Nintendo has just made Switch 2 official with a trailer. With that video, a very stylish, tempting and up-close montage that could be described as 'hardware porn', the company puts an end to endless leaks and officially confirms several details about its new console.
The first and most obvious is that the Joy-Con controllers can indeed function as optical mice, sliding their magnetic docking rails edge-on to a surface. The video shows this feature, which is finally included on both controllers, starting at minute 1:11:
Now it only remains to be seen how Nintendo and third parties employ this innovative feature in games and, we understand, in menu navigation.
On the other hand, the video also confirms the removal of the IR sensor that was located at the base of the Switch's right Joy-Con. It is unknown at this stage whether the optical mouse sensors can perform a similar function, even with LiDAR technology as has been suggested.
Finally, beyond the differences in size and ergonomics, we also see a close-up of the ZL and ZR buttons indicating that they are just that: digital buttons and that Nintendo has therefore not decided to adopt the analogue trigger standard for greater control of certain genres, such as racing games. F-Zero fans will see its return further down the line...