A freshly published Nintendo patent seems to substantiate a recent report that the upcoming NX system will have detachable controllers.
The patent (discovered by NeoGAF) was filed with the US patent office in January 2016, following a similar filing in Japan last year. It describes an accessory that can be attached to the outside of an “information processing device.”
According to the accompanying illustrations, it appears to be talking about some sort of controller (or accessory with additional inputs) that can be attached to the main device when needed.
Patents are not always a given for future plans. This does not necessarily mean that the concept will be used in the final product.
According to a recent report, Nintendo’s NX is a handheld device that can be docked for use on a TV, which this patent seems to substantiate. In addition, it was described as using detachable controller modules that connect to both sides of the device’s screen, which also correlates with the patent details.
The patent also describes a method for reading the inputs of a connected accessory. The main handheld device would be equipped with an infrared camera, that can determine what inputs on the accessory are being used. This will allow for the accessory to operate with no electrical components.
The camera would look through a hole between the main device and the controller. A separate patent details an alternate use for the camera, which utilizes hand gestures near the side of the device when it is not connected. A third patent tells us more about certain features, like playing rock, paper, scissors with the corresponding gestures.
It is unclear if Nintendo will implement any of these features in its actual hardware, but the NX is slated for release in March 2017.
