Nintendo patent suggests a new Switch arcade controller could be on the way
A patent for a video games controller filed by Nintendo last year has been unearthed online, prompting fans to speculate what new device the games giant may have in the pipeline.
First discovered on Twitter and reported by Nintendo Life, the patent was submitted in July 2021 and published publicly in January earlier this year.
It covers the design of a new controller but particularly concerns the device’s interior over its external body. According to the document, the design has been created with the aim of making “an internal structural body of a game controller more compact”. As such, most of the patent’s details concern the internal arrangement of its components and circuits.
However, it also includes several technical drawings of the controller’s exterior, showing a design that Nintendo hasn’t revealed before. The front of the gamepad features a D-pad, four buttons, and two shoulder pads on its side, while the back looks strikingly similar to the protruding top half of an N64 controller.
It doesn't feature the N64’s three-pronged grip, however, any analog sticks, or a Start or Menu button.
The patent also mentions a vibration system and the inclusion of a battery compartment, suggesting it’s wireless.
An NFC circuit is housed inside, too. That will let the device controller communicate with other devices across short distances without the need for an internet connection. NFC is the same system used to scan Amiibos with the Nintendo Switch’s Joy-Cons.
Several details of the patent hint at what the forthcoming design may be used for. Its emphasis on providing a compact internal structure, combined with a simple front that only includes a few buttons, suggests it’ll be a small, barebones controller — exactly the type of
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