Nintendo Exploring A Much Different Sort Of Controller Input

Nintendo has filed a new patent application that suggests an interesting new way to play. The patent filed with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) shows a crank-like device built to attach to the side of a game controller, allowing you to crank up the fun. Eh?

The description of the patent goes into detail about the mouse-operation sensor and how the peripheral could attach to a recessed surface in the controller with a mouse operation sensor, which may suggest it could attach directly onto the Switch or Switch 2 Joy-Cons. Then with the crank attached you could explore the many possibilities of crank-based gameplay, from fishing games to probably a second thing.

While fairly novel, this wouldn’t be the first example of a video game device with a crank. The indie handheld hardware Playdate has a crank and developers and homebrew artisans alike have been coming up with various applications for it. And Nintendo did once make a cardboard crank with Nintendo Labo, so the company is no stranger to cranks.

Keep in mind, of course, that a patent application doesn’t mean the product will ever come to market. It simply shows that Nintendo has had the idea, not whether the company has decided it’s a viable product with wide enough consumer appeal and software applications to produce. Don’t count on buying your Nintendo-brand crank anytime soon, but it is at least a possibility that it will come out in some form. After all, who would’ve thought they’d make Alarmo?