One of the most interesting rumors about Joy-Cons of the Nintendo Switch 2 is that you can use them like a computer mouse. Now the function is already in April 2 Nintendo Directwe’ve seen it for action and strategy games, which is obvious: the most needed accessory for the new Switch 2 is the loop table.
Given its long history of quirky new ways to control games, Nintendo can be forgiven for introducing novel control features into the console that are essentially the same as its predecessor. However, when docking and roaming freely, Switch 2 is a sofa console – rarely uses the Joy-Cons mouse function near flat surfaces.
As a circle table owner, fan and evangelical missionary, circle tables are the obvious answer to the mouse problem: portable, multi-purpose work or play around the house, and affordable. Or at least, having reasonable options is no more valuable than the Nintendo $90 requirement for the Switch 2 Joy-Cons.
While yes, any flat surface will do it, just look at the gameplay of Drag X Drive, where the player’s double joy device is displayed and runs in a fast continuous manner. This seems difficult to do on temporary surfaces such as clipboards or container lids. For a strategy game like Civilization 7, imagine there is no wide surface to move on the map and click on the menu.
During the Nintendo Treehouse display of the Switch 2 game, the presenters were sitting on the table playing drag X drives to use Joy-Cons in mouse mode.
Nintendo’s Treehouse Stream Starts Game Drag X Drive shows how to use two joy machines in mouse mode. Host – Play on the table – points out that the player can place the controller flat on his legs as a substitute face.
As CNET’s Scott Stein pointed out in his hands-on operation with the Switch 2, using Joy-Cons on the legs is “a bit tired” than being on the table, but presumably this only works for games like the Drag X Drive, which relies on front and back movements rather than on the side (unless you’re very good at wrapping around your legs).
Metroid Prime 4 goes beyond the way the mouse controls (in the upper left corner) work in a first-person shooter.
It is worth pointing out that there are very few mouse features in the Switch 2 launch game – currently, only Drag X Drive needs it, while CIV 7 and Metroid Prime 4 go beyond mouse mode to use Joy-Cons. Mario Party Jamboree will also add mouse functionality to its Switch 2 version. We’ll wait and see how many games really take advantage of this control potential.
Admittedly, the $450 Switch 2 and the $80 Mario Kart World Prays are already pleated feathers, so it’s a big requirement to hope gamers pay more for furniture just to get the basic features of some games. But for the sofa crusaders who plan the easiest way to play, the loop table is also the best way to associate switch 2 and mouse with it.
