Rumors of a new Nintendo Switch are flying through the corridors like crazy. The console is expected to be announced next year. But there is still some debate about exactly what the handheld will look like.
The Nintendo Switch has been a huge success, so the attention to its much-discussed successor is not entirely unexpected. That the company is trying out different designs behind the scenes makes sense. If only because it doesn’t have too good a reputation when it comes to successors.
WANT on WhatsApp
We have recently started to be featured on WhatsApp. In our channel we share the best stories, videos and exclusive content you won’t get anywhere else. Follow us here.
Time for the Nintendo Switch 2
So the new Nintendo Switch really needs to come from good stock. One of the great successes of the console is that it is a hybrid. You can both connect it to your television and take it on the go. So the Japanese company would be crazy not to apply that feature to the new model.
A November 2022 patent just discovered shows that the company is indeed thinking along those lines. In fact, the company seems to be looking at an old iconic handheld for the new model.
In the time leading up to the Nintendo Switch, the company always had a dedicated handheld on the market. The Game Boy was perhaps the best known, but the Nintendo DS also managed to garner high praise. The new patent seems to hint at that in particular.
The DS in a new look
In the image accompanying the patent, Nintendo is focusing on its iconic 2004 game console. This is partly due to the fact that the console consists of two screens. Big difference: in the Nintendo Switch from the patent, these are detachable.
Interestingly, the handheld in the patent features a third screen located on the back. What exactly you use this for, we don’t know, but it could make for an interesting gaming experience.
(Image: Nintendo)
Still, this patent application mostly raises questions. Making a hybrid console with three screens may run quite a bit into costs, when you already see how expensive the single-screen Nintendo Switch is.
Of course, it is possible that it will have smaller screens, like a DS, but then again the question arises as to why Nintendo would do that. Finally, it is still possible that the company will release a new handheld, but again the question is why. The Switch is a success precisely because of its hybrid form.
Still, it would be nice if Nintendo comes out with a new console with two screens. After all, there are a lot of 2DS and 3DS games that are quite worth playing. So it would be cool if a new game console made that possible.
It’s also just a patent, by the way. Tech companies file very many patents, but only a few are actually used. Moreover, another patent recently surfaced from the Japanese company, showing yet another appearance of a game console. Still, it is interesting to get an inside look at the Nintendo Switch maker.
