Companies file for patents all the time.
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The patent in question was filed on February 10th by Nintendo Co.
Some new details may have surfaced in regards to Nintendo’s next console and, according to recently filed patents, it looks like the gaming machine will be sans a disc drive.
An example system includes an internal hard disk drive storing a program and/or data, a communication unit transmitting/receiving a program and/or data via a network, and a processor executing a program stored in the hard disk drive to perform game processing.
The “stationary game apparatus” could mean a lot of different things.
Furthermore, it appears that the console’s controller will include its own “display unit”, ala the screen on the Wii U GamePad.
Support for an external hard disk drive is mentioned as well as SD memory cards, with the reasoning behind the lack of optical disk drive given that it allows for a “reduction in cost, size and the like” in comparison to a console that does have one. Not everyone has access to the internet, not everyone has a blazingly fast connection, and plenty of people have data caps.
Also, if such a console is being worked on by Nintendo, I would expect their digital games to be cheaper in comparison to physical copies. Nintendo has not confirmed anything and no one knows for sure if that is the NX since the name is not on the patent.
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It’s all just speculation at this point. Nintendo was the first to introduce motion controls, maybe they’ll be the first to lead us into a completely digital world.
