New Joy-Con Patent Points To Potential Redesign Or Switch Pro Version

Could they really be bringing back the circle pad?

Posted By | On 23rd, Mar. 2021

nintendo switch

By now, you’ve no doubt heard the many swirling rumors about a revision for the Switch, which many have dubbed online as the ‘Switch Pro.’ We’ve been hearing lots and lots of different reports about what the system will be like. Now we also have something that could point to some redesigns for the system’s default controllers, the joy-cons.

YouTuber Mike Perez on his Nintendo Academy channel discovered a new patent for the joy-cons. You can see the full video as well as a drawing of the patent below. Filed originally on March 2nd, this version of the joy-cons looks to have an updated and more traditional looking d-pad, which is sure to make some happy. Though another thing that I imagine won’t make many happy is it appears this has the circle pad instead of a regular joystick. These were on the the 3DS. As Perez speculates, this could be for the upcoming Switch Pro, although it’s also possible it could just be for a standalone revision.

As always with patents, it’s worth keeping in mind that companies file and refile these things all the time for any potential idea they have. It could, in the end, mean nothing, but since the Switch Pro revision is looking more and more real, it’s not hard to see some small redesigns like this for its default controller.

joy con patent


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