Nintendo

Nintendo Patents Dual Screen Gaming Device that Can Be Split in Half



Nintendo Patents Dual Screen Gaming Device that Can Be Split in Half

by BaronVonBearenstein

46 Comments

  1. AutumnalDryad

    Two screens?! The hope of a Xenoblade X port easier done is gaining strength!

  2. YOURESTUCKHERE

    I hope they’re kept in place by tiny plastic latches that will easily wear down if a child just pulls them apart enough times.

  3. NilouKilou

    Switch DS would be pretty sick.

    So you would attach both together and you’ll have a dual screen switch. Then when you dock it, you would detach it first so that the second screen is in your hand like a Wii U Gamepad and the top screen is the TV.

    I would very much welcome this.

  4. tossashit

    I’d actually be impressed if the next console isn’t only backwards compatible, but also connects to the Switch in some way to utilise the power and resources of both. No idea how that would work or if it’s even possible, but that’d be a great way of future proofing their consoles while innovating and making something new.

  5. boardgamejoe

    I love that Nintendo is always trying to do something different. I think they just love that thrill when one of these wacky ideas ends up with mass market appeal.

  6. RougePatron

    I wonder if they will use this for DS games on the subscription service. I also think it would be cool to use the second screen as like a Wii U gamepad.

  7. HiJordanBye

    Love every few months when a new one is published where every one forgets that patented ideas doesn’t mean that’s what we’re getting

  8. spattzzz

    Top half also dockable leaving the second bottom screen with controllers to use as map etc with whilst displaying 4k on tv from docked main unit.

  9. trickman01

    Things are patented all the time. Means nothing. Especially for whatever system is probably about to come out.

  10. OptimusPhillip

    Just remember: just because Nintendo patents something doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll ever bring it to market.

  11. MortalPhantom

    I really don’t like this. Gimmicks can be cool. But they can suck. And at the end of the day it’s just a fiick that will be left behind the next gen, and will make games difficult to port.

  12. granitefeather

    I dream of a console with complete backwards compatibility… Could this be used to replicate the mechanics of DS games?

  13. DontGetNEBigIdeas

    It’s weird that no one ITT has mentioned that just because a company patents something doesn’t mean they’ll make it /s

    We all know this. Doesn’t mean we can’t have a fun discussion around a patent. You’re not schooling anyone.

    Having said that…if they do make this into a device, they should call it the “Nintendo Split.” Keeps the same Switch-type related name, but clearly a new device.

  14. 2006: “The Wii is just two Gamecubes duct taped together!”

    2024: “The Switch 2 is just two Switches duct taped together!”

  15. Dreyfus2006

    Sounds amazing. Nintendo patents a lot of wacky stuff that doesn’t see the light of day, but I hope this is a sign of what is cooking for their next system!

  16. They’re taking the name Switch 2 a little too literally.

  17. ScootSchloingo

    The most interesting part of this patent is how compared to other really simplistic patent illustrations, this one suggests that some earnest thought was put into at least a conceptual design. In any other event this would just be one rectangle with two smaller rectangles but judging by the illustration there was an unnecessary amount of attention put towards the curves and ergonomics.

  18. CMDR_omnicognate

    I wonder if it’ll be a new console or an expensive controller to allow you to play DS games

  19. I still maintain my prediction that the Switch 2’s dock will be a streaming receiver so that it can act as a reverse Wii U and bring DS to the Virtual Console.

    Maybe this form factor will be the new Switch 2 Lite?

  20. dekuweku

    if its up publicly, it’s not for the Switch 2

  21. DarkenRaul1

    Anyone have a link to the actual patent application? I think them not linking to it in the article (or at least telling us the serial number / date it was filed) has to be one of the most asinine things I’ve seen from an article in a long time.

  22. PlasmaticPi

    Please let this lead to another Pokemon Rangers game.

  23. SynthGreen

    This could be amazing.

    Share the joy by giving your friend an entire separate screen for competitive games. Dock the bottom screen and keep the top screen to play games like NintendoLand, or etc as a game pad.

    Fire emblem with one screen as your inventory and another focused only on the map and battle animations

    Puzzle games using the connectivity and potentially rotating it to solve puzzles

    It could just be a patent but that sounds so promising.

  24. 8thTimeLucky

    Used to work in IP. As others have mentioned this doesn’t really mean much. Companies with the money and resources to do so will implement all sorts of patent strategies to get a market advantage.

    One example might be to throw competitors off, as patents are always publicly available. This could be a sort of decoy patent.

    Another strategy is called “ring fencing”. This is when companies will file multiple patent applications that “surround” their key technology. So these might all be similar but not necessarily the final product. This prevents other companies from patenting anything close to it.

    Or it could just be future proofing for an idea that they might want to keep in their back pocket for the future.

    Patenting something doesn’t necessarily prevent anyone else from producing it but it does prevent others from patenting it.

  25. Slypenslyde

    I hope it uses Lock-On technology and the way you get a Switch 2 is to physically connect 2 Switch consoles together. Let’s make a new Tower of Power for the 2020s!

  26. I really hope this happens. Seeing a ds with the power of say a ps5 would be super cool.

    And it would make porting wii u games to the device easier. Maybe even adding support for a second screen to already ported games.

  27. Crunchy_Bawx

    Wow, the new Nintendo Battleship game will be awesome

  28. kalloran-castalia

    Like merging the 3DS, Wii U and Switch into one console?

    Sign me up! I hope this is what they’re doing. And please bring back the Wii U style e-shop.

  29. OllyOllyOxenBitch

    I would not mind a dual screen at all. I love the DS.

  30. Animal31

    I remember hearing about the Switch patent and people were like “it will allow multiple devices to connect together and provide power to each other like a cloud” when in reality it was just like… the controllers connect to the console lol

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