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[VendettaRed07]

Wouldn't games have to be specifically built for a free-form display? Doesn't seem to go in line with the shared games thing we've been thinking for some time.

Yeah, unless the handheld is designed exactly like this, or that this is the handheld, it won't work. Porting between the handheld and console has to be as seemless and easy as possible. Several round about off beat control schemes and differences between the two with severally complicate the synergy between the devices

 

[-Horizon-]

Whoa, that is pretty out there. For me at least. Interested to see what comes out of this.

 

[wild wild rice]

Don't forget the scrolling clickable shoulder buttons or whatever. This thing could be very interesting.

 

[Insane Metal]

No more touch/motion controls nintendo... pls :|

 

[JCX]

Gamepad 2.0 looks nice.

No more touch/motion controls nintendo... pls :|

I wouldn't play Splatoon without motion control, so I hope they keep the option.

 

[Trago]

I dunno how to feel about this....

 

[ConceptX]

Found the gif. I'd be down for something like this (more buttons and bigger screen)

So how would that work with HUDS?

Imagine playing an RPG, you have a menu with a set of buttons ontop of it?

I don't know if I'm getting confused.

Either way, no physical buttons would be a deal breaker for me, it's super important to have that tactile feedback, and vibration etc does not recreate it. never mind the fact your thumbs block a ton of real estate, which is incredibly annoying on mobile games.

 

[axisofweevils]

Looks like motion controls are back

 

[GDGF]

Also for those worried about screen real-estate, I wouldn't be surprised if it was possible to manually shrink/expand the size of the display in real time. Would be a nice use of the shoulder wheel.

 

[Tal Shiar Agent]

Touchscreen buttons would make this DOA for a lot of people, I'd imagine.

Yep, Nintendo might as well start publishing on other consoles if this happens.

 

[WhoaIsThatMars]

Not sure what problems this thing is solving. It's a Vita with sticks on the screen and a stereoscopic display

 

[Instro]

This would be a nightmare as a controller or handheld. Particularly the latter. Just slapping an entire game screen with buttons and sticks in between would be fucking awful.

Hopefully, if they do make use of such a screen, any actual in game stuff would be in a rectangle in the center and the outer areas are used for quick menu buttons or OS buttons.

 

[Nanashrew]

Ya'll are reading that there are buttons right?

 

[LizardKing]

Looks a lot like Wii U gamepad 2.0.

 

[Linkstrikesback]

So how would that work with HUDS?

Imagine playing an RPG, you have a menu with a set of buttons ontop of it?

I don't know if I'm getting confused.

Either way, no physical buttons would be a deal breaker for me, it's super important to have that tactile feedback, and vibration etc does not recreate it. never mind the fact your thumbs block a ton of real estate, which is incredibly annoying on mobile games.

Seconding this.

I demand a controller that has real buttons if nothing else. Virtual buttons simply don't work as well as actual buttons. Touch screen games are great, if they're designed with that in mind. If they're just using fake buttons then I've not yet come across a game that wasn't worse than it would have been using buttons.

 

[DownGrader]

Can people stop whining and dismissing every concept which seems to be even slightly novel? Man, y'all are boring. At least wait for the real thing. Do you really think Nintendo, which prioritizes the control responsiveness over pretty much everything else, will make something truly uncomfortable to play?

 

[Tal Shiar Agent]

Ya'll are reading that there are buttons right?

Two face buttons by the diagrams. The rest seem to be context specific touchscreen buttons. That's a deal-breaker.

 

[GlamFM]

Convince me if you can, Nintendo.

Right now this is nightmare fuel to me.

 

[Frodo]

While something like this looks cool, its not practical for gaming at all. The buttons block off huge chunks of what you are seeing and could negatively impact gameplay.

Look at the patent, the buttons, while still looking like being part of the screen, never block the action.

Edit: Actually looking at it again there are a couple that do block gameplay. I'm not sure I'm ok with that AT ALL

Based on a mock-up we already established that the buttons will most definitely DO block the gameplay. No buy from me.

Seriously, people. Just imagine playing your 3DS, the main action (and everything that YOU NEED to see) still happens on where the screen currently is. But we have more screen around that showing surroundings and stuff. Also, the use of on-screen prompts around the buttons showed on the application is really interesting and clever.

Two face buttons by the diagrams. The rest seem to be context specific touchscreen buttons. That's a deal-breaker.

It is not like a patent application is a deal made with blood with the devil. They can add more buttons if they feel like.

 

[Zoon]

Imagine playing MH with this.I can't.

 

[Kodaman]

Ya'll are reading that there are buttons right?

reading? where do you think you are?

 

[aza]

Another mockup I had made back when the freeform display thing was rumoured:

The idea is a screen form-fitted around a set of physical buttons that could be used for labeling/extra UI functions, which seems to be what Nintendo just patented.

 

[CentralScrutinizer]

Since when did we stop being excited about new ways to play games? Nintendo had never let me down with new hardware in the sense that I have had fun with all of them. Excited to see what this is.

 

[hughesta]

This could be amazing or terrible, no in between. Very excited, because the potential is definitely there.

 

[jhmtehgamr20xx]

A few things hopefully everyone will keep in mind:

- Artwork for patents is usually represented in the most simple way possible in order to make the patent was wide-reaching as possible. This usually results in ugly art and is not indicative of the actual shape of the controller/handheld.
- It will be pretty easy for developers to avoid having your thumbs block important things like HUD elements and buttons by simply not placing them in the wrong areas.

That said, my curiosity is piqued and I'll wait to see what this leads to. It could be really cool, or it could end up like those televisions that shine ambient light around their edges (it's an interesting gimmick, but nothing outside the actual viewable area really matters).

I'm not so worried about the button situation. Nintendo knows people need real buttons. And when they do put buttons on the DS/3DS touch screen, usually it's not for precision actions (like jumping and attacking). Of course, exceptions exist.

Actually I'm not so sure about that. Has anyone here tried the Steam controller? Does its haptic feedback make up for lack of physical buttons where you'd expect them? Could you picture the controller working the same without the face buttons where the RAS usually sits on most regular controllers?

I'm wondering if perhaps Nintendo's exploring dynamc haptic feedback in lieu of regular face buttons, or if that would be possible ATM (again, just going off the Steam controller here).

Another mockup I had made back when the freeform display thing was rumoured:

The idea is a screen form-fitted around a set of physical buttons that could be used for labeling/extra UI functions, which seems to be what Nintendo just patented.

Good work, and it just gave me an idea how they could resolve the physical button issue. See, the buttons and stick don't have to be opaque, they can be translucent perhaps. That way the player can see through them but still get contextual displays under and around the buttons that configures based on each game.

But that may also require a variable-elevated screen. Basically a large touch screen with some parts elevated for physical feedback, with region-specific touch input registration. But in that case the buttons can't really be pressed "in", they would just register the pressure applied on that region of the screen by the player, but otherwise could be programmed to mimic regular buttons.

Not exactly sure how this could be applied with the analog stick though. Maybe by making it more like the 3DS slider? It could still mimic the buttons on the other side though, including being transparent so as not to obscure parts of the screen, b/c that's really the biggest problem w/ both the patent and this mock-up.

 

[SaintMadeOfPlaster]

Verrrryyy interesting. If they do this and pull if off well, it could be amazing.

Remember, these patent drawings are just a proof of concept and won't necessarily resemble the final product (if this is what they're going for, at least).

 

[Shenmue]

Screen taking up the face of the controller sounds really cool. Please no touch screen buttons though.

 

[Gtagentleman]

Does not look like something I can put on my pocket.

 

[Aostia]

Can people stop whining and dismissing every concept which seems to be even slightly novel? Man, y'all are boring. At least wait for the real thing.

Totally this, I hope they continue experimenting.
Plus obviously there are also phisycal buttons and patents are not mandatory in terms of final design so the important part is that the concept has both way od controlling the games.

I am more doubtful about thumbs covering the screen but we will see

 

[Spyder_Monkey]

This to me sounds like something Nintendo would do. Now I don't know how practical it really will be but this looks cool.

 

[RichiRamjag]

Gotta have buttons or I won't touch it.

 

[Mik317]

this sounds awful

 

[DownGrader]

Since when did we stop being excited about new ways to play games? Nintendo had never let me down with new hardware in the sense that I have had fun with all of them. Excited to see what this is.

Apparently, people don't like change.

Disappointed by the community a lot. Some people take new ways to control games only if they are covered by the same old controller concepts and designs (clickable sticks, analog triggers, gyro controls, touchpads).

 

[Instro]

Another mockup I had made back when the freeform display thing was rumoured:

The idea is a screen form-fitted around a set of physical buttons that could be used for labeling/extra UI functions, which seems to be what Nintendo just patented.

I would completely despise this kind of implementation. You lose visibility and screen real estate with that.

 

[Herpes Reasons]

Wii did just fine.

The crux of the issue is if this controller or "gimmick" can capture audiences the way the Wii Remote did. If it's another hit, Nintendo isn't going to need third party support to be successful.

Wii did well because it was the first major piece of hardware with wireless controlls. That gimmick died quickly. A wireless controller/second screen isn't new or revolutionary and the Wii U showed that even with quality first party software, people couldn't care less enough to actually buy said hardware. Why? No third party software. This will not be any different if Nintendo continues it's 'we can do it alone' attitude. I mean it took Nintendo how long to get Minecraft for crying out loud.

 

[Frodo]

Another mockup I had made back when the freeform display thing was rumoured:

The idea is a screen form-fitted around a set of physical buttons that could be used for labeling/extra UI functions, which seems to be what Nintendo just patented.

OMG! A quick smash button! YOU FILTHY CASUAL!

I'm not buying that game or that controller.

I would completely despise this kind of implementation. You lose visibility and screen real estate with that.

Would you rather it to be just like the Gamepad, then? Where on earth would you be losing screen real estate with that?
Or do you want just a screen?

 

[Regiruler]

Everything is pointing to NX being Wii U mk. 2 in a good way.

Gotta have buttons or I won't touch it.

That's the entire point of the patent: to fit the screen around the buttons without majorly affecting ergonomics.

So yes, if they chose to implement the design in this patent it will have buttons.

 

[Clefargle]

Based on a mock-up we already established that the buttons will most definitely DO block the gameplay. No buy from me.

Seriously, people. Just imagine playing your 3DS, the main action (and everything that YOU NEED to see) still happens on where the screen currently is. But we have more screen around that showing surroundings and stuff. Also, the use of on-screen prompts around the buttons showed on the application is really interesting and clever.



It is not like a patent application is a deal made with blood with the devil. They can add more buttons if they feel like.

Exactly, every friggin patent thread people act like its a design document or finalized marketing materials or some shit. PATENTS ARE FOR OUTLINING KEY CLAIMS. They are not for outlining features unrelated to the claims. I hope people get it through their skulls before the next thread like this.

 

[Trago]

Another mockup I had made back when the freeform display thing was rumoured:

The idea is a screen form-fitted around a set of physical buttons that could be used for labeling/extra UI functions, which seems to be what Nintendo just patented.

Not really feeling it....

 

[GlamFM]

Everything is pointing to NX being Wii U mk. 2 in a good way.

WiiU had buttons....

It´s pointing in a WiiU 2, but even worse way.

 

[SalvaPot]

The controller is going to have buttons for sure, Nintendo likes that responsive feel. This also seems less chunky than the gamepad, I am all in for that.

 

[Mael]

Would work great for the arcardes, I don't think it would work at all for a handheld though.
Kinda pointless to have that on a console or handheld controller tbf

 

[Pancakes R Us]

Nice find.

Going up on Nintendo Life in 3...2..

 

[Tempy]

Wii did well because it was the first major piece of hardware with wireless controlls. That gimmick died quickly. A wireless controller/second screen isn't new or revolutionary and the Wii U showed that even with quality first party software, people couldn't care less enough to actually buy said hardware. Why? No third party software. This will not be any different if Nintendo continues it's 'we can do it alone' attitude. I mean it took Nintendo how long to get Minecraft for crying out loud.

Do you mean Motion Controls...

 

[phanphare]

woah

definitely interested to see how this turns out

is it 2016 yet? ok what about now??

 

[TheGreatMightyPoo]

Gotta have buttons or I won't touch it.

It will.

 

[Nanashrew]

Wii did well because it was the first major piece of hardware with wireless controlls. That gimmick died quickly. A wireless controller/second screen isn't new or revolutionary and the Wii U showed that even with quality first party software, people couldn't care less enough to actually buy said hardware. Why? No third party software. This will not be any different if Nintendo continues it's 'we can do it alone' attitude. I mean it took Nintendo how long to get Minecraft for crying out loud.

Um, no. Wii did well cause the concept and idea behind it with motion controls was good and could easily be conveyed to everyone of any type. It also revolutionized how people saw game interaction through motion controls and that will play a big factor in the VR space.

 

[Waylon Drums]

I'm still not totally sure what I'm looking at.

 

[Tal Shiar Agent]

Apparently, people don't like change.

Disappointed by the community a lot. Some people take new ways to control games only if they are covered by the same old controller concepts and designs (clickable sticks, analog triggers, gyro controls, touchpads).

Well they've worked for ~35 years with minimal changes. Until the way games are presented is fundamentally changed (like VR) there is no reason than just trying to be different to change the way games controls.

This is typical out of touch Nintendo. The NX is their last shot and if they blow it, they become another Sega. They should just stick to the tried and true to bring back lapsed Nintendo fans and third party developers or else I'll be playing Smash on my PS6 soon enough.

 

[CentralScrutinizer]

WiiU had buttons....

It´s pointing in a WiiU 2, but even worse way.

this has buttons...