Nintendo is on a roll with the Switch, as it recently outsold the original NES. While 2020 has been a bit light on heavy-hitting news from The Big N, a fresh patent points to a new controller possibly being on the way soon for the Switch.
The Joy-Con, even with the drift issues, is an innovative and flexible controller. It’s quite special to be able to play games with a Joy-Con in each hand, and then quickly slide them into the Switch to play on the go. Meanwhile, handing a Joy-Con to a buddy for co-op or competitive local fun is simple and effective. As the Switch is coming up on being four years old, perhaps now is a good time to update the hardware.
The Nintendo patent that was recently discovered shows off multiple images of what looks very much like the standard Joy-Con for the Switch. However, they are a few key differences. The first thing that should be noted is that the sliding bar is missing from the side. This would theoretically mean that players could use them to “snap” into the side of the Switch and use for handheld gaming. The other noticeable change is that the “plus” and “minus” buttons are missing–often used to distinguish between left and right Joy-Con, but also obviously used for input in games as well. The remaining face buttons, analog, etc. seem to be the same.
Thanks especially to the Joy-Con drift problems, creating a new Joy-Con makes some sense. However, without the slide functionality, the controller seems to be for something else entirely outside of what players may normally expect from the Joy-Con. These controllers could be for the rumored Nintendo Switch Pro, but if there was no longer slide functionality for instant on-the-go gaming that would be a surprise.
The messaging behind what the Nintendo Switch does and is for has changed a bit since launch. The technology inside of the Joy-Con, like HD rumble, the ability to have instant local multiplayer with friends, and the snap-in snap-out functionality for handheld play doesn’t seem to be as much of an emphasis as 2017, when the console burst onto the market. With the Nintendo Switch Lite, for example, all of that is tossed out the window for dedicated handheld play.
The new Joy-Con could also have been patented with the Switch Lite (which has sold tremendously as well) in mind. If someone were to need the Joy-Con for specific games on the Lite, this new controller would be a better fit than the standard Joy-Cons with the sliding functionality. Meanwhile, the new Joy-Con could even work as third, fourth, fifth, or sixth Joy-Cons for the standard Nintendo Switch as well, giving players more options for sit-down gaming and or local multiplayer (without the option to slide the controllers in for on-the-go gaming).
A final option is that the Joy-Con patent could be from years ago, or something that will never see the market. Nintendo, specifically, is known to think outside the box, create many ideas, and save some for other purposes down the road.
Source: WIPO
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