Amid swirls of rumors that Nintendo is contemplating halting production on the Wii U system (a rumor the company has since denied), one thing has become clear: The Big N is focusing on the future. While the company has plenty of big name titles for the touch-pad oriented console in the pipeline, with the Japanese giant gearing up for the release of the highly anticipated space shooter Star Fox Zero, it is the mysterious NX that gamers seem to be talking about. Now, thanks to a series of images purporting to show the enigmatic consoles oddball controller, gamers continue to debate just what the NX will ultimately be.
The images, posted today on Reddit, show a football-shaped controller with no face buttons, a prominent touch screen, shoulder triggers, and two analog thumb sticks. The poster of the pictures, a Reddit user calling himself “perkele37,” posted the pictures to the NintendoNX subreddit, and outlined a few of the features found on the controller; namely, the controller features haptic feedback and a 3.5mm headphone jack on the bottom. Perkele37 also states that the thumb pads on the controller are designed to only allow the upper “nubs” of the sticks to move, while the bottom part remains stationary.
While users were quick to question the authenticity of the pictures, a picture of a white model of the same controller popped up on the video game website Dual Pixels earlier this week, seemingly confirming that the controller is authentic. Perkele37 clarified that the controller is intended for use on a Nintendo NX dev-kit, suggesting that the design for the controller might not be finalized. This claim makes sense, as word leaked late last year that Nintendo was in the process of sending out NX development kits to companies.
The controller also matches the designs on patents discovered by a NeoGAF user last year that were purportedly filed by Nintendo in 2015, but the Big N refused to comment on the authenticity of the findings. When gaming website Kotaku approached Nintendo for a comment on the controller pictures, the company gave a curt, no-nonsense response, stating:
“We have nothing to announce on this topic.”
With Nintendo expected to make an announcement concerning the NX at E3, gamers only have these pictures and wild speculation to work off of at this point. With rumors flying that the NX could potentially work with other consoles or that the system may receive a Destiny game, it seems as though the mystery-shrouded console will be very interesting when finally unveiled. But with such a odd controller, it stands to be seen if Nintendo fans will be willing to purchase another touch screen-centric Nintendo console.
Source: Reddit