Nintendo Patent Designs Feature a Disc-less Console

A recent patent application filed by Nintendo for an unspecified console could be the NX, but would the House of Mario launch a system without a disc drive?

Some Internet supersleuths on NeoGAF (courtesy of Polygon), uncovered a detailed patent application for a console that doesn't have any kind of optical disc drive. This patent was filed six months ago, but was just unearthed, so who knows if Nintendo changed the overall design or decided to scrap the project completely. At the same time, this could be the NX console Nintendo has remained tight-lipped about (representatives said they will update us on the NX sometime in 2016).

As for the patent's designs, it features the usual things you would expect in a Nintendo console: memory slots, an internal hard drive, a processor, a communication unit (most likely for a wireless Internet connection), sensors for a wireless controller and no third-party support (just kidding). Surprisingly, this system can work with an external hard drive — could Nintendo be dropping disc-based gaming and going all digital? Don't forget, the PSP Go was digital only and was a financial failure. Given how underwhelming the Virtual Console and eShop are, I personally don't think it's a good idea for Nintendo to go digital-only yet. They could always bring back cartridges, right?

Obviously, nothing is set in stone, especially for this project and the NX. Stay tuned as we'll provide up-to-date-coverage on the NX and this Nintendo patent once more information is available.

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