The Nintendo Switch 2: you’ve got questions, and now that Tom P and Ian have returned from the Parisian reveal event, we’ve got answers.
Our full conversation was recorded for the Inside Eurogamer podcast, which you can listen to now if you’re a Supporter. That show is especially for Supporters and it’s where we elaborate on the work we do, and where we answer your questions. If you don’t know, supporting Eurogamer costs £3/€3/$3 a month or £30/€30/$30 a year, and it removes adverts from the site as well as gives you exclusive content like this. However, since Switch 2 is currently such a hot topic, I thought I’d share a few excerpts here.
Without doubt, one of the most questionable new features of Switch 2 is the mouse-like use of the new Joy-Con. Both Ian and Tom got a chance to try this, however neither particularly liked it.
“I found it really difficult to get on board with,” Tom told me, who used the mouse controls in the underwhelming Drag x Drive wheelchair basketball game. “And partly maybe that’s just me getting to use a control scheme I’ve never used before. But also for a fast-paced competitive game… You really have to get involved with the controls. You have to twist and turn, almost similar to being in a wheelchair and trying to do this movement yourself. I came out of it and my arms were aching. I remember saying to you Ian, ‘I’m exhausted after playing that.’ I only played it for five minutes.
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“Yeah,” Ian added. “Most games that Tom played, I filmed first and I’d be like, ooh I can’t wait to have my go. But that one I was like, no, I think I’ll skip that one.”
One of the things that concerns me about the Joy-Con being used as a mouse is that it’s a thin, rectangular device when turned on its side, which is very different to the long-settled-on design of a computer mouse: wide and flat and round so as to hold the wait of your hand without tipping over. Does it feel as awkward to hold as it looks?