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Nintendo Patent Application - Handheld (or controller?) featuring a free-form display

L Thammy

Member
While I do like having a touchscreen on the controller (the DS has one of my favourite game libraries) I don't see this display adding anything particularly new in terms of functionality. I'd rather they add things like haptic feedback. And after the Wii U, I wouldn't think they'd want to make the controller more expensive.
 

Lasty95

Member
My reading of all that stuff is there's likely going to be buttons and sticks coming through the 'screen', no?

That could be brilliant if true.

The Gamepad/3DS are damn uncomfortable to use.
 

openrob

Member
Ahhh this is fun.
Reminds me of mock ups like this back in the day

ND00f-e1305063337517.jpg
 
How is looking back and forth between your hands and tv intuitive?

How using an analog stick as a mouse or a D-pad to navigate menus more intuitive than a touch screen? (UI for OS, eShop)

Using the touch screen to build levels in Mario Maker is on another level entirely than using a regular controller.

Having a full map displayed on the Gamepad you can glance at while still moving is more intuitive than having to stop and pause. (Mass Effect 3, Darksiders 2, WWHD, Xenoblade CX)

Being able to access your inventory at any time on the touch screen is more intuitive than having to pause. (Darksiders 2, WWHD)

Looking at the gamepad to fine-tune a shot using the gyros is intuitive as hell. (WWHD)

Also, the updated touchscreen controls for Pikmin 3 are god tier.

Being able to map abilities to the edges of the touchscreen on each side of the map so that you have immediate access made Mass Effect 3 the only console version of a mass effect game to allow you to hot-key several abilities. It made that port comparable to the PC in that regard as you could mix tech/biotic combos on the fly without having to pause and bring up the power wheel.

How is it not more intuitive? Also, have you spent much time playing the Wii U? I only ask because your response mirrors those that came when the Wii U was first announced and no one had gotten to play with the controller yet.

There are games that came out in which the devs did a piss poor job on the port/use of dual screens, but that doesn't say anything about the controller and concept itself.
 
I think they could still do it with buttons.

I'm imagining something like the Xbox Elite, sort of. You have left and right joystick and A & B on the face. On the back, you have X & Y for your middle finger. Top of the controller has your traditional L and R buttons and behind that is LR and ZR as scroll wheels.

You could still have touch screen cues like you see in the patent but underneath A and B (or above, I haven't determined how low or high A & B should be placed, but touch screen above my be better visually). This means all you have to do is shift a bit to tap it instead of reaching over like on the 3DS or Wii U gamepad. These could range from many things depending on the game, whether an action command or inventory which also frees up physical buttons to be used for more meaningful actions in a game. If you wanted to, a game could also highlight a button with a glow around or some visual effect.

My idea of this is to reduce overall screen clutter so that it's not forcing your thumbs so far towards the center of the screen.

I like paddles. I'd take paddles. I don't know how I feel about giving up triggers. Honestly, if this is the controller, they need Wii U Pro support as well for traditional games.

Maybe they will add a couple face buttons, who knows? The patent is non-limiting. I still need to comb through it, but has anyone read any mention of the possibility of additional buttons?

If anything, I think it would be natural for there to be virtual buttons assigned to the four cardinal directions around the analog sticks (making a full circle around it like on many t.v. remotes and that one Wii controller prototype). Add in a little vibration when you hit them, and it should be pretty intuitive even if you're looking at the t.v.
 

The_Lump

Banned
Ahhh this is fun.
Reminds me of mock ups like this back in the day

ND00f-e1305063337517.jpg


Great example for those complaining about losing screen real estate.

OK so look at the image; instead of imagining Nintendo moving those buttons onto the screen, imagine them extending the screen under the buttons. It's an extra that might be used in a neat way.

Maybe this is one of those optimist/pessimist analogous things??
 

Lasty95

Member
How is looking back and forth between your hands and tv intuitive?

I don't think that's the point here.

I think it's more about off-screen and merging the console and handheld markets into a single unit.

The WiiU was a total failure in selling the duel concept. Not even Nintendo themselves managed anything meaningful with it.

Remember a few years back when e3 was all about 'second screen' nonsense? Died a quick death, thankfully.
 
I dunno man...like...just...

I can't see myself liking this.


EDIT: ARE YOU KIDDING ME!? BOTTOM OF THE PAGE AGAIN! I am the Page Bottom Master!
Some people are tops and some are bottoms. Accept your submissive lifestyle choices!

On topic, Nintendo keeping the innovative crazy future alive. I like it.
 

finalflame

Gold Member
Me too. Sounds cliche but I really am glad (it seems like) Nintendo aren't just going to try and compete directly with the big boys. Maybe they'll fail spectacularly in sales, maybe they'll hit the jackpot - but I'll always get excited for something different and something inventive. For better or worse I do love me some crazy-ass Nintendo.

Right there with you. Another boring box with the power of a PS4 would not really be in the spirit of Nintendo, at all. At the same time, I was worried thinking about what kind of innovation it is they'd be bringing around. What has popped up so far, though, seems very promising.

The official announcement for this stuff directly from the horse's mouth can't come fast enough.
 

Instro

Member
Great example for those complaining about losing screen real estate.

OK so look at the image; instead of imagining Nintendo moving those buttons onto the screen, imagine them extending the screen under the buttons. It's an extra that might be used in a neat way.

Maybe this is one of those optimist/pessimist analogous things??

It's neat only depending on how they use that screen area. If they have actual gameplay showing in those areas where the controls are then that would be quite terrible.
 

The_Lump

Banned
I like paddles. I'd take paddles. I don't know how I feel about giving up triggers. Honestly, if this is the controller, they need Wii U Pro support as well for traditional games.

Maybe they will add a couple face buttons, who knows? The patent is non-limiting. I still need to comb through it, but has anyone read any mention of the possibility of additional buttons?

Well the fact it is non limiting and that the patent is primarily about the concept of the screen tech being married to an input/output device...is enough to leave open the possibility of more buttons, different layout, scroll wheels, haptics, motion control, laser beams and waffle makers. This file closes off non of those things :)

It's neat only depending on how they use that screen area. If they have actual gameplay showing in those areas where the controls are then that would be quite terrible.

That's why I carefully said "might be used in a neat way" ;)

Of course, as with any input device, it boils down to how its used.
 

Nanashrew

Banned
I like paddles. I'd take paddles. I don't know how I feel about giving up triggers. Honestly, if this is the controller, they need Wii U Pro support as well for traditional games.

Maybe they will add a couple face buttons, who knows? The patent is non-limiting. I still need to comb through it, but has anyone read any mention of the possibility of additional buttons?

If anything, I think it would be natural for there to be virtual buttons assigned to the four cardinal directions around the analog sticks (making a full circle around it like on many t.v. remotes and that one Wii controller prototype). Add in a little vibration when you hit them, and it should be pretty intuitive even if you're looking at the t.v.

Oh yeah, I'm just presenting my idea in one form it could work, though I am probably thinking in too much of a traditional sense when it comes to Nintendo.

I've lately started getting interested in bits of controller design and button placement, shapes of a button, etc. I'm still a fan of the jelly bean X and Y buttons on the GameCube and just overall layout because your thumb can just feel the buttons and know what they are by their shapes.
 

gamerMan

Member
I'm not getting this. How exactly is this better than the Wii U? Seems like you'd be covering up the sides of the screen.
 

Trrzs

Member
Hey guys, maybe the answer for non physical buttons is in another patent, do you remember this?

haptic_1b7xew.png


This was a patent application named "Haptic based information processing apparatus, information processing program, information processing system, and information processing method". The patent shows dual vibration sections which strangely coincide with the place where the tactil buttons would be located in this new control patent. You can find more info in this post. BTW, I'm new here :p
 

Arkam

Member
I'm not getting this. How exactly is this better than the Wii U? Seems like you'd be covering up the sides of the screen.

It is a patent. NOT an illustration of an actual device. Why is that so hard for many to understand. There is nothing to "Get". This patent could only illustrate some of the possible components that may or may not be part of their next device.
 
Hey guys, maybe the answer for non physical buttons is in another patent, do you remember this?

haptic_1b7xew.png


This was a patent application named "Haptic based information processing apparatus, information processing program, information processing system, and information processing method". The patent shows dual vibration sections which strangely coincide with the place where the tactil buttons would be located in this new control patent. You can find more info in this post. BTW, I'm new here :p
Haptic feedback isn't going to help when you need to push down two buttons at once (like running + jumping in Mario, or jumping + shooting in Megaman). It hasn't worked for me on a smartphone, and I doubt haptics will fix it. You'll also have to look down whenever you press something if the console is going to use a TV screen as well as the screen on the controller; haptics won't give you a feel of where you are over a diamond button arrangement. I guess we'll have to wait and see what they do with the controller, though.
 

Dryk

Member
OK so look at the image; instead of imagining Nintendo moving those buttons onto the screen, imagine them extending the screen under the buttons. It's an extra that might be used in a neat way.

Maybe this is one of those optimist/pessimist analogous things??
The perception would partially depend on the aspect ratio. If there's a 16:9 sized space between people's hands it might go over okay.
 

The_Lump

Banned
The perception would partially depend on the aspect ratio. If there's a 16:9 sized space between people's hands it might go over okay.

From OP:
Furthermore, since the display panel 14 is made into an oblong form as mentioned above, it is possible to make an aspect ratio thereof comparable to a ratio (16:9) of a wide screen.

You're right, and that's exactly what I had in mind. Largely down to how its utilised, but I think having the extra space can't be a bad thing.
 
I've done some thinking, and honestly I don't think they'll get rid of physical buttons, that'd be a seriously limiting control scheme if it was just the 2 pads and bumpers. I'm gonna say they're planning on having that screen with circle pads and having a physical D-pad and face buttons placed underneath.

I wouldn't worry too much about the patent, as it seems to only describe the freeform screen itself and the possible uses. I fully believe that there will be more physical buttons on the controller, no doubt.
 

The_Lump

Banned
So basically the gamepad as it is now but now the buttons and sticks are on the screen meaning less of a view. I'll pass on this.

No. If anything its: Gamepad as it is now, with screen extending beyond the 16:9 aspect ratio and around the control interface.
 

Cipherr

Member
How people are even begin to make a purchase decision based on 2D shitty drawn patents is beyond me, lol; probably wouldn't have bought it in the first case

Its very simple. Im not playing any games with some onscreen buttons. Physical input is very important to me in gaming. I certainly would give it a look should they have real physical input, but if its screens, forget it.

No. If anything its: Gamepad as it is now, with screen extending beyond the 16:9 aspect ratio and around the control interface.

See thats fine. If its got physical input but the screen surrounds the input I wouldnt mind.
 
You're right, and that's exactly what I had in mind. Largely down to how its utilised, but I think having the extra space can't be a bad thing.

As long as the price isn't outrageous. But hey, maybe this is the "game console" described in the cloud patent that we're still analysing. Stick a nice low power CPU in there and let the "supplemental computing device" do the heavy lifting. Casual players or skeptics might just start off buying this device and accessing others' SCD via the cloud.

It would be interesting if the grip was a shell and removable. I also feel that they do need at least 2 physical face buttons. All Nintendo controllers need to be able to play Mario well. I can't imagine the pictures in the patent being a very good Mario controller.

But yeah, at the very least, you get little icons to help casuals through games. I think it's pretty clear Nintendo are courting casuals again w/ NX. We should accept it.
 

magnetic

Member
I wonder if it's a thing in the patent scene to make these drawings as MS Paint as possible.

I get that it wouldn't be worth it to hire artists (and even make a proper design to begin with), so just basic shapes will do just fine, but it seems like these patent graphics have a visual style of their own.

It's such an odd look. I'd love to see an entire comic told in this crude style. (Actually, the hands are drawn pretty well compared to some of the other graphics I've seen!)
 

methodman

Banned
I love that Nintendo is trying something different again. I just hope they have the games to back it. If they are releasing one console that can play mobile / home console games, that'd be the best solution.
 

Neoxon

Junior Member
I love that Nintendo is trying something different again. I just hope they have the games to back it. If they are releasing one console that can play mobile / home console games, that'd be the best solution.
It's most likely going to be a platform with multiple form factors. If anything, this could be a possible solution for the NX Console emulating the NX Handheld's probable touch screen.
 

Snakeyes

Member
I think it's pretty clear Nintendo are courting casuals again w/ NX.
I don't. If the aim is to make the control scheme more inviting, then clicking down on an analog stick to access additional controls is less simple and intuitive than having sticks, a d-pad and face buttons clearly defined and visible all the time on a standard setup. Also, having little help bubbles popping up next to the buttons is only gonna make things marginally easier for a casual player.

To me this seems like more of an expansion on the traditional controller with modern technology than a play for the casual audience.
 

Schnozberry

Member
This could be a great controller for games that make use of mechanics that don't lend themselves well to buttons and triggers. Hopefully Nintendo has enough physical buttons on the device to make more traditional games translate well, or at least carry forward the Pro Controller as an option with updated NX Branding.
 

Somnid

Member
It's the bezel illusion. Something looks small because the screen extends into an obstructed area but in reality the product is the same size as the bezeled reference with a larger screen area. For the same reason it makes sense to have devices with no bezel because the screen area is the same but it's enhanced with additional area that might be less usable but still exists. Devs would treat it much like overscan, you might have it but don't put important things there. Of course button prompts are an easy and welcome exception.

If Nintendo does go this route I kinda doubt they'd do away with face buttons, they'll just situate them like sticks but this diagram obviously isn't supposed to look like an actual product.
 
I hope they don't go this route, not only would it be annoying that you'd be covering up the sides of the screen with your thumbs but it would also needlessly complicate the compatibility of games between the handheld and console SKUs of NX.
 

Schnozberry

Member
I hope they don't go this route, not only would it be annoying that you'd be covering up the sides of the screen with your thumbs but it would also needlessly complicate the compatibility of games between the handheld and console SKUs of NX.

Not if the handheld has two screens. The second screen features would likely be similar.
 
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