The original Nintendo Switch’s now iconic detachable Joy-Con controllers could have attached to the console magnetically like the Switch 2 Joy-Con 2s, but the idea was shelved during development after late Nintendo President Satoru Iwata was presented with a prototype.
Information about the origin of the idea behind the Switch 2’s newly revealed magnetic Joy-Con 2 controllers come from a four-part developer interview posted on Nintendo’s website diving into the Switch 2’s creation. In part two of the interview, Kouichi Kawamoto, a producer at Nintendo’s entertainment planning and development department, shared why the magnetic Joy-Con idea didn’t work out for the original Switch.
“I took the prototypes to Iwata-san, the company’s President at the time, for feedback,” Kawamoto said. “But unfortunately, the Joy-Con controllers would wobble when attached to the console using magnets due to the weak connection. We decided to scrap the idea as we were concerned it would make customers uneasy about using the console.”
Iwata oversaw the development of numerous consoles, including the Nintendo DS, Wii, and the Switch. Iwata died in 2015, two years before the Switch released in 2017.
Following Iwata’s feedback, the team decided to go with the original Switch’s rail system, which “allowed for more stable attachment,” Kawamoto said. However, he said he always wished to make the attachment and detachment process for the Joy-Cons easier.
Tetsuya Sasaki, a general manager at Nintendo’s technology development division, said in the interview that research on how magnets could be used continued even after scrapping the prototype, as the team wasn’t “ready to give up” on the idea.
That led to the idea returning for the Switch 2. Kawamoto said the goal was to make it easier to attach and detach the Joy-Cons so that even children could do it. Nintendo went through “a lot of trial and error,” he said, to get the functionality just right so that it can be easily done with a press of the Joy-Con 2’s release button.
The Switch 2’s magnetic Joy-Con 2 controllers are just some of the new bells and whistles coming to Nintendo’s next console. In addition to the Joy-Con 2 controllers being able to be used like a mouse, sporting larger thumbsticks, and having a dedicated GameChat button, Nintendo revealed during its Switch 2 Nintendo Direct that the Switch 2 will support HDR, 4K resolution when docked, and 120fps in certain games.
Nintendo additionally revealed its lineup of exclusive games coming to Switch 2, among them Mario Kart World, a sequel to Kirby Air Ride, and upgrades for existing games like The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. The Switch 2 will launch on June 5 for $450, with preorders going live April 9. A Switch 2 Mario Kart World bundle for $500 will also be available.
