Dataminers have uncovered a new patent from Nintendo, that could be giving us an early look at the Nintendo Switch 2.
As reported by GameRant, the patent shows a radically redesigned console from the original Switch. It’s a little hard to believe that this is where Nintendo plans to go next. But to explain that, we need to talk about this patent in more detail.
The first dramatic change comes to the interface itself. So it’s still a handheld controller with a screen, but we lose an analog stick, a d-pad, and two extra shoulder buttons. All that’s left is one joystick on the left, four face buttons on the right, and only one pair of shoulder buttons at the top of the console.
Furthermore, there are a set of buttons that have been moved from the top and the face of the console, down to the bottom. The home button, USB port, speakers, and capture button have all been moved to the bottom.
The top of the console only slightly changes the layout on the Switch. The cartridge slot and headphone jack are still where they were on the Switch, with only the power button and volume buttons switched around.
Lastly, the patent mentions that this console will have a pressure sensitive touch screen, much like the Wii U’s GamePad, as well as Nintendo’s DS/2DS/3DS line of portables.
It’s really hard to imagine that this patent is for a product that Nintendo will release in the future. Why were so many control inputs removed? What is the point of moving so many inputs and I|O around?
Maybe we are only seeing part of the story. For example, it’s possible Nintendo decided to split up the Joy-Con’s functions, so that there will be separated hand controllers, that are different from the inputs on the handheld itself.
But then, that doesn’t full make sense, because how will gamers play full 3D games on it? It would still be missing a d-pad and right analog stick.
Maybe it’s the other way around. It’s possible that this is not the console itself, but a controller, much like the Wii U’s GamePad. Once again, however, that doesn’t fully make sense, since it’s still missing a lot of inputs. While classic games won’t need more inputs that what’s mentioned here, there’s way more games that will need a full control set.
In the end, maybe it’s just a patent to protect ideas one of their employees came up with, and may never be used in a product Nintendo actually makes. It seems we won’t really find out until Nintendo makes an official announcement of what comes next.
