even considered this as a possibility, but it seems very doable and very worth doing. A mouse is not a particularly sophisticated piece of tech, but the functionally opens up all sorts of options!

I'm glad they gonna tell us all the secrets of the Switch 2 on the day after April Fool and not just on April Fool.

Excited for this.

Copy of my comment from 6. January 2025:

Concerning the laser on the joy-con:
Using it as a mouse would be a very useful option for many types of games.
It probably has a base it slots into for this use.

• Point and click games.
• Several types of puzzle games.
• DS, 3DS and Wii U games that used the stylus.
• Games that used the pointer on Wii, Wii U and Switch.
• A ton of different old and new PC games.
• Several types of strategy games
• Creative games / programs
• Board games / card games
• The new upcoming Layton game: Professor Layton and the New World of Steam
• Games that used the NES Zapper gun
• Games that used The Super Scope / Nintendo Scope (The bazooka zapper for the SNES)
• Zapper arcade games
• Mouse games for the SNES: Mario Paint, Mario & Wario (The game with a bucket on the head)
• Mario Paint 2025.
• Mario Maker 3.
  Oh wow. That would be so good.
  For me Mario Maker worked like a treat on Wii U with the pen, but not so much on Switch with the use of buttons or finger.
• Shooting games.
  I imagine Metroid Prime 4 would then have the option to use one joy con for movement using the analogue stick, and using the other joy con as a mouse for shooting.

(...)

Nintendo might also release a pro mouse like they will certainly release a new pro controller.

https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2025/01/rumour-new-switch-2-photos-show-off-a-very-legit-looking-joy-con#comment8440144

@thenikdavies Yep, only thing I was worried about. Had full confidence that the rest would be fine, but looks like they messed up again with Drift. Hal-Effect system available? Older generation controllers that did not have this issue? Nevermind, let's make the sticks drift prone so that we sell tons of them.

Finally, PC gamers will shut up and stop port begging

@AnnoyingFrenzy I imagine most FPS and RTS will have mouse controls as an option. Just like how motion controls are optional in some games. It's there for whoever wants to use it

Age of empires on nintendo will be crazy

@OorWullie I suppose you got me there, Pikmin or Metroid Prime with mouse control could be nice, but it just does not look like a good option regardless to me, purely due to form factor. Unless they release a standalone mouse accessory like on the SNES lol

Ton of games would benefit from this so I only see this as a positive boon

Monkey Island 2 confirmed!

$80 official Switch 2 MousePad Pro confirmed.

See I wouldn't be surprised if the thinking by Nintendo was 'this way games can "use the touchscreen" even when docked', and Nintendo is caught off guard with us going "year mouse aiming FPS" and "yeah we can play proper RTS"

Anyone else grabbed their joycon and tried it yet? It's not very comfortable, or at least for me it isn't.

@Tanookduke Could be useful in strategy games as well, including Pikmin.

METROID PRIME 4 BEYOND IS GONNA BE SO FUN WITH THIS GIMMICK DD

Mario Paint port when?

In all seriousness, if the mouse feature is indeed a thing, it would be cool if you could use alternative control schemes to play certain games. For example, since I play on the PC a lot (mainly for Genshin Impact), I obviously use a mouse and keyboard to play instead of a controller.

For games that are on both PC and Switch 2 (now I can finally call it "Switch 2" instead of the "successor to the Switch," since the console and the name are officially revealed), it would be nice to be able to have the option to play either with a traditional control scheme or with a mouse functionality, especially for games like Skyrim, which benefit from precision aiming with a mouse.

The idea for a mouse gimmick sounds nice on paper, but I doubt it'll really work out all that well in practice.

For one, you'd need to be able to put the "mouse" on a flat surface, which is typically not available for a console setup. Besides that, the controller doesn't look very comfortable to use if you hold it like that.

@Enigk oh no! The bridge has gone!

@AnnoyingFrenzy
I have no idea either, we have until early April to come up with ideas

Age of empires handheld with joycon is not a dream anymore well done Microsoft, More classic RTS game bring back

Looks like something they’d toss in to appease the key people in the company who don’t want them to make purely iterative consoles which this otherwise is.

Possible Co-Op games on the same system with mouse support?

@Sequel …Do you mean Monkey Island 7? Monkey Island 2 came out in 1991.

Two ideas . . .

1) This targets PC gamers. Gamers that prefer WASD + Mouse. Like Quake?

2) Maybe this can be setup to play with one hand? So joystick is main stick and mouse movement is 2nd stick?

EDIT: But yes, this would make playing point-and-click games more like how it was in "the-ol-days".

Just some random thoughts . . .

Honestly excited for this. Could pave the way for more PC games that are dependent on a keyboard and mouse. And hey, if you can use a Switch 2 Keyboard, that can lead to some interesting possibilities!

And I'll bet it will be used for 3 games, and then forgotten about 😂

And that's how Switch 2 became my go-to-console for playing Civilization VII, kids.

We will see a renaissance in management // rts type games for console if true. Wow do you think Baldur's Gate 3 could be on it too? Or ports of old PC CPRGs? OMG think of the possibilities! I'd totally buy them all again

@AnnoyingFrenzy yeah lol, i dont see this being practical for a fast paced fps where you have to dash the mouse all over the place. this wont work

Yes, give it a pointer. In multiplayer scenario where each player needs a canvas to move the joycon around, this might be take some preparation.

I don´t know how I´ll play using a "mouse" sitting on the sofa in my home theater room.

I have Steam Deck, and i can plug it on my TV, but i´ve never played using a mouse. Only Xbox controller.

I will never use this joycom as a mouse. Because on my PC room, i prefer to play...ON PC!

@user0
I mean, if there's no sensor bar/Reference for motion pointer based aiming, than that's another huge loss as it was with Switch. I find it hysterical how a console from 2006(Wii) completely wipes the floor with Switch's Gyro, and that's going to be the exact same case all over again if there's no type of reference this time out.

Can't play House of the Dead 2 Remake properly, or even a potential Sin & Punishment: Star Successor 4K port, and so much more.

At least this new tech will work wonders for Mario Paint 2. But for anything in first person, count me out. I hate mouse-based aiming. Need motion pointer based aiming + Sensor bar.

@AnnoyingFrenzy It wouldn't surprise me if we get a dedicated wired mouse accessory (to plug into the new USB-C port on the top) which would be a more comfortable experience, but having it built into the standard controllers as a baseline functionality means that third parties can develop games without having to worry about smaller market sizes.

@AnnoyingFrenzy Yeah it doesn't look too comfortable. Perhaps it'll have a little base it slots in. We should be able to use a normal mouse too.

@Waveboy Golf and tennis games peaked on Wii because of its motion controls. Every game since is a step back Tiger Woods 10 and Grandlam Tennis took immersion to the next level.

@OorWullie
Metroid Prime 3's Wii pointer controls were ground breaking when set to advanced too, then you have the flash light controls & fun motion based puzzle solving in Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, Wario Land Shake it made wonderful use of Motion tilt controls, ELEBITS, and so much more, including Zack & Wiki, Pikmin 1&2 NPC, just to name a few.

The Switch however can't replicate Wii remote cross hair pointing properly, obviously. Without a reference they were doomed from the start. If you want an evolution to the Wii remote Plus & Nunchuck, you'll get that with Quest 3 & PSVR2 controllers.

@Enigk I have no idea what I'm reading but, I guess I'm going to upvote this??

I let out an audible "ahhhhh there it is" when I saw this happen! Really fun to see official confirmation in the reveal.

Um, and these fancy surface movements are an indication of "mouse-like functionality" rather than, well, fancy movements characteristics of the entire trailer... based on what, again?🤔 Just the shape and positioning associations? Or the now age-old "joycon mousewheel" mythology?

The notion itself would be Nintendoiciously fancy, no denying that much, although it sounds like an exclusive boost for the tabletop mode (the other two not exactly lending themselves to the concept) and thus potentially limited to the kind of games already thriving thereon like 1-2-Switch or Mario Party.

@Tanookduke That's what I'm wondering. Mario maker for level designing perhaps? COD when that comes to the system? Sim games like Civ 7? So many possibilities.

Can't wait for it to start drifting after a few months

Do I sense a Mario Paint game?

@Tanookduke

My initial thought was mouse functional could be useful for strategy or point and click games.

With this system, the NSO app can add a new...

...Creative Exercise.

Picross. That is all

@Waveboy Yep, so many games were better for having motion controls. Loved Zak and Wiki.

I will get a Quest eventually. My mate has one and he loves it.

Is it bad my first thought upon seeing that in the trailer was "welcome to the grid?"

Looks like the bumper is different from the other images here

@AnnoyingFrenzy I can see games like Baldur's Gate 3 supporting, same with RTS game ports like Age of Empires and Civ6/Civ7. I think it a nice to have feature. It might get used with shooters too depending on how it's implemented.

Game changer!

Interesting. When they said it included mouse functionality, I didn't know they meant literally. I just thought it would be more like the Wii. Kind of neat that you seem to be able to set it down on a surface and move it around like an actual mouse.

The possibilities of virtually endless

@Ulysses It's a reference to an advert from 35+ years ago involving a red and a blue car.

@AnnoyingFrenzy The point isn't that the Joy-Con itself will provide an optimal mouse experience. No part of the Joy-Con in any circumstance is optimal. It's there so it can be used in a pinch. It's also a garbage gamepad experience, which is why the Pro Controller exists.

Nintendo might even make their own official switch "Pro Mouse." The point is that IR-driven mouse input would be an officially sanctioned and supported input that games can be designed around, which means even if Nintendo doesn't make a proper mouse, third party manufacturers can pick up the slack. The bottom line is that mouse input for Nintendo games might actually be a real thing.

@user0
I think you can count on it. The IR sensor was a very niche gimmick, but mice have been used for gaming for ages

Watching some videos and didn't catch it at first, but yeah, they're attachments.

I wonder if it could work with Switch games that support USB mouses such as Game Builder Garage or Q Remastered.

@Pillowpants Speaking of kids, supposedly a lot of younger gamers increasingly prefer PC gaming these days, so it actually makes a lot of sense for Nintendo to cater to those new preferences. For instance, a lot of students have become accustomed to booting up F2P games right there on their school computers.

@Enigk Ah I see, thanks for explaining the reference!

@Waveboy I'm hoping that there will be a sensor bar built into the dock somehow. That wouldn't help me personally since I use a projector setup, but it would enhance the user experience for many.

@Diowine What precisely makes you think that these joysticks aren't Hall effect? At this point, Nintendo would be crazy not to have them. The backlash could define the narrative of the launch.

I wonder if it also could have a scroll wheel...
This functionalty has a lot of potential for many games, well mainly FPS and overall games that work perfect on PC, but there's also room for gameplay innovation, like, air hockey games, maybe on a Switch Sports 2 (or Switch Sports Resort)? That would be cool

@burndive Because if I was Nintendo I would have definitively emphasized that my joysticks are Hall Effect on the video, if that was the case. But on the other hand, the trailer on the 0:44 mark shows them as being exactly the same stick but just becoming bigger. Does this tell something for sure? No, not at all. But I would have definitively teased the change.
Let's be honest, not even Sony with their "amazing" Dualsense controllers avoided drift, while my old Gamecube controllers are still intact of it.
I have complained about it for 8 years and have 3 Left Joy Cons and a Dualsence ruined by drift (No free repair here).
They now know that planned obsolescence just sells more for controllers apparently.
Again, I REAAALLLY hope that I am wrong.

You can literally see the optical sensor on the blue joycon at 1:02.
While I would agree that it doesn't confirm a mouse functionnality I don't know why an optical sensor would be there if not for that...

Maybe a Zelda RTS game?

I was thinking with that position, the shoulder button will act like left click button command you pressed with right pointing finger and that mysterious C button will act like right click command you pressed with right thumb finger.

Also, possibly we can get The Sims 1 & 2 from PC version get remastered on consoles (Switch 2, PS5)?

If it was really that, don’t you think they would have taken the opportunity to show a hand using it as a mouse and clicking?

@PinderSchloss It was pretty clear to me what they were hinting at when they showed the Joy-Con on their sides scurrying around like mice with the straps serving as tails, but I can't blame people for overlooking it

@Diowine Nintendo of America at least offers free drift repair, and with the US being their biggest market, they absolutely lost money over Joy-Con drift. I'm sorry that you lost out on that, but it's more likely than not that they'll address it given the intense controversy. Pretty sure Hall Effect joysticks are only different under the hood, anyways. You look at options for modding them for use on Switch and they're not really any different visually.

@PikaPhantom Still not convinced I’m used to Nintendo explaining things as if we’re kindergarteners, in their presentations. Seems like a weird selling point to hold back.
Time will tell

@PinderSchloss Heh. Would not mind if they move away from that. Indie Worlds are especially hard to watch.

It is definitely strange to not emphasize the mice more since the reveal mostly just felt like a very blatant way of showing that the Switch 2 is a new system (look, the original Switch transformed into the successor! Now here's Mario Kart). Unlike anything else the Switch 2 is likely bringing to the table, it's a hardware feature and not something we're getting through the OS, which I'm not surprised is being saved for later like with the original Switch. But I'm glad it seems more likely than not. It's not the most radical shakeup in the world since games have been played with a mouse for most of their existence, but it feels inspired and on-brand for Nintendo, especially because they do have a sporadic history with mice (mostly just the SNES Mouse and then supporting one in Game Builder Garage - EPD4 has some sway over what goes into a console, so I wouldn't be surprised if the idea of turning Joy-Con into mice originated with them). No console has catered to that much.

I was thinking that this might make it easier to port over DS / 3DS games over to the Switch, especially for Tabletop and TV Mode.

The mouse could replace the touchscreen functionality (for the bottom screen) when playing in Tabletop / TV Mode?

Then we get DS in NSO?

EDIT: Does this mean we start seeing more of the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series?