Nintendo Switch 2 ‘C’ button turns the Switch 1 into a Wii U says rumour

If the latest claims about the Switch 2’s new C button are right, then Nintendo may have figured out how to get DS games running on the next gen hardware.

While the biggest questions surrounding the Nintendo Switch 2 are its launch line-up, its release date, and price, there are a number of smaller, but no less intriguing, mysteries surrounding the console’s functions.

One such example is the mysterious new button that was spotted on the Switch 2’s right-hand Joy-Con controller, back when images of the console leaked in December.

There are a handful of theories already floating around, such as it being tied to some kind of AR functionality, but the latest, and possibly most exciting suggestion, is that it’s for turning the Switch 1 into a Wii U GamePad.

Basically, by pressing the button, you can connect your Switch 2 console to the original Switch (presumably through a wireless or Bluetooth connection), which can then be used as a second screen for playing games.

This claim comes from Xbox leaker eXtas1s, who has recently started chiming in with Nintendo rumours. Just this week, he said Metroid Prime 4: Beyond would not be at the Switch 2 showcase and while he’s yet to be proven right, the game did see a new trailer at yesterday’s Switch 1 showcase – which could mean it’s not getting a new one next week.

In a recent YouTube video, eXtas1s talks about how such a feature could be used for co-op, allowing friends to not only use separate screens for multiplayer, but also their original Switch consoles, in case some of them lack a Switch 2.

However, if this is accurate, such functionality could also be Nintendo’s way of giving the Wii U another go, allowing for asymmetrical experiences that use two screens.

At the very least, this would make it possible for Nintendo to port certain Wii U games that are too reliant on its GamePad controller, like Star Fox Zero and the excellent Nintendo Land.

Not to mention, it would make ports of DS and 3DS games more viable, particularly ones that made the most of those handhelds’ dual screens. In turn, this would allow the Switch 2 to host games from every past Nintendo consoles.

Such functionality would certainly be a boon, that would make Nintendo’s online library of retro games more appealing. Coincidentally enough, a Nintendo patent from 2023 did depict a new kind of dual screen console, so it’s an idea the company has at least considered.

It’d also be the sort of weird Nintendo style ingenuity that some people feel is so far missing from the Switch 2, which at the moment just appears to be a more powerful version of the original Switch.

The Switch 2 does seem to have a couple of extra tricks up its sleeve already though. The reveal trailer unsubtly teased computer mouse functionality for its Joy-Cons (which would be perfect for DS and 3DS games that made liberal use of the stylus) and another patent suggests the Switch 2 can be flipped upside down, to access the large port at the bottom.

Hopefully, Nintendo will confirm exactly what the C button does at the showcase next week. The one thing that can be said about it is that, as the leaks suggested, it is indeed labelled with the letter ‘C’ – unlike in the initial official images.

Some have theorised the ‘C’ stands for ‘camera’ and is thus tied to the aforementioned AR functionality. Others believe it could be for ‘cast’ and it’ll be possible to display games on your TV while still playing in handheld mode, which, again, was something the Wii U GamePad could do.

Email [email protected], leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter, and sign-up to our newsletter.

To submit Inbox letters and Reader’s Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here.

For more stories like this, check our Gaming page.

ArrowMORE: Nintendo Switch 2 pre-order details leaked but there’s confusion over the date

ArrowMORE: Every trailer and everything you need to know from Nintendo Direct March 2025

ArrowMORE: Obsessive Nintendo Switch 2 fans are getting hyped over footage of a building