It’s speculation season! Not to mention the images of the supposed Switch 2 which leaked recently, we learned this week that the Japanese firm has filed a patent for a strange device…
According to an analysis carried out by IGN, Nintendo is named three times in the top 5 best-selling consoles of all time. Just behind the PS2, we find the DS (154.02 million copies) followed by the Switch (141.32 million units) and the Game Boy/Game Boy Color, which has sold more than 118 million copies. Building on its success, the brand is about to unveil its next console.
The Legend of Zelda : Echoes of Wisdom Amazon
A strange device
Earlier this week, Nintendo filed a patent with the Federal Communications Commissions, the agency responsible for regulating radio, television, cable, satellite and wire communications in the United States. The affected object does not appear to share anything in common with a potential second Switch, given that it is categorized as the first prototype of its kind, the “CLO-001”. This was also the case for the DS (NTR-001) or the Switch (HAC-001) before their launch. This device would look like the Apple TV 4K, that is to say a small, compact cubic box with rounded edges.
According to Nintendo’s filings, the mysterious CLO-001 lacks a Bluetooth system and battery. The object, which only works when plugged in, has not undergone testing in contact with the body, which eliminates any hypothesis concerning a new generation of ring-fit or Wii balance.
However, the CLO-001 has a contactless 24GHz sensor. This technology makes it possible to detect the presence and movements of a human or animal in a room, even through obstacles. In any case, this is what Infineon, the manufacturer responsible for supplying semiconductors for the Switch family of equipment, indicates.
What good can it possibly do?
Be careful, we are entering a more speculative part, everything is subject to debate. What we are sure of is that the object in question here uses motion capture. The device could find its use in augmented reality systems such as Mario Kart Live, Pokemon GO, or within Nintendo attractions in Universal parks. Otherwise. This could concern a dock enhanced by a system similar to what the Wii motion capture bar or the Kinect Sensor for Xbox One offered.
That said, there is another more popular hypothesis: the resurrection of the Quality of life project formerly initiated in 2014 by the president of Nintendo at the time: Satoru Iwata. It was a sleep tracking platform, originally planned for 2015. But Iwata’s death changed the Japanese company’s plans. The director described his project to a meeting with its investors :
We will continue to devote our energy to video game platforms, but what I see as the first step towards a new area of activity in our efforts to improve (quality of life) is the theme of health (…) -Satoru Iwata.”’
Le projet Quality of life d’Iwata (2015)
Here we are ten years later. This is therefore something new that Nintendo is preparing for us, since the company has submitted a confidentiality request with regard to its innovation. No photos can be released before January 2025. The reason is explained in Nintendo’s letter: “This patent application contains technical information that we consider to be confidential and proprietary.”
This page contains affiliate links to certain products that JV has selected for you. Each purchase you make by clicking on one of these links will not cost you more, but the e-merchant will pay us a commission. The prices indicated in the article are those offered by the merchant sites at the time of publication of the article and these prices are likely to vary at the sole discretion of the merchant site without JV being informed.
Learn more.
