The upcoming consoles’ Joy-Cons will be able to function as mice, the patent seems to confirm, just as prior leaks have strongly suggested.
Nintendo has said little about the Switch 2 itself, but plenty of key details have emerged on the upcoming console through unofficial channels. Leaks have insisted, for instance, that the Switch 2’s new Joy-Con controllers will also function as mice, something that the console’s reveal trailer also seemed to hint at. Though Nintendo itself has yet to officially confirm the feature, an official patent filed by the company seems to have done just that.
Spotted by users on ResetEra, the patent describes a Joy-Con controller that features “a sensor for mouse operation”. As per the patent, the sensor “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.”
The patent also features numerous diagrams illustrating a Joy-Con being held sideways and functioning like a mouse. Interestingly, some diagrams also show a different controller model that can be split apart and function separately, similar to Joy-Con controllers. You can view the diagrams below.
A Nintendo Switch 2-focused Direct presentation is scheduled for April 2. Presumably, we’ll learn more about the console’s mouse capabilities then.
Stay tuned for more updates.
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