Nintendo would leave optical storage according to this patent.
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This patent lets us see what the future of the next Nintendo console could be
We are not going to deny it, Nintendo has always been a company that has been slow to get hooked on certain trends in the video game industry. I’m not talking about offering hardware below its competitors, but about taking time to adapt to online gaming, offering useful platforms for its users, streaming… However, a patent published recently shows that with NX that scenario could change.
Registered in February 2015 but published a few days ago, this Nintendo patent explains how the storage system of a console works. Nothing interesting at first glance, but as soon as we look at the details a bit, we see that the Japanese company eliminates an element that has been crucial until now: the optical disc or, in other words, getting rid of the physical format in the video game.
The final goodbye to optical storage?
If the Nintendo patent ends up seeing the light in the next console, we would be facing a system that would load all the games on a hard drive and, by extension, it would eliminate the sale of titles in physical format. Something groundbreaking in Nintendo but at the same time in line with the movements that other companies are making.
Let’s think about the Steam Machines that, despite still taking their first steps, are strongly committed to digital, something that is inherited from the PC industry that increasingly consumes and buys more content through platforms such as Steam, Gog, etc. Also, on consoles It is becoming more and more common to download and purchase digital games.
In fact, even Playstation itself has experimented with something more different devices such as Playstation TV or PSP Go in its day. It is not something new but it gives some clues about where Nintendo wants to go with its new console. The patent, by the way, not only talks about the elimination of the optical disc, it also leaves us with a couple of no less interesting details.
Nintendo could bet everything on digital in NX but to succeed it will need to improve the infrastructure and services of Wii U a lot.
In the document we find that the hard drive inside the console can work at two speeds: fast or slow, something that makes a lot of sense to speed up the loading of games. From what they explain in the patent, it is a set of controllers that are in charge of deciding at what speed it should go at each moment. At no time does it imply that it is a hybrid.
Finally, and perhaps the least interesting of all, is lap touch screen at the command of the console. We do not know anything else: neither size, nor operation, nor integration with the system. Remember that it is a patent and that in no case means that we are going to see all this in the new Nintendo NX. Hopefully, we’ll know a little more about her before the year is out.
