Chinese social media has proven to be the go-to source for leaks regarding upcoming gaming hardware and fans may have gotten their first proper look at the Nintendo Switch 2’s Joy-Con.
Nintendo hates leaks, but the company is historically bad at keeping things under wraps. This has especially been the case with the Nintendo Switch 2. Lawsuits, game announcements, cyberattacks, data mines, and official announcements from component manufacturers have all revealed official details on the console, even as Nintendo itself remains coy.
One of the few things that hasn’t come out about the hardware, however, are actual looks at it. That may have changed. Much like the PlayStation 5 Slim and PlayStation Portal before it, Chinese social media platform Bilibili might have just given fans a look at the Nintendo Switch 2’s Joy-Cons, including its changes.
Nintendo Switch 2 Joy-Cons may have paddle buttons, analog triggers
According to a video posted on social media, the Nintendo Switch 2 Joy-Cons are set to add three new buttons major changes to the existing shoulder buttons.
The video shows the Joy-Cons from multiple angles. For the most part, they look almost identical to the existing hardware. They have offset analog sticks on either side, rounded corners, four face buttons, and system buttons on the bottom half.
There are some big changes, though. Foremost among them are what appear to be trigger-shaped paddle buttons on the backside of the Nintendo Switch 2 Joy-Cons.
Paddle buttons are buttons on the backside of the controller that are meant to be pressed with the middle or ring fingers. They’re helpful in shooters like Fortnite, allowing players to press face buttons while keeping their thumbs on both sticks. They’ve long been a staple of competitive gaming-focused controllers like the Xbox Elite Series and PlayStation DualSense Edge. In recent years, they’ve become more standard, as seen with the Steam Deck and many third-party Switch pro controllers.
On the Switch 2, these appear to be built into a protrusion that will house the new button, serve as a grip, and also contain some new triggers.
The existing Nintendo Switch’s trigger buttons are wildly outdated. The Nintendo GameCube controller, the Wii’s Nunchuk grip, and the Wii U’s tablet all used analog triggers. Joy-Cons do not, and that’s seemingly set to change with the Switch 2.
Two other notable changes are also slated. The internal SL and SR buttons that are used when playing on a single Joy-Con appear much larger. Finally, there appears to be a second screenshot button located directly beneath the home button on the right Joy-Con.
All these changes align with claims made by Nintendo Switch accessory manufacturer MobaPad. The accessory manufacturer known for its Joy-Con alternatives seemingly went rogue and posted a number of details on the at-the-time unannounced hardware. That included the console’s now-confirmed backwards compatibility.
