Nintendo's going to unveil a new game console in 2016. Currently, the system is codenamed "NX," but little is known about it.
On Wednesday, a trio of photos popped up on Reddit depicting what appears to be a controller or component of Nintendo NX.
According to Reddit user "Perkele37", this is a controller for the game console. They only included a handful of notes along with the image:
- Only the upper 'nubs' of the sticks move. The bottom part is static (kind of like the circle pad [on the Nintendo 3DS handheld], but it moves along the bottom 'sphere'.
- The rollers on the top feel and look pretty much identical to a mouse scroll-wheel. Though I do don't [sic] believe this will be the final design.
- Haptic feedback feels like Apple's 'taptic' engine. Not like regular rumble.
- 3.5mm headphone jack on the bottom
This is the second such image leak this week of a purported controller for the still unannounced Nintendo NX console. The first one made it look like the entire object is a screen.
Here's that image, which we incredulously decried as likely fake and are now eating our words:
At this point, this is either an incredibly elaborate ruse or, more likely, an actual image of the gamepad coming with Nintendo's next game console.
The other two images of the controller from Wednesday further cement the legitimacy of this leak:
So, what could this be?
Well, it could be the much rumored portable extension of the Nintendo NX — Nintendo's next console is reportedly a home game console and a portable game console, all in one. When you're home, the portable bit will work with the home bit to make it more powerful. When you're out, the portable bit will deliver high-quality video games.
That's the rumor, anyway — some game developers supposedly have the console already, which would explain these photos. They're not likely to have been leaked by Nintendo's internal staff, but by someone external to the company with access to prototype hardware.
Oh, and there's this Nintendo patent as well with a drawing that's a spitting image of the controller seen above:
Regardless, these rumors and leaks are starting to add up, and it's looking more and more likely that the NX will have an oval-shaped controller with a massive touchscreen. Color us surprised!
