It’s no secret that Nintendo is developing a new console that they plan to release fairly soon. Still codenamed the Nintendo NX, this new console is supposed to right all of the whiffs that the Wii U brought the company.
Whether this will happen or not is to be seen, but earlier today we got a first glimpse of a new controller patent by Nintendo that could give us a hint about what the NX’s controller could be like.
This patent was submitted all the way back in February and was caught by NeoGaf. The controller closely resembles the Wii U’s touch pad in many significant ways, but the biggest differences would be the inclusion of 2 new shoulder buttons that have the capability to scroll, the loss of 2 primary buttons and the size
The abstract for the patent appears a little confusing when first looked at, but it seems that these new rotary-style shoulder buttons are designed to be used with the index fingers or thumbs (in portrait mode).
With so little time between the Wii U and the NX it wouldn’t be a huge surprise if Nintendo didn’t have the time to come up with a completely radical controller like they typically do, but new functionality sounds a lot like the company’s constant quest for innovation.
What the Nintendo NX actually is or does still remains a mystery. Earlier this year, Nintendo also filed a patent for a console with no optical drive so whether these two patents are linked or entirely separate will only be revealed with time, but many people are speculating for a Fall 2016 release of the new system. Nintendo, however, is remaining tight-lipped about the console in every way in order to protect their ideas from competitors.
