Nintendo Patents Watch

How does the Switch 2 Joy-Con reliably switch between the mouse and stick controls? US patent applications 20260273389 and 20260273410 provide the details:

[In mouse mode]

1. If the mouse sensor hole is open uninterruptedly for 0.5 sec, switch to stick mode
2. The time-to-switch is shortened proportionally to how fast the Joy-Con is picked up (angular velocity), down to the minimum of 0.1 sec
3. For gameplay reasons, sometimes the Joy-Con may be lifted up repetitively (e.g., to keep moving forward; img 1 below); so only when the mouse travel is under a threshold AND inertia is above a threshold, a. and b. can be true (img 2).

[In stick mode]

1. If the mouse sensor hole becomes closed AND is facing down (±30° to accommodate uneven surfaces, such as a thigh), switch to mouse mode
2. However, the hole may be closed by finger accidentally or for gameplay reasons (img 1 below), so only when the mouse travel is above a threshold AND inertia is under a threshold, a. can be true (img 2).

Notes:

• The inventors listed are Retro Studios engineers
• Numbers cited in patent text may or may not be actual/final
• This is a simplified summary; follow patent links for full text (US20260273389 and US20260273410)
• Gameplay examples are taken from other patent applications (here and here)

[Originally posted on 2026-09-22 Pacific Time]