The Underrated Joy-Con Feature That Didn't Make It To The Nintendo Switch 2

Overall, the Nintendo Switch 2's new controllers are a clear improvement over their predecessors. The Joy-Con 2 are slightly larger and have bigger SL/SR buttons, fixing a major frustration with the previous design. They also add a new button for easy access to GameChat and its built-in social functions, as well as mouse controls. Not all is rosy with the new models, though, as they exhibited the same old familiar Joy-Con drift that plagued the originals right out of the box. A little more subtle is that one innovative feature from the original Joy-Con is missing from the new ones: an IR motion camera.

At the time of the original Nintendo Switch's release, the Joy-Con were impressive pieces of tech for their immersive haptic feedback (called HD rumble), among other features you might not have known about. One of these was an IR motion camera, located on the bottom of the right Joy-Con, which could track movement, shape, and distance. The feature had lots of potential, but outside of Nintendo Labo, only a small number of titles actually took advantage of it. As such, it shouldn't be a shock that the IR camera didn't make it to the Joy-Con 2, but it does mean that certain games are unplayable unless you still have your old controllers.

According to Nintendo, the lack of an IR sensor impacts the following games on the Switch 2:

• 1-2-Switch
• Everybody 1-2-Switch!
• Dr Kawashima's Brain Training for Nintendo Switch
• Game Builder Garage
• Ninjala
• Nintendo Switch Sports
• Resident Evil Revelations
• Ring Fit Adventure
• Trombone Champ
• WarioWare: Move It!
• All Nintendo Labo Toy-Con kits

There may be other games affected, too, especially if you factor in shovelware titles that use the tech.

All of these games are still technically playable on Nintendo Switch 2, and it's usually only bits of the gameplay that are affected by the missing IR sensor, not the whole game. The main exceptions are the Labo Toy-Con kits and Ring Fit Adventure. In the case of Labo, the Variety, Robot, and Vehicle kits were made specifically with the original Switch hardware in mind, so the Joy-Con 2 won't work.

Similarly, Ring Fit Adventure uses the IR sensor so players can take their pulse while working out, but the peripherals are the bigger compatibility issue. The game relies on the Ring-Con and Leg Strap accessories, which require the original Joy-Con to function fully. Nintendo Switch Sports, which doesn't use IR at all, is in a similar boat since the Soccer Shoot-Out uses the Leg Strap.

Fortunately, so long as you still have old Joy-Con lying around, you can play all of these games by simply connecting the original controllers to your Switch 2. The IR camera was a cool feature, but with so few games supporting it, it never really reached its full potential. Removing it makes sense, and given all the cool things Nintendo Switch 2 can do, it remains to be seen how much users will miss the IR feature.