Following the appearance of alleged images of the Nintendo Switch 2’s internals, fresh images allegedly showing the next-generation console’s Joy-Con have appeared online.
The images, which show a left Joy-Con, were reportedly first posted to a Chinese social media website before they made their way to the Nintendo Switch 2 subreddit and western social media. Images of the right Joy-Con have yet to emerge.
As you’d expect, these images are being analysed to within an inch of their life, with most leaning towards their legitimacy. They include larger SL and SR buttons than on the Nintendo Switch Joy-Con, which you’d expect given the Nintendo Switch 2 is reportedly a bigger console than the original. These new Joy-Con allegedly ditch the railed lock method used by the current Switch in favor of electromagnetic suction controllers.
Internet sleuths are also trying to make sense of what looks like soft rubber glide pads at the top and bottom of the side of the Joy-Con, and what looks like a sensor of some kind, perhaps for connecting to other devices or for 3D gesture-controlled input.
Some are speculating the Switch 2 Joy-Con could be used as a mouse if turned on its side and placed on a flat surface.
Last week, an image of what appeared to be the Switch 2’s internal components tallied with information suggested by previous image leaks that have helped give us a decent idea of what to expect from Nintendo’s next-gen console.
In September, unverified images — a mix of Computer-aided design (CAD) images and printed circuit board (PCB) photos — that were said to have originated from a Chinese website before making their way onto Reddit, depicted a device similar to the existing Switch console but with a larger screen and magnetic Joy-Con. There is reportedly a USB-C port on the top and bottom of the console, too.
Accompanying the images was an alleged specifications list that mentioned 12GB of RAM (the original Switch has 4GB), and 256GB of internal storage (the original Switch has 32GB). There’s a new “C” button on the right Joy-Con, allegedly.
We also have a patent, filed July 2023 but published for the first time last week, that describes AI image upscaling technology that would help keep video game download sizes small enough to fit on a physical game cartridge while offering up to 4K textures.
Here’s what we know for sure: Nintendo has confirmed that the yet-to-be-announced Switch 2 will be backward-compatible with original Switch games and will feature Nintendo Switch Online. Nintendo has also said it will announce the Switch 2 by the end of March 2025, which means the reveal is fast approaching. As for a release date, the console is not expected to launch during Nintendo’s current financial year, so it will arrive April 2025 at the earliest.
We even have developers outright saying they plan to release their upcoming games on the console, with others teasing a Switch 2 release for their games. When Switch 2 does eventually come out, Nintendo expects to have plenty of stock available, which in turn will hopefully combat scalping.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].
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