Can someone give a summary of what this means?
I have trouble reading patents, and people are saying how amazing it is but I have no idea what it is
http://www.n-sider.com/blog/2016/08/nintendos-nx-could-be-a-super-game-watch
Can someone give a summary of what this means?
I have trouble reading patents, and people are saying how amazing it is but I have no idea what it is
Can someone give a summary of what this means?
I have trouble reading patents, and people are saying how amazing it is but I have no idea what it is
Yeah something like that could work.I was actually just thinking about a sliding insert with a magnet at the entrance. So if you slid it down, the top of both parts would connect when the slider hits the bottom. Maybe a magnet release button to dislodge it.
Hehe, reminds me of this from the WUST.
I'm plugging my own article here, but I spent some time digging through these patents thanks to this thread and have put together a pretty comprehensive overview of what (I think) it all means:
http://www.n-sider.com/blog/2016/08/nintendos-nx-could-be-a-super-game-watch
I was actually just thinking about a sliding insert with a magnet at the entrance. So if you slid it down, the top of both parts would connect when the slider hits the bottom. Maybe a magnet release button to dislodge it.
Right now controllers connect to consoles via bluetooth, and are built directly into handhelds.
What happens to physical controls on a handheld in a world where touch screens take primacy over buttons? (And thus sometimes you don't want the buttons to be there at all.) What happens to physical controls on a handheld in a world where handhelds also double as boxes you drop on a dock and connect to your TV? (In which case the controls would just be sitting there, useless, and you'd need a separate accessory just to operate the system.)
They need to be able to separate from the handheld.
You'd need the separated controllers to be able to communicate with the TV-connected setup without wires, and you'd also want them to be able to communicate with the handheld without wires.
You can connect to the TV console wirelessly via bluetooth, that's easy.
But bluetooth is a huge battery hog, so it's not super friendly to a device you have to take on the go. You wouldn't want to have to power the control units separately while using the handheld because either of them could run out of battery (independently of the main handheld), which would suck while you're on the go. So you need some way to read the controls from the controller devices without them needing their own power source.
What are the options for hooking up the controllers? It's a pain in the ass to have some kind of physical connection like wires to hook up the controls to the handheld, so that's out. Wireless contacts like you use for a dock could work, but then you'd have tons of electronics exposed on what's supposed to be a portable device.
The solution: use IR sensors built in to either side of the handheld to "see" into the controller devices when they're attached to the handheld, via a small window on the appropriate side of the controller unit. The IR sensors can "see" the positions the buttons and analog inputs are in and tell the games to respond appropriately.
No need to supply any power to the controllers when they're attached to the handheld, no need to have the control unit transfer any kind of data back to the handheld. The handheld reads the inputs through IR and handles them on its own.
And, in theory, the controllers could still have their own batteries and work when detached, so you could use them like a totally wireless Wii Remote and Nunchuk.
Unless Nintendo can make this concept super user friendly it seems like a bothersome device. Can you imagine how shit it would be if you lost one part of the controller? As matter of fact, this makes it seem even less portable than any other device Nintendo has made. Having detachable parts makes me think this thing isn't going to fit in my pocket like a DS or 3DS. I'm just imagining having to keep the portable in a bag because of the detachable parts. Now if it gets a really secure connection, that's great, but unless the attachable parts are the same sizes of the console itself it'll feel terrible in someone's pocket...kinda of like the Circle Pad Pro...
Just thought of something completely ridiculous. What if this thing can project an image while in dock mode? So imagine the thing is docked, any you have the game running on the TV, but the handheld portion is sending a hologram like image from the device that's intractable with hand gestures? It'll be like having a second screen experience...without having a second screen.
There is another option, which already popped up in an older Nintendo patent application involving slotting in controller parts, which is using NFC technology, much like this:
https://youtu.be/sJ773vbkU3I
This is really awesome! I never heard of this before! Didn't think about NFC being able to play a role somehow!
It actually makes specific allowances for the attachments to possibly have electrical components (allowing them to theoretically operate independently) and connect to other devices besides the portable.(like...a TV dock, although that isn't specified - really, this could be abstracted to refer to pretty much anything)
Nice article, and great explanation of the patent lobule! (EDIT: lobdale! Sorry!)
If that's how it looks that looks awful.
Right now controllers connect to consoles via bluetooth, and are built directly into handhelds.
What happens to physical controls on a handheld in a world where touch screens take primacy over buttons? (And thus sometimes you don't want the buttons to be there at all.) What happens to physical controls on a handheld in a world where handhelds also double as boxes you drop on a dock and connect to your TV? (In which case the controls would just be sitting there, useless, and you'd need a separate accessory just to operate the system.)
They need to be able to separate from the handheld.
You'd need the separated controllers to be able to communicate with the TV-connected setup without wires, and you'd also want them to be able to communicate with the handheld without wires.
You can connect to the TV console wirelessly via bluetooth, that's easy.
But bluetooth is a huge battery hog, so it's not super friendly to a device you have to take on the go. You wouldn't want to have to power the control units separately while using the handheld because either of them could run out of battery (independently of the main handheld), which would suck while you're on the go. So you need some way to read the controls from the controller devices without them needing their own power source.
What are the options for hooking up the controllers? It's a pain in the ass to have some kind of physical connection like wires to hook up the controls to the handheld, so that's out. Wireless contacts like you use for a dock could work, but then you'd have tons of electronics exposed on what's supposed to be a portable device.
The solution: use IR sensors built in to either side of the handheld to "see" into the controller devices when they're attached to the handheld, via a small window on the appropriate side of the controller unit. The IR sensors can "see" the positions the buttons and analog inputs are in and tell the games to respond appropriately.
No need to supply any power to the controllers when they're attached to the handheld, no need to have the control unit transfer any kind of data back to the handheld. The handheld reads the inputs through IR and handles them on its own.
And, in theory, the controllers could still have their own batteries and work when detached, so you could use them like a totally wireless Wii Remote and Nunchuk.
Patent drawings usually look awful.If that's how it looks that looks awful.
I want this opinion of the patents to be true. Being described as a "Super Game & Watch" seems to be a perfect fit. I love all kinds of input devices as it reminds me of the good ol' arcade days of the 80's where some games used paddles and others used trackballs. It was a very interesting time for input devices. I think Nintendo excels in this type of thing nowadays as well. The possibilities for this tech gets me really excited to see what Nintendo and third parties come up with. September can't come soon enough!I'm plugging my own article here, but I spent some time digging through these patents thanks to this thread and have put together a pretty comprehensive overview of what (I think) it all means:
http://www.n-sider.com/blog/2016/08/nintendos-nx-could-be-a-super-game-watch
Maybe it's just me but I want something comfortable over looks if there has to be a compromise.Patent drawings usually look awful.
If you remove the inside of this controller you could potentially place it in your own custom made controller. But knowing Nintendo whatever they offer will be very comfortable to hold anyway, so this is probably unnecessary...
Yes...there it is
A. White. Box.
Bad sarcasm aside, there is a lot of interesting trinkets going into this device. GPS? Projector?
Well, the patent controller uses movable parts that are read by an infrared camera, it doesn't seem to have any electronics at all. The patent's purpose seems to have of a means of communicating with very cheap interchangeable controllers.
The capability to read the movement of the parts using an infrared camera doesn't use any electronics.
But that doesn't mean the device that supports this capability can't also have basic internal electronics for disconnected use.
I think the #1 benefit of this application is actually that there doesn't need to be a direct circuit between the accessory and the portable that's exposed when not in use, and the accessories don't need to draw a lot of power while in use with the portable. Communication is handled through IR.
If these add-on controls really can work as separate controllers, it'll be really nice to only have to worry about them being charged during TV use and not on the go.
Maybe it's the lack of creativity in me, but I can't see any real positive uses for that projector. I think we all know how little 3rd parties would actually take advantage of something like that.
What kind of projector can a device like this have? I mean projection quality.
The projector I think is for some kind of control scheme.
Just thought of something completely ridiculous. What if this thing can project an image while in dock mode? So imagine the thing is docked, any you have the game running on the TV, but the handheld portion is sending a hologram like image from the device that's intractable with hand gestures? It'll be like having a second screen experience...without having a second screen.
From the sound of the patent, the detachable parts are just mechanic constructs, there are no electronic part in them. This would make them very cheap to produce. I could see, Nintendo bundling special controllers for different games, which have an unique controll mechanic or gimmick, since they would be cheap to produce. For example a controller with GameCube face-buttons for Smash Brothers for NX.Unless Nintendo can make this concept super user friendly it seems like a bothersome device. Can you imagine how shit it would be if you lost one part of the controller? As matter of fact, this makes it seem even less portable than any other device Nintendo has made. Having detachable parts makes me think this thing isn't going to fit in my pocket like a DS or 3DS. I'm just imagining having to keep the portable in a bag because of the detachable parts. Now if it gets a really secure connection, that's great, but unless the attachable parts are the same sizes of the console itself it'll feel terrible in someone's pocket...kinda of like the Circle Pad Pro...