Trolling through patents is a great way to stumble across a sneak peak at whatever new thing tech companies are working on. That includes companies that are otherwise super secretive about their hardware plans, companies like Nintendo. Patents have spoiled Nintendo secrets like self-playing easy modes, that weird upcoming hoop controller, and even the Nintendo Switch itself. And now a new patent has potentially revealed strange hinged Joy-Con controllers for the popular handheld/console hybrid.
Recently filed in Japan and picked up on Reddit, the image shows the user playing a Switch with the hypothetical new controllers attached. They resemble normal Joy-Con, but instead of being one solid piece the top portions can bend forward. Because of their small size, many players (including myself) experience hand cramps when playing the Switch in handheld mode for long periods of time. So presumably this curved grip is more comfortable and ergonomic.
This does raise questions though. Does the hinge make these Joy-Con more vulnerable to damage? Are the analog sticks less susceptible to dreaded Joy-Con drift? Will these work with older Switch models? Will they be sold separately or included with some kind of Switch Pro? Why make this but not Joy-Con with a built-in D-pad like on the Nintendo Switch Lite? But asking why Nintendo makes the decisions it does is usually pretty futile.
Patents are no guarantee that a product will ever exist. But don’t be so shocked if in the near future you can buy some Joy-Con that bend for some reason. In the meantime, here are some cool Nintendo Switch games to play right now, read our hands-on impressions of the Nintendo Switch Lite, and tear your hair out speculating over this weird Nintendo Switch hoop controller getting revealed later this week.
