Nintendo has revealed how the Joy-Con release buttons work on the Switch 2.
If you’ve been hiding under a rock, yes, Nintendo shared a short video officially revealing the Switch 2. That video confirmed an extra button on the right Joy-Con, a U-shaped stand with wings underneath, as well as a new USB-C port at the top of the console.
But Nintendo hasn’t explained what the USB-C port is for, and for that matter, what that new extra button is for. That extra button looks like it was what we saw in leaks as the new C button. If those leaks are legitimate, that means that we have been looking at prototypes since September.
With Nintendo still keeping some details close to their chest, they may still have surprises for us. But for now we have a new detail from an official source.
Nintendo has been hiding a Switch 2 webpage on their website this whole time, with the URL https://www.nintendo.com/successor/en-us/index.html. Clearly even that URL was intended to keep Nintendo’s secrets, but their hand was forced to release that announcement video.
There’s an autoplaying video in the website that’s embedded in the UI, so that as you scroll down the site you would unconsciously see these visuals. If you stick around for over 20 seconds you will see this little clip.
With the Switch 2’s final shape, we can plainly see that the release button is behind the ZL and ZR buttons, and shaped to match the curves of the Joy-Con. One can see the huge improvement, as this is a significantly bigger button compared to the small round nub in the Switch’s Joy-Cons.
But it seems these changes are as much about the new attachment systems as they are about the button itself. To be fair, there is a reason the original release buttons are small. If you accidentally press on them, you could unintentionally drop your console as the Joy-Cons are released.
The bigger release button suggests that the magnetic attachment of the new Joy-Cons is substantially powerful. You can see from our screen capture that the Joy-Con detaches slightly from the top instead of pulling off completely. So if you press the release buttons by accident, they won’t automatically be removed.
Some fans and gaming press are naturally skeptical about how substantial and effective this magnetic attachment. Like Genki, we don’t have a Switch 2 in our hands to tell you how strong it is. But we’re confident that Nintendo can have magnets made strong enough for the job.
At the same time, we’re curious about the actual detaching mechanism in the Joy-Con. Does the release button just physically push the magnets apart? Or does it put something in between the magnets to make them separate?
That’s a question for when someone gets a market Switch 2 and disassembles them. But for now, we know for sure that there’ll be a bigger release button on the Switch 2.
