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Nintendo Files Patent for Game Console with Detachable “Computing Device”

Nintendo’s newest patent filing may drop hints on what to expect for Nintendo NX. According to a filing on the United States Patent and Trademarks Office’s (USPTO’s) webpage, Nintendo has filed an application for a “Supplemental Computing Device for Game Consoles.”

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dualshockers.com
Neonridr3822d ago (Edited 3822d ago )

So at best guess it looks like the hybrid system might be correct. Games you can play on the go with a handheld unit, but when hooked up to a main console, can be played on a TV.

Perhaps the main unit's processors can be used to increase the resolution or performance of the game on the TV.

One game, two ways to play it?

Sounds interesting, will want to see more of course.

darthv723822d ago

I figured it would have been sony to come up with a hybrid console before nintendo. The PSP Go could plug into a docking station and you could use a sixaxis controller to play the games on a tv. It just wasnt powerful enough like the vita or perhaps the NX now.

The idea was always out there for the right company to deliver.

Eonjay3822d ago

Supplemental Computing Device for Game Consoles almost sounds like a GPU

pcz3822d ago (Edited 3822d ago )

i think its the end of road for the purpose built console, as such. and an attempt by nintendo to make a true hybrid between console/handheld.

wiiu was a half-attempt in bridging that gap. i think the NX will go all the way.

maybe they will do away with the 3ds too. i mean, from a practical point of view, it must be a nightmare for nintendo to produce games and get support for two systems, handheld and console.. if they have one unified system, they can focus all their efforts on that one system.

it makes sense. funny how there is no talk about a next gen nintendo handheld console.. i think the NX will be both.

Concertoine3822d ago (Edited 3822d ago )

Technically this idea goes way back to stuff like the RAM pack on N64 and those power packs for the Saturn.

This seems more like an essential part of the NX, and it's almost certain it would have to be packaged with it for their to be any success.

Segata3821d ago

SEGA and NEC did it Nomad and Turbo Express. REAL console handheld hybrids. Only issue was batt life.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 3821d ago
Kalebninja3822d ago (Edited 3822d ago )

This doesn't state anywhere that there is a second console. Even the reports say that it isn't a hybrid.

When you look at the picture one box is the game console and the box they are talking about is the supplemental computing device, if it was a second console then it would be called that.

lmcontaldi3822d ago

The patent itself specifically mentions local and remote consoles working together through a docking station. It may not be about the NX, but the patent does refer to something hybrid in nature.

Also, Wall Street Journal reports a hybrid console. http://www.polygon.com/2015...

Neonridr3822d ago

of course nothing is concrete. I also said "at best guess".

We won't know 100% until the reveal but these patents seem to be leading towards that end of the spectrum.

Kalebninja3822d ago (Edited 3822d ago )

@Imcontaldi

That was an assumption, the dev kits were sent out with two units never stated if they were packaged as one or if they were two separate units one being the 3ds successor and the other being the Wii u successor.

@neonridr Well in my opinion a hybrid would be an idiotc choice for nintendo. What would happen is if it were a hybrid it would either A. Be priced normally but suffer incredibly on the power side of things due to the expense of the handheld just like the Wii u. Or B. Be graphically on par with this gen but have a high price of around $600 which would not only hurt Nintendo but i can't see them doing that.

Additionally! Why the hell would they force their hanheld market and their home console market to combine? They still make a lot of money on handheld and many people buy them because they are significantly cheaper than home consoles.

lmcontaldi3822d ago

Or 3.) Be sold separately at reasonable prices -- "you can buy these two at normal price, or together at combined discount price. They both work independent of each other but can be used together for bonus features. Etc."

Kalebninja3822d ago

@imcintaldi Then that wouldn't be a hybrid lol. That would be two separate consoles that can work together like ps4 and psvita.

Neonridr3822d ago

@Kalebninja - I think you will see two options:

1) a console with the portable combined together or
2) just the portable

Obviously they don't want to alienate the user base, especially in places like Japan where mobile / handheld gaming rules.

I am just saying it would make sense from a development standpoint if you are utilizing all your talents to make only one game that can be playable across two devices. Rather than trying to float two separate platforms.

We will have to wait to be sure, but let's not knock anything until we really know what's going on.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 3822d ago
-Foxtrot3822d ago (Edited 3822d ago )

The thing is wouldn't they be held back by the handheld.

I obviously don't know the specs but for example if you had a console game which could run extremely well thanks to X, Y and Z but the handheld lacked a little in Y and Z was none existing then how would they take full advantage of the console specs. You would always have to put the handheld first right?

I wouldn't want to see games dumbed down or hear they had to scale them back because the handheld couldn't take it. Reminds me when they said the 3D in the 3DS sacraficed better graphics/visuals...for me I'd rather see it put towards that then 3D which hardly ever got used.

It's different if it was the other way around and handheld games could be played on the console but the other way around I don't see how it would work unless it was just like remote play what we have today. I'm thinking with this though they are talking about taking a game out of the house.

benji1013822d ago

Not if the main console can also play hd disk based games then what you have is a portable that plays carts that can play on the tv and a home console that can play 3rd party games.

Neonridr3822d ago

I agree with that Fox, it is like Twilight Princess being built for the Gamecube then being run on the Wii. Not a true representation of its power.

Maybe they have two teams working in parallel on the one game creating assets for each version of the game. You buy the game and have access to two different versions. Would still be easier than working on two completely separate games altogether.

Who knows at this point. Maybe it uses Wasabi to make it work????

Automatic793822d ago

Nintendo is the only company I decided not to purchase a console this generation and I regret missing out on it. I would love Nintendo to come back strong.

deafdani3822d ago

In my opinion, you made a bad choice to spend that much money on various systems and no getting Wii U as one of them. I say this because there's a pretty substantial overlap in games between PC, Xbox One and PS4... but almost all of the Wii U's worthwhile games (and there are a lot now) are exclusive.

Debaitable3822d ago

If it's suppose to compete with the big 2, then expect the battery life away from the TV to be adaquet enough to play on the toilet.

bmf73643822d ago

The home console might cluster with the handheld for extra power

ginsunuva3822d ago

Sounds like how Shield tablet can hook up via HDMI to tv or be handheld

3-4-53822d ago

There are going to be4 two separate gaming libraries but you can play versions of both on either or.

+ Show (5) more repliesLast reply 3821d ago
PS4XBOXONEPC3822d ago

And so it begins😀 can't wait,please be powerful

Bahamut3822d ago

The power of the console was never an issue for Nintendo fans, only casuals.

sk8ofmnd3822d ago

A general statement like that is false. Anybody who loves nintendo and games like i do most likely became disgruntled they couldnt play batman, fallout, and many other GREAT third parties unless 1 it came to a seventh gen console orr they caved and got a xb1, or ps4.

ajax173822d ago

....yeeeah. The power argument may have worked last gen, but not now.

AWBrawler3822d ago

i have no interest in games like fall out, and i playe dthe batman games i wanted to play on my wii u and PC. Graphics don't matter as much to us Nintendo fans. we like fun over anything else. heck Mario maker still has 8bit and 16bit.

Bahamut3822d ago

@Everybody

I'm just saying, if I want to play Multiplats, I'll play them on PC or PS4... if I want to play Nintendo games, I play my Wii U. It's not a big deal.

AJBACK2FRAG3822d ago (Edited 3822d ago )

So many people bought in to a spec sheet instead of great video game software! All first party Nintendo video games this generation have looked great, ran well, were extremely fun to play and were shipped complete. If only the Wii U could do tesselation. Oh yeah it can! If only EA's frostbite engine would run on the Wii U. Oh holy crap it can! If only the Wii U was upgradable. Actually Nintendo's super genius game developer Shigeru Miyamoto say's it is!, Speaking of the great Shigeru Miyamoto he created a chracter named Mario that Has been Nintendo's mascot for thirty years! Ever wonder why Sony and Microsoft haven't created beloved mascot's? Because it would take creativity.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 3822d ago
StormLegend3822d ago

@Bahamut agree! graphics mean nothing when it comes to Nintendo

But I do want a powerful system with plenty of games

I could care less for the multiplatform games on the system.

Bahamut3821d ago

Right, I don't know, I guess a lot of people disagree but I feel like if I want a powerful console with all of the hot games that are out right now, I'll get a ps4. But if I want Mario, Zelda, Metroid, etc., then I'll get a Nintendo. It's actually been like that for a long time for me... I didn't even purchase a Wii until Skyward Sword was released, which was pretty much at the end of the Wii's lifecycle.

sk8ofmnd3822d ago

I dont believe crap till nintendo themselves announce it. My only concern is which venue is the best to show it off? Gdc, e3, or tgs. My guess is tgs but thats not till septish and if they showcased the nx and released a few months later my and many others heads would EXPLODE

Philface3822d ago

^This! Maybe they have a special Nintendo Direct for that, who knows.

sk8ofmnd3822d ago

While that sounds like great idea, i think doing it at a venue all gamers could see it at to get mass appeal. No other day than the 3 places i suggested will there be an abundance of gamers eye balls. But im hoping its much much sooner then sept they showcase this new beauty... Fingers crossed.

FoxyGotGame3822d ago

I'm more interested in what type of support this new NX system will have. Whether Hybrid or not, or if NX is more powerful than current consoles. None of that makes the slightest bit of difference to me if the key publishers don't support it.

From my point of view, Nintendo need to get Rockstar, Activision, EA, Ubisoft, Warner Bros. and many more 3rd Party Devs on board from day 1 to fully support this thing, or I may as well stick with what I have now. PS4. /

3822d ago
BABY-JEDI3822d ago

Nintendo really have to start talking to the industry & gamers alike. Also, NX needs to pack some power to make its mark in this present day/ future market.

RiseofScorpio3822d ago

Why are we even talking about this? The NX is coming out in 2017 way too early to talk about it now.

sk8ofmnd3822d ago

Even so, its never too late (or early) to have discussions and debates about one of our fav past times underdog stepping to the plate with a fresh batch of awesome! Imo nintendo could use all the hype and publicity they can get!

superchiller3822d ago

Wow, Nintendo told you personally that the NX is releasing in 2017? You really should write an article about it, you'll have an exclusive story that no one else has heard about! SMH

wonderfulmonkeyman3822d ago

Same applies to the idiots that are ignoring precedent and other very logical reasons why it either won't or shouldn't release in 2016.

R00bot3822d ago

Because they filed a patent and that is newsworthy.

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70°

Xbox boss: Memory crisis could impact next-gen hardware pricing

Xbox boss Asha Sharma has discussed how component shortages will impact the company's plans for Project Helix.

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gamedeveloper.com
Eonjay24d ago

When does this end? Its killing everyone. Consoles and PC. And for what? AI? The benefits of AI are completely outweighed by the negatives. And the government should have never allowed one company to buy up all the RAM.

Lexreborn224d ago

This kind of proves this is an after thought product, most products like this are in r&d 5 years before they start mass producing. So they typically have the cost of components and things worked out long before assembly starts.

This is an assumption still, but I wouldn’t be surprised if project helix is similar to Scalebound,perfect dark and sod3. They had an idea but no actual execution other than concept stage. Being impacted by the ram shortage likely would also put this device 3-4 years out.

I’m not even sure MS has that endurance with Xbox yet

Fishy Fingers24d ago (Edited 24d ago )

I mean.... what?

We're at a point that Samsung wont even provide their own phone department ram because they can sell it at higher prices to 3rd parties (AI). Its more profitable to sell the ram than make their own devices with it.

You think because R&D starts 5 years ago the 3rd party component manufacturers will honour that price? They'll sell it to whomever is paying the most today, not some gentlemens agreement they made years ago. AI farms will buy more volume at higher prices than any console manufacturer will. It'll be the same for Playstation.

Lexreborn224d ago

Contractual agreements are not the same as “gentlemen” agreements. If you think that they work with their distributors a month before production then their entire business model is trash. They work with companies like nvidia constantly for building the graphics cards they need. They work with companies that build motherboards years in advance. This is what proper business planning does.

They are not buying components on a whim like a consumer. So again, considering the ram isn’t a singular module and is integrated into the motherboard I highly doubt they wouldn’t have a final schematic that they are supposed to be building around.

If they are delaying production another 3 years then it’s obvious again this is an after though project and is just trying to be responsive to their bad execution they had the last 14 years.

It also isn’t far fetched to use their failure to produce first party titles the last 7 years including the highly anticipated games I mentioned all being cancelled. That they would continue to you know… lie

Sitdown24d ago

You don't really know how this works huh?

Profchaos24d ago (Edited 24d ago )

Helix is going to be stupidly expensive

Instead of leaning into smarter upscaling techniques they're brute forcing hardware that will cost them dearly and it remains to be seen if it's genuinely going to provide a meaningful differential

I know in the oc.doace people like to brag about not using frame gen or dlss to get to high on a game but for the majority of players they happily use those technologies without a second thought

That's going to be ps6 vs Helix

Eonjay24d ago

Yeah with FSR 5 they should be able to offer a much cheaper version of Helix.

Eonjay24d ago

While this does seem to be the case, I am encouraged by the statement from Microsoft about wanting to provide affordable options. If this means a Series S style Helix, at least there will be something affordable being offered.

XBManiac23d ago

Series S is what has killed Xbox Series so... Will they dare?

blacktiger24d ago

It's called systematic inflationary. Yes we get it Microsoft, keep raising in the name ofall kinds of stuffs

pwnmaster300024d ago

Honestly if there was thing I learned from this generation is that new consoles arnt day one anymore.
I can wait 1-3 years.

DarXyde24d ago

Another important lesson from this generation: while Nintendo showed us that prices don't necessarily need to ever drop, we've now learned that waiting 1-3 years does carry some risk that prices increase. This generation is just bizarre in all the wrong ways.

LucasRuinedChildhood24d ago (Edited 24d ago )

The factors are largely external. Covid and Russia-Ukraine war causing inflation led to the first price increase in 2022.

Then we get Trump's tariffs increasing hardware prices, AI boom causing a RAM crisis, war on Iran causing a worldwide fuel crisis which impacts the cost of everything.

Gaming doesn't exist in a vacuum. The last few years have been a shitshow and lot of it was definitely avoidable.

DarXyde24d ago

LucasRuinedChildhood,

For sure. No disagreement on the external factors doing a lot of this. Where I have to gently push back however is on two fronts:

1. The pandemic definitely caused some issues: asynchronous development was a big issue and really complicated timelines and affected game quality. At the same time, when it comes to price hikes, it's really difficult to know what was genuine necessity and what was taking consumers for a ride. The pandemic brought about "stag-flation" which was increasing prices and stagnant wages, which was a problem caused by supply chain constraints. There was also "Greed-flation", where companies that were slightly affected or had no issues took advantage of the situation and squeezed everyone citing supply chain issues when there were none.

2. It's definitely true that the tariffs, AI boom, and RAM crisis were all things enabled by tech broligarchs throwing money at this caricature of a world leader, one of them being Satya Nadella. I don't think Sony and Nintendo have contributed much to this problem if at all, but Microsoft's Nadella I feel was instrumental in causing every one of those issues. Microsoft as a company contributed to both candidates (though they gave Harris 4x as much if I recall), but Nadella was all in on letting AI run wild. He paid for unregulated AI, and got a war that's not a war (even though Trump called it that at least five times on television) that screwed up helium access. So for me, I feel that one of the players in the gaming industry is a key architect of these issues, and for that reason I struggle a bit to think of it as "external".

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40°

FuRyu's Exstetra RPG Gets HD Remaster on Steam in English This Summer

FuRyu revealed on Friday its Exstetra fantasy role-playing game is getting an HD remaster that will launch this summer on Steam.

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animenewsnetwork.com
40°

Pixels in the Blood: The Journey of Rob Hewson

The name "Hewson" carries a special weight for anyone who grew up during the golden age of British computing. As the son of Andrew Hewson—the man behind legendary publisher Hewson Consultants—Rob Hewson didn't just grow up playing video games; he learned to spell his name from their title screens. However, Rob didn't just rest on his family's 8-bit laurels. From leading major LEGO franchises at TT Games to tackling the high-stakes world of technical porting at Huey Games, Rob has carved out a unique path in an ever-evolving industry. In this candid interview Rob to discussed the burden and beauty of a family legacy, the technical "scar tissue" left by the ambitious Hydrophobia, and why porting a masterpiece like Inscryption to consoles is far more than a simple copy-paste job.