Nintendo Switch 2 patent reveals secret feature to play it upside down

A Switch 2 patent appears to have confirmed a handy new feature for the console, which adds even more flexibility.

The Nintendo Switch 2 has been officially revealed but there’s still a lot we don’t know about the console, including its technical specifications, price, and launch date.

Nintendo teased some previously leaked features in the reveal video, like the magnetic Joy-Cons and mouse functionality, but it hasn’t explicitly confirmed either of them. However, a bunch of newly-published patents for the console have supported all the prior leaks.

Another detail has now been discovered within those same patents, which suggests you’ll be able to play the console flipped upside down.

In the game device and game system patent, a drawing shows both Joy-Cons attached to the Switch 2 console on the opposite side and in an upside down position – with the volume buttons and headphone port still on the top of the system.

If you tried this on the original Switch, the Joy-Cons wouldn’t connect properly due to the rail slide attachment only allowing for one correct setup. However, the patent suggests the new magnetic Joy-Cons will function with the Switch 2 console in a reversed configuration, with the system’s display flipping to your viewpoint.

While it is a relatively minor addition, it does add extra flexibility to the system – allowing you to comfortably connect headphones on the bottom of the device instead of the top, while making it more child-proof against any potential jamming accidents with the controllers.

As described in the patent’s description, it reads: ‘For example, the user can use the game system so that the upper and lower sides of the main body device are opposite to each other, such that the voice input/output connector on the upper surface of the main body is located below the main body device. That is, the user can insert the earphone into the voice input/output connector from the preferred direction.’

This might also open the door to Switch 2 peripherals which could be connected to the top of the system through the reversed configuration, such as a camera. The Switch 2 has two confirmed USB ports, one placed at the bottom in the centre, and one on top but positioned off to the side.

While there’s a chance the features in these patents haven’t made their way into the final product, there’s a strong possibility they have, considering how much of the other information in the patents lines up with past rumours and what can be seen in the reveal trailer.

We’ll likely find out these details (and more) in Nintendo’s confirmed Direct presentation for the Switch 2, which is set to take place on April 2.

Following the presentation, Nintendo is set to tour the Switch 2 around the world at a series of public hands-on events from April to June.

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