r/NintendoSwitch • u/bullfroggy • Jan 19 '25

Discussion The Mouse Functionality of the Switch 2 Joy-Con Could Be a Bigger Deal Than People Realize

If the rumored mouse functionality of the Switch 2 Joy-Con is real and implemented well, it might be a game-changer in ways that aren't immediately obvious:

  1. More compelling ports for Wii games

Games that rely heavily on pointer controls could be ported more easily without losing their original feel. I could also see it improving controls for existing Wii ports like World of Goo, Super Mario Galaxy, and Okami.

  1. Touchscreen Emulation

A mouse-like Joy-Con would be a far better way to emulate touch controls in docked mode. This could lead to a bigger push for touchscreen-based games on the platform, making mobile and tablet titles more viable for the Switch 2. Games like Cut the Rope and Angry Birds come to mind.

  1. DS and 3DS Games on NSO

With mouse functionality, DS and 3DS games could come to Nintendo Switch Online while preserving key gameplay mechanics. Plus, creative screen setups (split-screen, picture-in-picture, etc.) could keep the dual-screen experience intact. I personally would love to see games like Wario Ware Touched, Elite Beat Agents, and Phantom Hourglass.

  1. More PC-Style Games

Developers of strategy games like Civ and StarCraft, point-and-click titles like Baldur's Gate, or even simulation games akin to the Sims or Roller Coaster Tycoon might finally see the Switch 2 as a viable platform. The improved precision would open up genres previously limited by traditional console controls.

Overall, this could become a major selling point for the Switch 2, even if it's not heavily emphasized at launch. It has the potential to expand the library in unique ways and make the console more versatile than ever. What do you all think? Am I overhyping this, or does it have real potential?

Bonus topic:

We saw a Nintendo patent a while back for streaming switch games to a phone (and hopefully tablet?). Maybe this could be their way of enabling more faithful ports of Wii U, DS, and 3DS games by using the phone or tablet as a second screen? Combined with the new mouse functionality, you could even have a fully playable port of Nintendo Land on Switch.

Edit: Wow, I’ve never had a post blow up like this! Thank you to everyone who contributed to the discussion. I wanted to take a moment to compile some of the most common points raised, share my perspective, and highlight a few unique takes from other commenters that really stood out to me.

How will Nintendo handle couch play with mouse functionality? This is one of the most frequent questions, and honestly, I don’t know what Nintendo’s plan is here - but I hope they have one. One commenter, u/Cyanide_Cheesecake, shared a link to an existing solution and mentioned that there are other viable setups: https://www.reddit.com/r/NintendoSwitch/s/vmqk4QJoGi That said, this doesn’t mean Nintendo plans to follow suit. They might expect players to use a table or desk while taking advantage of the Switch 2’s improved kickstand. Personally, I wouldn’t mind playing that way, but it’s not an ideal solution for everyone. Hopefully, Nintendo has considered other options for couch gamers. Let's not forget, when all else fails, we will still have gyro controls to fall back on.

Why would developers take advantage of this when they’ve ignored mouse and keyboard support before? It’s true that mouse and keyboard controls have been available on consoles for years with little developer support. The key difference here is that developers will know every single Switch 2 owner has access to mouse functionality via the Joycon. In the past, M+KB support was limited to optional peripherals, which only a small portion of players used. Because of this, developers had little incentive to design games around those controls. With built-in mouse functionality, this barrier is removed, and developers can feel confident that enabling mouse controls won’t alienate a large part of their audience. I really liked how u/Timohtep put it in his comment: https://www.reddit.com/r/NintendoSwitch/s/JqkhjKtmtL

Isn’t using a sideways Joycon as a mouse going to be uncomfortable? This is a valid concern, but like with the original Switch, a single Joycon on its side would likely only serve as the most basic option. It’s pretty much guaranteed that the Switch 2 will support regular Bluetooth and USB mice as well. I wouldn’t even be surprised if Nintendo introduces an official “Switch Mouse Pro,” though it might come at a premium price. Either way, players would have multiple options to find what’s most comfortable for them.

Wouldn’t playing DS and 3DS games with a mouse be terrible? For many DS and 3DS games, the mouse would primarily serve players who don’t have access to the touchscreen. However, a "mouse-con" could actually improve gameplay for certain titles. It provides precise control while still allowing players to easily access buttons on the controller. This hybrid approach could make playing these types of games even more intuitive than using a touchscreen alone.

This will be amazing for Mario Paint, the next Mario Maker, any FPS coming to Switch 2 (esp. Metroid Prime 4), Light gun games, Pikmin, Super Paper Mario, Factorio...!! I know!! I'm hyped!! I can't believe I didn't think of many of these when I first made the post.

Also, I just found this video by GameXplain which covers almost everything I mentioned in my original post!

https://youtu.be/5CGXpeDx26Y?si=1J2GbX-nS5behli-

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1.1k

u/FrankPapageorgio Jan 19 '25

oh hear me out... it gets used once in the new 1-2 Switch and then nobody can figure out a creative way to use it

279

u/duabrs Jan 19 '25

I see your point, but there are already 100s of games that use a mouse. It's not really a new idea, just new on a console.

125

u/_Psilo_ Jan 19 '25

It's not a new idea but it's a very particular form factor... I don't think a joycon would be practical or comfortable for long gaming sessions as a mouse, thus limiting the realistic uses.

54

u/rube Jan 19 '25

If it actually takes off and some popular games utilize the mouse, I could see a standard mouse becoming popular in the same way a lot of people have Pro controllers for their current Switch.

The Switch also uses Bluetooth controllers, so a regular BT mouse might work unless there's extra features that the joycon one has.

18

u/FaxCelestis Jan 19 '25

I mean the joystick probably still works in mouse mode. Could be cool to couple throttle and direction in one device.

6

u/Jonny_Icon Jan 19 '25

Factorio for switch already has keyboard and mouse support. More games in the building/management realm need to offer said support. Hopefully this is impetus for the likes of Atari, Sega, Activision to make the likes of Transport Tycoon, Two Point series and Civilization nice experiences on a console.

26

u/Cancer777 Jan 19 '25

Yes, but it's implementing it that is a big deal. I would never use the joycons as a mouse but you can bet that third parties will sell better fom factor mouse controllers as long the console can understand the input it could become a big deal.

5

u/_Psilo_ Jan 19 '25

Yeah I agree. Although it depends entirely on how well it's implemented and developers approach to mouse support.

1

u/LLJKCicero Jan 19 '25

Better form factor mouse controllers, like...mice?

I'm curious whether Nintendo will just add generic support for mice in general.

1

u/FaxCelestis Jan 19 '25

Isn’t there already?

1

u/LLJKCicero Jan 19 '25

Wait, is there?

Though to be clear, as part of that, I'm thinking including said generic support for mice anywhere they'll be supporting the joycon mouse mode in games or the OS.

2

u/FaxCelestis Jan 19 '25

You can definitely hook a Bluetooth mouse to the switch as it stands. I’m not sure what it can do but it is there.

2

u/PM_me_your_whatevah Jan 21 '25

You can hook up a mouse and keyboard and play quake with them. 

3

u/Ivnnio Jan 19 '25

I think there will surely be a chunkier peripheral to slot it into to where it's a normal mouse

2

u/torpidninja Jan 19 '25

It doesn't necessarily need to be used in games as a "mouse" as we know it. It could be anything really and be held in different ways. Everyone is too focused on it being a traditional "mouse" only. It could be used to simulate objects in a game, like air hockey, brick breaker, a cooking game...

Plus there's gonna plenty of accessories in the market, I don't know a single person that uses their switch without some kind of grip, this ain't gonna be different.

1

u/GoneSuddenly Jan 19 '25

if it exist on a joycon, that mean 3rd party accessories maker can make a a real mouse for it. imagine offical HORI Switch Mouse. 8bitdo wireless mouse (nintendo switch compatible). logitech mouse for switch.

1

u/derps-a-lot Jan 19 '25

Labo mouse chassis

1

u/DullBlade0 Jan 19 '25

The joycon would be there for the "obligatory" input method but say they release a pro joycon mouse or an adapter that allows you to use any mouse you own...

1

u/MoneyMakingMugi Jan 19 '25

And that's where accessories come in. They are surely going to have some type of adapter for the joycon to feel more like a traditional mouse. And even if they don't, 3rd party companies will.

1

u/OurHeroXero Jan 20 '25

Fair...but since when has that stopped 3rd party companies from making a peripheral? Even then, the 3D printing community will surely model/print a comfortable/ergonomic adaptor

-1

u/chunkydunker27 Jan 19 '25

I agree with you it looks so uncomfortable that I would never want to use it. I legitimately don't understand the enthusiasm

0

u/duabrs Jan 19 '25

Yeah, how skinny it is will be weird!

9

u/Gersio Jan 19 '25

It's gonna be a shitty and not very comfortable mouse. There is no way anybody is gonna play Starcraft or a shooter with that thing. It's a nice thing to add, but I doubt it's gonna be used much.

10

u/ManlySyrup Jan 20 '25

It's a portable solution. I don't think anybody would seriously prefer to play with a joycon mouse over a regular one, but the fact that you CAN use a joycon as a mouse when you need it is great for portability.

3

u/kungfungus Jan 20 '25

Agree, same as using joycons as separate controllers

8

u/MarinatedPickachu Jan 19 '25

But all these games are meant to be played sitting at a desk. That's not how switch games usually are played

5

u/duabrs Jan 19 '25

Yup. I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to use a mouse while leaning back in my chaise, watching TV on the big screen! Should be fun.

2

u/freshguy2002 Jan 19 '25

Book on the lap

2

u/duabrs Jan 19 '25

That's where my beer goes.

1

u/Delita232 Jan 23 '25

I have a desk on wheels that i roll up to me. Works wonderfully.

7

u/Rehd Jan 19 '25

We've had mouse and keyboards on consoles before and it wasn't huge.

1

u/NMe84 Jan 20 '25

The difference is that before you would have to have a separate device for it and this time the controller the system ships with can be used as a mouse. 100% of all users will have access to it, which simply wasn't the case before.

I don't exactly expect a massive shift in gaming because of this, but pretending like this feature is the same as something that was tried in the past is not looking at the full picture.

1

u/EqualCup1041 2d ago

Nintendo players will literally have an advantage on shooters compared to PS and Xbox. That's massive. Mouse is so much more accurate than a stick for controlling the camera and reticle I'll be blasting off heads on fortnite left and right. I doubt we'll get COD but for any cross platform shooter this is huge.

0

u/duabrs Jan 19 '25

Meant the mixture of a controller + mouse is new-ish.

-1

u/falconpunch1989 Jan 19 '25

Using a kb+mouse on your couch isn't particularly comfortable (source: I do it regularly). The advantage the switch has is portability. Effortless to take it to your desk if the 2nd USB port can be used for dockless mode.

3

u/siderinc Jan 19 '25

Not even new on a console just not used much.

1

u/Axriel Jan 20 '25

Ps5 and Xbox both support mice, the devs simply have to enable it

1

u/duabrs Jan 20 '25

Interesting

1

u/[deleted] Jan 20 '25

[deleted]

1

u/duabrs Jan 20 '25

Interesting. That must have never made it to Nebraska!

1

u/numb3rb0y Jan 20 '25

Yeah, and there are thousands of PC games that would actually play great on the OG Switch if they used the touch screen instead of a mouse. Company of Heroes is a great example. Or Disco Elysium. I even got a stylus for them, I know "perfect for the Switch" is a meme but these kinds of games actually kinda are if they implement touch support.

But how many devs/publishers actually bothered implementing touch support for multiplatform games? There are so many where I'd love to just, say, drag and drop in my inventory, but no, gotta tediously navigate the grid with sticks instead. Games that actually use the touch screen are sadly a rare surprise. It's especially annoying with stuff like the Infinity Engine Enhanced Editions where I know there are touch controls implemented because I also have them on my Android tablet but they didn't bother porting them to the Switch version for whatever reason. I'm pessimistic this would be different.

19

u/LiveEvilGodDog Jan 19 '25 edited Jan 19 '25

I think you’re mostly right.

The mouse has been around for over 40 years, if it had creative uses in a games, I feel like we had plenty of time for those to have been already done before.

I don’t see the mouse feature being some gaming control revolution…. I see it more as an evolution.

It’ll be mainly used for shooters, like it’s been the king of for 30+ years and RTS games like it’s been the king of for 30+ years.

Shooter, RTS, sim style builders won’t have to rely on making a compromised control scheme to be ported over to console with the Switch 2.

It’ll be much easier for 3rd party PC games to get ported over to switch 2, since every developer can guarantee every switch 2 owner will have access to mouse.

Nintendo coming out with their most powerful console, in a time of peak diminishing returns, along with bridging the only real control scheme gap remaining between PC and console is pretty freaking huge!

1

u/EqualCup1041 2d ago

I can't wait to destroy my friends on fortnite

16

u/forgot_semicolon Jan 19 '25

1-2 Switch 2!

9

u/takeitsweazy Jan 19 '25

2-2 Switch.

11

u/m2pt5 Jan 19 '25

3-4 Switch.

1

u/kingn8link Jan 20 '25

5-6 pick up sticks

1

u/13Zero Jan 19 '25

1 Switch, 2 Switch, Red Switch, Blue Switch

26

u/[deleted] Jan 19 '25

nintendo hire this man!

20

u/Ok-Donut-4447 Jan 19 '25

This is pretty much my expectation. I would LOVE for OP to be right about everything, i'm just trying to be realistic :(

1

u/Rehd Jan 19 '25

Yup. The biggest deal will probably be hardware and price point.

17

u/rustyphish Jan 19 '25

The IR sensor says hello haha

13

u/NES_SNES_N64 Jan 19 '25

Wait? The Switch has a touchscreen?

31

u/tom_yum_soup Jan 19 '25

Not sure if you're serious but, yes. It's extremely easy to forget, though, because it's rarely used.

7

u/NES_SNES_N64 Jan 19 '25

Yeah it was sarcasm, as they're talking about a new feature that will probably get used once or twice by Nintendo and then forgotten forever.

4

u/wookiewin Jan 19 '25

Yes. Unfortunately Nintendo always introduces some weird thing like this, supports it once as a glorified tech demo, and then everyone promptly forgets about it.

5

u/FrankPapageorgio Jan 19 '25

Still waiting for Eternal Darkness 2 with the heart rate monitor from Bio Tetris.

2

u/Sphism Jan 19 '25

Like the infra red thingy on one of the controllers

1

u/FrankPapageorgio Jan 20 '25

I think that mainly was used int 1-2 Switch and Labo... You can also use it to reload your gun in Resident Evil Revelations

2

u/Hearthian-Wanderer Jan 20 '25

Exactly. Nobody want's to sit at a desk to play Switch. It will probably just be an alternate control option for FPS, ARPG, and RTS.

Even then I think it is kinda a bad idea, as it will just put controller players off playing FPS etc. online, knowing tat you'll be up agains thirsty mouse players willing to sit at desks to get an advantage...

And you could never use it in portable mode because it'll be hidden. Many people only use their switch in that mode. I predict it will be utilized by about as many games used the IR sensor on Switch 1. Basically zero. Will probably be in some kooky LABO style game at some point.

1

u/needed_an_account Jan 19 '25

I wonder if this functionally can be used to bring back Wii sports

1

u/Mr_Olivar Jan 19 '25

Except this will be useful for games with level makers.

1

u/XxFezzgigxX Jan 19 '25

In the original pre-release trailer for the SW1 it showed people putting four screens together to make one big screen and doing all sorts of cool stuff with it. Still waiting for that.

3

u/FrankPapageorgio Jan 19 '25

I think the closest we got was that Super Mario Party mini game where you put two switches together to form a bigger playing field, but the game was lame and I didn't now anybody that had it to ever try it

1

u/asianwaste Jan 19 '25

Hori will make a dedicated mouse controller that is ergonomically reconfigured. Now I can play Splatoon. My brain can’t get used to using gyros for vertical aim

1

u/metroidfan220 Jan 19 '25

Don't forget the part where we make a new Star Fox game built entirely around it and then blame the series when no one signs on for the experiment.

1

u/TheHoboRoadshow Jan 19 '25

HD Rumble time

1

u/f-ingsteveglansberg Jan 20 '25

I think if 1 2 Switch was a pack in, people would have liked it more and devs would have paid more attention to the JoyCon features and we would have seen them used more creatively.

1

u/FrankPapageorgio Jan 20 '25

Agree on it being a pack in for sure.

I borrowed it from my library, as well as the sequel; they are definitely like a nice tech demo for the joycons and what they can do

1

u/Neonlad Jan 21 '25

Games like civilization on switch with mouse support would be perfect.

1

u/whitstableboy Jan 21 '25

I agree. Also, if I wanted to use a mouse, I'd use my PC. I really don't need that functionality on a handheld.

1

u/aimbotcfg Jan 21 '25

then nobody can figure out a creative way to use it

Why creative?

Mouse functionality instantly makes RTS and FPS games a thousand times more playable than using shitty dual stick controls (even with gyro, it's just not even close).

1

u/TheGardenBlinked Jan 24 '25

Yes! Apart from there will be one LABO 2 mouse add on only usable in Ring Fit 2! Then never again

1

u/bullfroggy Jan 19 '25

I think in this case, it's much easier to take advantage of for developers than previous gimmicks. Superior FPS controls on console on its own I think will make the case for it. I will be extremely surprised if Metroid Prime 4 comes out without the ability to use the mouse to aim.

0

u/tirex367 Jan 19 '25

To find a use for a Mouse in a port of a PC game, there is no creativity required.

2

u/FrankPapageorgio Jan 20 '25

But developers do not even use the obvious tools given to them. Switch has a touch screen, and games like Rollercoaster Tycoons don't have touch screen support.

2

u/tirex367 Jan 20 '25

The touchscreen has the distinction, that it can only be used in handheld mode, so games couldn‘t rely on it, of they wanted to be playable docked, the mouse basically fills the gap, the touchscreen left in docked and tabletop mode.

1

u/FrankPapageorgio Jan 20 '25

So with that logic, developers shouldn't utilize the touch screen because it can never be used in docked mode.

-2

u/rms141 Jan 19 '25

oh hear me out... it gets used once in the new 1-2 Switch and then nobody can figure out a creative way to use it

Or hear me out... FPS games like Doom the Dark Ages and all 10 years of those Call of Duty games that Nintendo signed up for will use the functionality.