Genki CEO Goes On The Record That Switch 2 Will Have Magnetic Joy-Cons And Mouse Mode

No less than Genki’s CEO Eddie Tsai talked to The Verge about what the company knows about the Switch 2.

Yesterday, we reported on the game peripheral company presenting a convincing Switch 2 demo on the CES showroom floor. On the same day that IGN came to CES to speak with Genki, The Verge got an audience with Tsai himself.

Tsai personally corroborated that the Switch 2 Joy-Cons attach magnetically, and shared more details. Given the magnetic function, one would think you could just pull the Joy-Cons out of the Switch. Tsai says you would have to exert a lot of effort to do it that way.

For that reason, the Switch 2 Joy-Cons still have release buttons. Based on Genki’s demonstration model, as well as other leaks, these are significantly bigger than the tiny nubs at the back of the original Switch. Genki also features a different shape for these release buttons than were found in other leaked models and mockups of the Switch 2.

What does it all mean? We think gamers shouldn’t have to worry about accidentally pulling their Joy-Cons out, unless they’ve been training for arm wrestling with former IWGP World Heavyweight champion Scott “Flash” Norton. Nintendo have clearly designed the Joy-Cons and Switch console to carry powerful attractive magnetic forces between them.

Subsequently, the release button is probably not a simple lock that detaches like the original Joy-Con. It would have to neutralize or reverse that magnetic attraction, if, as Tsai says, it makes removing the Joy-Cons easy. Maybe it’s as simple as a flip that brings out a piece of iron to come in between the two, and loosens that magnetic attraction.

Tsai also lent support to the theory that the small lens we saw in the inside of a Joy-Con in some leaked images is for an optical sensor, and that’s because the Switch 2 Joy-Cons will have a mouse mode. We already compared this to the FPS mode in Lenovo Legion Go, and if it’s true, maybe the Joy-Con will also have a shoe or attachment of sorts so it can easily slide on a table surface.

Mobapad leaked the Joy-Con magnetic function all the way back in April of last year, and claimed that at the time, they were not even allowed to see the console. Instead, their representatives were allowed to only touch the console under cover, which makes all these leaks and demos so mystifying.

That’s a lot of information to process, but as always, Nintendo may turn out to have still made changes to the Switch 2, that what we get in our hands will still turn out to be slightly or even drastically different. In the end, we’re still waiting on Nintendo to make their announcement.