Nintendo patent could be the NX controller

Traditional physical bumpers also remain, but the on-screen controls themselves can adapt to different games and specific situations, providing game designers with a larger degree of flexibility when it comes to creating gameplay options.

Found at FreePatentsOnline, the patent was first filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office in June but has only just been published.

The patent does contain a brief summary of the device.

The maker’s current console, the Nintendo Wii U features a touchscreen that can show games, but only within range of the home unit itself. The Wii U has been a major disappointment for the company, especially compared to the virtually unprecedented success of the Wii, and the NX is Nintendo’s opportunity to regain their footing in the home console market. The touch panel may be resistive or capacitive and could cover nearly the entire display area of the screen. There are two “operation sticks” on the left and right side of the device, and handles that allow players to grip and hold it like they would any other gaming controller. And in truth, touchscreens make for terrible controllers.

In somewhat unsurprising fashion, Nintendo hasn’t been the best source for information on their still underwraps game console, the Nintendo NX. It’s just a patent, for now, but also a reminder that despite everything else, Nintendo isn’t going to stop experimenting.

Obviously companies file all sorts of patents, so this gamepad may never become a reality, but it’s the second Nintendo patent we’ve seen this week – the first being about a cloud-based upgrade system for the console.

While it’s impossible to say if either of these two new patents that have surfaced over the last weeks are related to the Nintendo NX, it remains a possibility. Nintendo controllers have always been fascinating in their own right despite how successful or otherwise they turn out to be.