Anticipating the Unconventional: Expecting a Unique Controller Design for the Nintendo Switch 2

After a busy start to 2024, it's now the bottom of the wave! Stellar Blade is already behind us and everyone is impatiently awaiting Shadow of the Erdtree, the Elden Ring DLC… But, today: the waves of news are washing up on our shores with new rumors about the Switch 2. Still nothing official, but according to the Spanish media Vandalthe controllers of the next Nintendo console will benefit from a significant feature in addition to a larger monitor.

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Nintendo and Magneto

This particularity is that the Joy-Con of the Switch 2 would abandon their sliding rail system in favor of a magnet in order to “graft” themselves to the screen of the machine. An innovation that would be welcome, to the extent that the controllers of the first console could sometimes leave play between them and the screen. However, if Nintendo does indeed opt for this new approach, there is a good chance that the original Joy-Cons will not be able to attach to the Switch 2, notes Vandal (which does not exclude the possibility of connecting them remotely). A thesis also mentioned by the Chinese manufacturer Mobapad in a recent Facebook post:

It will not be possible to connect (the Joy-Cons of the current Switch, editor's note) to the console in portable mode due to a new horizontal magnetic docking system, which will only support the new version of the controllers – The Chinese manufacturer Mobapad

A “conservative” development

Overall, Mobapad speaks of the Switch 2 as a “conservative” evolution of the 1st model, based on the same hybrid console concept, 100% backwards compatibility of games and a docking station with “minor” improvements. Ultimately, the most important thing in all of this is the machine's screen, described by both sources as “a bit larger”. On the one hand, the Chinese manufacturer talks about a 1080p resolution, while Vandal reports a monitor that does not exceed the 7.4 inches of the Steam Deck. And last clarification for the road: the Pro controllers would be backward compatible.