Joy-Con
Image: Zion Grassl / Nintendo Life

This past weekend brought us one of the most convincing leaks yet with a pair of photos depicting what appears to be the left Joy-Con from the upcoming 'Switch 2'.

At first glance, it looks pretty much how we'd expected: larger yet with a familiar design, and a new magnetic rail that backs up previous reports on the console's upgrades over the current Switch. Upon closer inspection, however, the Joy-Con may also be housing an optical sensor on the side, right next to the 'SL' button.

Although not confirmed for definite, it looks pretty convincing, and this has led to much speculation online as to whether the Joy-Con could theoretically be used as a mouse. A similar feature can be found on the Lenovo Legion Go, which allows users to move one of the detachable controllers across a surface for use during 'FPS Mode'.

It's not a completely ridiculous idea, then, though we do wonder why the supposed optical sensor is on the left Joy-Con controller specifically; is Nintendo simply catering to left-handed users here, or is there perhaps another reason for its inclusion? We simply don't know yet.

Either way, it would make for some interesting gameplay functionality. Primarily, of course, it would allow for some more precise aiming in first-person games, particularly those Call of Duty titles that Microsoft has promised will be heading to Nintendo platforms.

Our very own Nintendo Life community member Lofoten had some intriguing ideas too, including use in point-and-click games, pointer controls with Wii titles, board games, PC ports, and perhaps most importantly, a new Mario Paint entry.

Hopefully the next we'll hear of the Switch 2 is during its official announcement, but we'll keep our eye out for any interesting nuggets in the meantime. Let us know in the comments if you think using the Joy-Con as a mouse is a good idea.

[source x.com]