Nintendo Switch 2 could see a surprising new use for its Joy-Con controllers after a patent revealed they could be used like computer mice, potentially opening a whole new libraryTech14:43, 07 Feb 2025Are these Joy-Con mice?We're anticipating more information on Nintendo's next console, the Switch 2, soon, but we'll be waiting until April 2 for the full reveal or will we?There's been plenty of speculation about the console's price and release date, and we've rounded up the rumoured launch games already, but one rumour keeps re-appearing the 'Mouse' rumour.In case you missed it, the Switch 2 trailer showed its magnetic Joy-Con gliding around a surface, leading some to speculate that they'd double as mice in the same way a computer uses a mouse. Now, a new patent suggests that could indeed be the case.As we covered then, this would open up the Switch library to a whole host of new games and genres, helping solidify the system as a place to play, say, a twitchy shooter like VALORANT, or a more thoughtful strategy game.As spotted by the Switch 2 subreddit (which keeps growing), the August 2023 patent which was published yesterday, February 6, shows a series of diagrams.It also read: "This input device comprises a front surface, an upper surface, a first side surface, a second side surface, a direction input unit, a first upper surface button, and a sensor for mouse operation."The first side surface is on one side in the left-right direction. The second side surface is on the other side in the left-right direction. The direction input unit is provided on the front surface. The first upper surface button is provided on the upper surface and can be pressed around a first rotation axis extending in a direction in which components in the left-right direction are included."The sensor for mouse operation detects reflected light from a detected surface, the light changing by moving over the detected surface in a state in which either the first side surface or the second side surface is placed on the detected surface."Given how clever the Joy-Con were on the Switch 1, it's perhaps not surprising to see Nintendo double down, but it also appears there's a sort of "two mouse mode". We're not entirely sure what people would be using that for, but Nintendo is certainly inventive enough to give us a reason to slide our hands around a table.Content cannot be displayed without consentElsewhere, Nintendo confirmed the time of its console reveal event on April 2 as it gears up to pull back the curtain. The system will be shown off at 2pm GMT for UK gamers.For more on Switch 2, be sure to check out this bizarrely plausible release date theory, as well as how to jump the queue and preorder in the UK.Article continues belowFor the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.