Nintendo Patent May Reveal Major Switch 2 Redesign

A new Nintendo patent may reveal the design of the Nintendo Switch 2, and thus our first, rough look at the new Nintendo console. The patent in question was first filed in late 2022, but only published this October. And it's for a portable gaming device that looks similar to the Nintendo Switch, but also markedly different. Many are expecting the Switch 2 to be very similar to the Switch based on rumors, leaks, and the commercial reality that the Switch set. However, if this patent is indicative of what's coming with the Switch 2, then Nintendo has made some substantial changes. 

As you can see in the images below, the Joy-Cons may have been abandoned by the Switch 2. If this is the case, then presumably the Switch 2 won't be backward compatible with every Switch game as a few Switch games require Joy-Cons. Rather than Joy-Cons the machine below has a joystick to the left of its large screen and four face buttons on the right. Completing the interface are two shoulder buttons on the top of the console rather than the four the Nintendo Switch has.

The prospect that the Switch 2 won't make use of the Joy-Con seems reasonable, however, no triggers and only one joystick seems unlikely as it severely complicates playing certain genres on the machine, such as twin-stick shooters and first-person shooters. To ship a console in 2023 or 2024 -- or whenever this thing ends up shipping -- without triggers seems very unlikely, however, it's also possible the design below is just a rough design for the purpose of the patent. And it's also possible the patent ends up having no relation to the Switch 2. 

Right now, all we have is this patent. Everything else is speculation. This could be a tease of what's to come with the Nintendo Switch 2, but it could also be a throwaway patent or simply a misleading patent because the images above are incomplete and just met to roughly portray the technology being patented and not any final product.

At the moment of publishing, Nintendo has not commented on the patent and the speculation it has created. If this changes, we will be sure to update the story accordingly. That said, we don't anticipate this happening as Nintendo never comments on patents or speculation. 

H/T, Game Rant.