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New Joy-Con Patent -- Return of the Circle Pad and Dpad?

CO_Andy

CO_Andy

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,510
USD0912153-20210302-D00000.png


Was surfing Youtube for Switch Pro Controller videos and came across someone who discovered the new patent from earlier this month -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7YuXJi9LGM

So credit goes to Nintendo Academy. No pictures from the front side of the right Joy-Con unfortunately. Patent date is March 2, 2021 -- https://uspto.report/patent/grant/D912,153
 
Slick Butter

Slick Butter

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,500
i like the circle pad, though with how flat the joycon are already that would make them even more uncomfortable in certain positions. still, i would buy low-profile joycon
 
P-Bo

P-Bo

One Winged Slayer
Member
Jun 17, 2019
4,405
Would be happy to have a D-pad again, but please god leave out the circle pad--it's absolutely a worse alternative (to me anyway) than actual sticks.
 
Handicapped Duck

Handicapped Duck

▲ Legend ▲
Avenger
May 20, 2018
13,662
Ponds
Maybe trying to find a way to prevent drift? Though I cannot imagine trying to play Splatoon or Zelda with the 3DS sticks, so I don't know...
 
Noppie

Noppie

Member
Oct 27, 2017
13,767
I always liked the circle pad, flimsy as it was. Wouldn't mind going back to that.
 
Neverx

Neverx

Prophet of Truth - One Winged Slayer
Member
Sep 17, 2020
2,701
Florida
I'm curious what the other button is for. If we use the base joy-con as a model one of the buttons would be for screenshots but I'm not sure what the second one would be used for unless they put both the home and screenshot button on the same controller (I find that unlikely).
 
RM8

RM8

Member
Oct 28, 2017
7,902
JP
I absolutely never had any issues with my circle pads, while my old Switch was drifting after months of use. I also rather enjoy proper d-pads.
 
JigglesBunny

JigglesBunny

Prophet of Truth
Avenger
Oct 27, 2017
31,119
Chicago
Imagine their solution to stick drift being a fucking circle pad. That sounds so unbelievably Nintendo that I almost believe it.
 
ShinobiBk

ShinobiBk

One Winged Slayer
Member
Dec 28, 2017
10,121
Could mean nothing
They have multiple patents that have never made it to retail. The standalone joy con (no rails) and the weird like bent one to name a couple.

The circle pad is absolutely atrocious and I would personally have no interest. It barely functioned with 3DS very basic 3D games (in terms of movement) can you imagine trying to play something like Mario Odyssey with that thing? Bleh
 
Waffle

Waffle

Member
Oct 28, 2017
2,823
Looks like it's a left joycon for people who'd prefer to have the dpad/buttons on top and analog stick/pad on the bottom.
 
Luke88

Luke88

One Winged Slayer
Member
Dec 29, 2018
2,560
Italy
The Circle pad doesn't have a press-in function though, that would be problematic with several games, including First Party ones. Also they inverted the stick and d-pad, Leftie option maybe?
 
Rotobit

Rotobit

Editor at Nintendo Wire
Verified
Oct 27, 2017
10,196
These patents have been around for a while, I believe these ones are from 2019 considering I apparently wrote about 'em back then

JoyConTwoButton-1024x413.png


Nintendo likes to cover its back with regards to patents. See also - touch pen Joy-Con and hinge Joy-Con, both of which are over a year old

joyconstraptouch2.png

JoyConPatentHinge.png
 
JershJopstin

JershJopstin

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,332
Luke88 said:
The Circle pad doesn't have a press-in function though, that would be problematic with several games, including First Party ones. Also they inverted the stick and d-pad, Leftie option maybe?
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There are several weird things about this. The lack of four distinct face buttons renders this useless for most sideways Joy-Con games (I don't think anyone wants to use the dpad in place of buttons when it's on the left).
 
Redcrayon

Redcrayon

Patient hunter
On Break
Oct 27, 2017
12,713
UK
Could be just be a variant accessory for those who want a prioritised dpad over a stick for some games- I've got a third party one with a dpad for exactly that reason, I play way more 2D games, grid-based dungeon crawls and Fire Emblem etc than I do 3D games. Obviously I'm in a severe minority there but that's why I think it's likely an option add-on rather than a change of the standard joycon layout.
 

Jraphics Horse

Member
Oct 26, 2017
7,981
Looks more like a Wii Remote A button layout to me. But... Why? If the Skyward Sword controllers are just normal?
Obviously the -^+ buttons aren't there, but there are three extra trigger buttons that could replace those functions one way or another.

Whatever the reason, the depiction is 1:1 with the smaller buttons, you can see the sides of the button going inside the hole, which wouldn't be there if it was a slide pad.

Edit: thanks Rotobit, seems this design comes from around 2017. USPTO filling was in 2018.
 
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demondance

demondance

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,808
I was always fine with the circle pad. Felt like a more natural compromise than having a tiny analog stick pretending it's anything like the real deal.

As for the dpad... not sure I really need it at this point. I wouldn't play a fighting game on one anyway, and the split buttons are actually better for Tetris and Puyo Puyo than traditional dpads. I also just don't trust Nintendo to do a good one after how badly they've handled them across the Switch line.
 
GamerJM

GamerJM

Member
Nov 8, 2017
15,628
Rotobit said:
These patents have been around for a while, I believe these ones are from 2019 considering I apparently wrote about 'em back then

JoyConTwoButton-1024x413.png


Nintendo likes to cover its back with regards to patents. See also - touch pen Joy-Con and hinge Joy-Con, both of which are over a year old

joyconstraptouch2.png

JoyConPatentHinge.png
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

With the dual d-pads, these look more like they're designed to be better complete standalone controllers than the joycons currently are.
 
aevanhoe

aevanhoe

Slayer of the Eternal Voidslurper
Member
Aug 28, 2018
7,328
What is the "circle pad"? I mean, thumbsticks are circular already, so someone explain, please :)
 
Hexa

Hexa

Saw the truth behind the copied door
Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,735
The application for this patent claims priority to before the Switch came out. I don't think it means anything at this point.
 
JoJoBae

JoJoBae

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,493
Layton, UT
The only good part of this is the dpad. The rest of that is pretty disgusting tbh. Clickable circle pad gives me hives.

Good that it seems to be an old and unused patent.
 
Neuroxia

Neuroxia

Member
Mar 31, 2019
954
D-pad is nice to have.
The circle pad is not ideal, but sincerely, i would prefer it to the shitty sticks that we have now.

But then again, i don't ever use mine in portable mode, so pro controller it is.
 
Protome

Protome

Member
Oct 27, 2017
15,682
aevanhoe said:
Ah, ok, now I see. Never had a 3ds :)
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Basically imagine a flattened joystick that instead of tilting in the direction you push it, it slides in that direction instead.
They kinda suck, there was a big amount of backlash when the Wii U was originally meant to use them and so I'd be kinda surprised if Nintendo actually decided to try and bring them back.
 
Rover_

Rover_

Member
Jun 2, 2020
5,189
circle pads are not ideal but would be miles better than the joy-con sticks, given they find a solution for stick press command in games.
 
Dyle

Dyle

One Winged Slayer
The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
29,933
This is so old, I wouldn't read into it. The circle pad's position below the dpad is super weird, as is the home/+ buttom placement
 
nampad

nampad

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
4,238
1 step forward, 5 steps backwards.
I just hate circle pads/nubs. Shouldn't be a thing nowadays.
 
Digital Savior

Digital Savior

Member
Nov 8, 2017
1,573
Having just played 3DS, it wouldn't be the worst idea. Mines held up way better after years of use than the joycon sticks.
 
aevanhoe

aevanhoe

Slayer of the Eternal Voidslurper
Member
Aug 28, 2018
7,328
Protome said:
Basically imagine a flattened joystick that instead of tilting in the direction you push it, it slides in that direction instead.
They kinda suck, there was a big amount of backlash when the Wii U was originally meant to use them and so I'd be kinda surprised if Nintendo actually decided to try and bring them back.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Thanks for the info, yeah, I can see why people might dislike this. I doubt Nintendo bringing them back then is true.
 
Desmond

Desmond

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,387
I imagine these patents are just to prevent third parties creating such joycons and not necessarily an insight into future revisions.
 
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