Nintendo has Filed Patents for a Device With Attachable Controllers, Presumably for NX

Last month, Eurogamer put out a report claiming NX will be a portable console with detachable controllers. Nintendo filed a few patents today that line up with this report, as the patents show a handheld electronic device with controllers that can attach to it. The first two talk about tracking hand/gestures in a bit more detail than older Nintendo patents, but the third one is what really lines up with recent reports. The patent talks about an attachable accessory which can be added to the side of the device. This is most likely the “detachable controller” Eurogamer brought up, as the attachable accessory is shown to be physical buttons.

Keep in mind patent photos are rarely the final product, especially for Nintendo.

Button presses will be detected using infrared camera technology, meaning no electric connection will be needed between said attachable device and the main device. NeoGAF user Disorientator pointed out the attachable controller basically sounds like “a plastic shell with the camera/software doing all the work,” which could significantly lower the cost of making them for Nintendo.

There are, however, a few concerns raised by Disorientator regarding the patents:

– Same infrared/camera setup must be installed on the other side of the device if two attachable accessories are to be supported. (higher cost)
– Will latency be an issue? How fast can the infrared camera/software detect the button presses without errors?
– What about analog sticks? The patent shows the detection of rotational movement (e.g. turning a knob). How would something similar work for the analog stick and how precise would be?

These concerns are valid, and it looks like we’ll have to wait for more information to answer them. For now, here are some excerpts and more images from the patent:

FIG. 11 shows an example captured image obtained by the infrared camera 4. The captured image shown in FIG. 11 is an image to be obtained when the operation buttons 22A to 22D are not operated (in the unoperated state). As shown in FIG. 11, the captured image includes an image (reference marker image) 30 of the reference marker 21d and images (movable portion images) 31A to 31D of movable portions 23A to 23D. Thus, the reference marker 21d and the movable portions 23A to 23D are placed at such positions as to be included in the image-capturing range of the infrared camera 4, with the operation device 20 attached to the portable device 1. Thus, with the operation device 20 connected to the portable device 1, the infrared camera 4 can capture an image of the reference marker 21d and the movable portions 23A to 23D inside the housing 21 through the hole 21a of the housing 21.

FIG. 12 shows another example captured image obtained by the infrared camera 4. The captured image shown in FIG. 12 is an image obtained while the operation button 22A is operated (depressed). When the operation button 22A is operated, the movable portion 23A moves downward. Therefore, in the captured image, the movable portion image 31A is located below its position in the unoperated state, as shown in FIG. 12. Thus, when an operation button 22 is operated, the position of the corresponding movable portion image 31 changes from its position in the unoperated state. Therefore, based on the position of the movable portion image 31 in the captured image, it is possible to determine whether the operation button 22 corresponding to the movable portion image 31 is operated.

Don’t know what any of that means? I don’t blame you. In short, the first image is what the infrared camera sees when the controller’s buttons are not being pressed. The second image is what the infrared camera sees when a button is being pressed down on the attachable device, which will in turn make the appropriate action happen on the main device’s screen. Eurogamer’s report is seeming more and more credible—what do you think about it? Let us know in the comments.

Source: NeoGAF