Newly-published Nintendo patents show that the company has been exploring a version of its Joy-Con controllers that can work like a computer mouse, a feature Nintendo has hinted will be coming to the Switch 2. In its Switch 2 teaser video last month, Nintendo showed two Joy-Con controllers sliding along the ground, much like you’d move a mouse.

One of the rumored features of the Nintendo Switch 2's Joy-Cons could make it easier for two classic entries in the Zelda series to be remade.

A patent filed by Nintendo has strengthened rumors that Nintendo Switch 2 ’s Joy-Con controllers will include mouse functionality. The patent was filed Aug. 1, 2023, but was published Thursday, Feb. 6,

This confirms what many fans suspected upon seeing the Joy-Con controllers sliding around a surface on their sides during the announcement trailer last month. Presumably, the “mouse operation” feature will allow some games on Switch 2 to be played with either traditional controller inputs or mouse inputs.

The Nintendo Switch 2 is rumored to be utilizing a new Joy-Con feature, which has fans anticipating how it could improve gameplay.

A machine translation of the full text of the patent describes the controller as "a novel input device that can be used as a mouse and other than a mouse." In mouse mode, as described in the patent, the user cradles the outer edge of the controller with their palm and places the inner edge "on, for example, a desk or the like."

Furthermore, Nintendo refers to the new Switch 2 Joy-Con as the "first embodiment" of the input device, the mysterious new controller as the "second embodiment", and the original rail-system Joy-Con as the "third embodiment", suggesting that, yes, these are indeed separate devices.