The patent itself was filed in Japan on October 16, 2014 by Nintendo, and has only just come to light now thanks to the traffic and English translations it has receive via NeoGAF. Apparently the odd-looking, U-shaped peripheral would have been used for fitness games. Truthfully, the design of the controller makes it look as if it was originally planned as a Wii U controller, but it’s unknown what the Big N has or may have once had planned for the device. Regardless, details on its design and purpose can be found below.
Now, the reason why the fitness initiative seems so likely is because of references regarding how the device is to be “used by sitting on person’s balance ball”. More or less, the controller was to be utilized as training equipment, and this is still something that could come to fruition on the company’s forthcoming platform, codenamed the Nintendo NX. With a newfound focus on mobile gaming, however, it’s hard to say whether or not Nintendo will put this peripheral into mass production.
With that said, we wouldn’t be shocked if another faked controller picture were to surface following this patent’s reveal.
Source: NeoGAF
