Nintendo's latest controller patent isn't quite like anything players have seen before.
As detailed by NeoGAF user Rosti, this controller has a distinctive U shape and includes an accelerometer, gyroscope, temperature sensor and load sensor. A D-Pad can be seen on the left side of the U shape, while four face buttons can be seen on the other. It looks awfully similar to that of the Xbox 360 Wireless Speed Wheel.
In the documents the controller is referred to as a "Training Implement, Training System and Input Device." That makes it sound awfully like a fitness peripheral, which Nintendo is no stranger to making. The company said last year it would be looking at creating more "quality of life" products (like the infamous Wii vitality sensor).
Detailed in the patent documents are some of the various exercises players could perform with the controller, as well as what the controller itself will be made of. The documents state that this controller will be hollow and made of aluminum alloy.
The patent does mention the device communicating with a game system or portable terminal. That would certainly match up with what we've heard about the Nintendo's new codename NX console. The system is said to feature a controller that will serve as a handheld gaming device, one that can be operated independently of the home console. The handheld device could be the "portable terminal" mentioned in this latest patent.
This isn't the first Nintendo controller patent fans have analyzed in the past year. Patent documents for what many assume to be the main NX controller that surfaced last year show a controller whose entire surface is covered with a screen. Various mock-ups of the controller have been made over the past few months, but concrete news on Nintendo's next controller have been scarce as of late.
No doubt Nintendo is looking to keep all its cards close to the chest prior to officially unveiling its new console during E3 in June. Will this U-shaped controller also make an appearance? We won't have to wait too much longer to find out.
