One part of the Nintendo Switch 2 that hasn’t received a lot of attention is the mouse functionality. It was heavily rumored that the Joy-Cons would have this feature, and when Nintendo actually revealed the Switch 2 last month, they did imply that the rumors were true. That said, we still don’t fully understand how the feature will work.
Well, thanks to some new Nintendo patents, that may not be the case anymore. The patents, published earlier today, are specifically for the mouse functionality that the Joy-Cons will have for the new console. However, the new patents also suggest that, apparently, it will not be just the Joy-Cons that will be able to be used like a computer mouse. The Switch 2’s Pro Controller can be split in half and used in exactly the same way. You can see a social media post relaying the news, as well as a gallery containing pictures of the patents, down below.
It also seems like the pro controller, which they haven't showed yet, will be able to be split in half to also take advantage of the mouse functionality. pic.twitter.com/GOaaDHrKrT
— Stealth (@Stealth40k) February 6, 2025
I’m super excited to see what this mouse functionality entails… Perhaps we will get a Nintendo Social Media (miiverse-esque) platform that includes drawings/animations? Maybe Flipnote Hatena will be back? Who knows- I’m pumped though!
I KNEW that moment of the reveal trailer with the Joy-Cons sliding along a surface was significant- you don’t show something like that if you aren’t actively going to use it, so why waste the resources?
Nintendo systems haven’t seen mouse-style input since the SNES, and only one game I can think of ever used it, that being Mario Paint. This mouse-style input looks like it’s going to be more universal, but in what ways, I can only speculate.
Metroid 4 with a mouse
Splatoon with a mouse
Don’t see this feature taking off.
I can see being implemented for a couple of games and then become redundant.
The moment you integrate mouse-aiming in games like Splatoon or Fortnite, it takes off. Also don’t forget the plethora of strategic and point’n’click games that Switch has, that could hugely benefit from this.
Mario maker comes to mind
stay mad
I hope they keep it out of games. Sure for some shooters but don’t focus on it for gimmicks in say …Mario party end etc
It takes away the “Play anywhere” when now you’ll need a surface area to use it.
I feel like this will most likely be the case with the mouse feature, the PS5 controller has 6 axis gyro sensors for precise motion controls but hardly any games actually take advantage of it and implement the feature into the game and have motion controls. i feel like a select few titles might use the mouse feature. I’m using this as an example, so don’t get all huffy because i mentioned PlayStation.
Looks like you never played any of the Splatoon games? because 6 axis Gyro is the default and prefered way to play Splatoon. And Splatoon is a huge franchise that have sold massive amount of copies. So yes, I don’t have doubt Nintendo will implement this new “gimmick” in a big way, unlike Sony.