Switch 2 Is Also A Motion Control Upgrade – Reportedly With 9-Axis Motion Sensing

Another significant upgrade for the Switch to the Switch 2 has emerged, and once again, Nintendo didn’t even bring it up, leaving it to fans and the press to find it.

Jon Cartwright of Good Vibes Games shared a new video demonstrating his motion controls tests for the Switch 2. As you may hear from the video, he expected the Switch 2 Joy-Cons to desync at some point while playing, but after testing with several games (and also on the Switch 2 Pro Controller), he came out impressed with its accuracy.

Nintendo Patents Watch on Bluesky shared a surprising insight on why this could be:

According to Vietnamese customs data, Switch 2 adopted Asahi Kasei’s AK09919C magnetometer (compass). Coupled with gyroscope and accelerometer, Switch 2 is capable of 9-axis motion sensing. Although Nintendo doesn’t mention it in PR or Welcome Tour, @jon.gvg.io’s video demonstrates its accuracy.

And for those wondering, yes, Nintendo Patents Watch is referring to the same customs data that came from Nintendo’s assembly partner in Vietnam, Hosiden. Thus far, everything in terms of components that was revealed in that customs data had proven accurate, although some speculation around the console at that time was a bit off the mark in the end.

In any case, it’s a great development for the Nintendo gamers who miss motion controls on the Wii and the Wii U. While some players lamented the sensor bar and the system’s approximate accuracy, we now know that the Wii motion controls were much more accurate than what was available on the Switch Joy-Cons. This made it so that games that were ported over on the Switch from the Wii U, such as Pikmin 3, were a lesser motion control experience.

To be fair, for most Switch gamers, most of them ended up using the Switch Joy-Cons and Pro Controller for gyro aiming instead of full motion control games. But it was a real setback for games that were made for those controls, such as the Just Dance series and famously, the return of Samba De Amigo.

We did get a sense of the Switch 2 Joy-Con’s accuracy when Nintendo demoe’d that the Joy-Cons, even in mouse mode, could take some degree of gyro motion sensing.  It may not be apparent on the surface, but the Switch 2 has huge potential to expand motion control gaming even further than what we had on the Wii and the Wii U.

It would certainly be interesting, for example, if we got VR games like Beat Saber on the Switch 2, and see if Nintendo’s new motion controls can take on VR controllers. It would also be interesting to see a considerably improved version of ARMS or Punch-Out on the Switch 2. And what about light gun games? Competitive Duck Hunt could absolutely be something else on the Switch 2.

You can watch Jon’s motion controls testing video below.