Nintendo has applied for a new patent on a controller or handheld device. Described only as an “operational apparatus,” the patent was submitted all the way back on February 19th, 2015, and has just now been published.
The patent describes a system with a touch screen that could have digital buttons, an analog D-Pad and pair of buttons, and two directional inputs (read: thumbsticks) all on the front face of the device.
The new feature, the exciting part, is parts 24L and 24R in the above diagram. Those are wheels, in parallel to the front of the controller, that can be spun right and left. They are also analog buttons.
Interestingly, the patent describes a way that the wheels could be motorized, to rotate or vibrate as a way of alerting the player to something in game.
Could this be related to Nintendo’s next hardware offering, the NX? Is it a controller for a console or a self-contained handheld unit? Only time will tell, but, as always, Nintendo is up to some exciting business.
Read the patent application here.Â
This article was written by a past writer, Daniel Giroday.
