5 interesting patents from Nintendo not (yet?) Used
Today instead we are talking about 5 interesting patents, not yet used, and which obviously may not be, which we found interesting. They are quite recent, so it is by no means certain that sooner or later they will not have a practical response, unlike one that, by its very nature, seems closely linked to a now dead console like the Nintendo 3DS. Let's see what they are.
Head / Eye Tracking
Nintendo patents: eye / head tracking, which has been talked about for years This technology was talked about a lot fifteen years ago, when Johnny Lee applied it to Nintendo Wii, using - among other tools - the console's sensor bar. It is certainly the most interesting patent among those we will talk about: for the effect generated, for the potential, for the fact that, despite the fact that it has been talked about for years, no one has ever exploited it. What generates the head / eye tracking is a three-dimensional effect totally different from that guaranteed by 3D viewers, because it does not exploit stereoscopy in any way, but enlarges and moves the elements on the screen in relation to the user's position. Basically you get the impression, thanks to the perspective variation, that the television is a kind of window on another world and you get it in a much more ingenious and simple (and economical) way than with viewers.In its patent, Nintendo supposes to insert the sensor on a pair of glasses: nothing to do with expensive helmets that cover the entire head. The effect, as you can see in the video linked at the beginning of the paragraph, is bewitching and convincing. The doubts lie on the practical application: if it is necessary to move as much as Johnny Lee to obtain good results, it would hardly be a technology suitable for long sessions. This problem would not concern the Nintendo patent, which should simulate with the movement of the eyes - if we understand correctly - the same effect that Jimmy obtains with the movement of the head (and body). Secondly, we imagine it is limited to titles with a central perspective, which in the end are not many. Also, video games are usually played standing still, without walking or moving too much, even those with motion control: would it still work in such circumstances? Probably these are the concrete reasons why, although the effect is impressive, we have not yet seen peripherals that exploit it.
Smartphone Game Boy
Nintendo patents: a Game Boy for every smartphone ? For a long time there has been rumors of a Game Boy Classic Mini, as well as of the arrival on the Nintendo Switch of the titles for the most famous portable console of the 90s. What if, instead of these solutions, Nintendo decided to make every smartphone in the world a potential Game Boy? The goal of this patent seems to be just that: to produce a smartphone protector that has the shape and buttons very similar to those of the Game Boy. The idea is certainly not evil, but it would change the relationship between Nintendo and smartphone not a little: where would the convenience be? Currently - and historically - the Japanese company is not interested in letting its classics play on other platforms: why should it change its attitude for an operation of this kind, with relatively limited ambitions?Controller
Nintendo patents: would you have liked it as a Nintendo Switch pad? When this patent came out, Nintendo Switch had not yet been announced, but Iwata had already spoken publicly about NX, the code name of the console; its nature was not yet known, although there was much talk of a hybrid ecosystem. In any case, many people associated this patent with the pad of the future console; at one point they even shot photos (fake, of course) of this infamous controller, resting on the desk of some developer involved in the NX project.At the time it was rumored that Nintendo was developing this controller together with Sharp, but its functioning has never been too clear: apart from the classic ridges at the top (L and R), the motifs of the oval shape remain unknown. As well as the advantages, if not the obvious ones, of having a pad equipped with a touch screen: for some dreamers, it would have been a controller with changing buttons. Basically, each game would have its own keys, arranged differently according to the needs of the developers. The oval shape, however, we reiterate it, remains a little understandable feature.
Stylus with remote touch
Nintendo patents: a stylus with remote touch As you may have understood, this is strictly the patent tied to a single console we were talking about, namely Nintendo 3DS. For it to make sense, it needs a portable platform, which at the same time guarantees stereoscopic 3D and supports the stylus. It is unlikely that a console will be produced in the future that combines these three elements again. Despite this, the idea was and remains interesting: it is a pen capable of "touching" the image from a distance, without reaching the screen. In practice, you could have caressed the puppies of Nintendogs + Cats in a visually intuitive way, arriving where you "saw" the image with the stereoscopic effect, avoiding the touch screen. And it would also have been able to vibrate, to emphasize touch.Health detector
Nintendo patents: a tool to monitor your health at night This patent is certainly associated with development area that Iwata called "Quality of Life": a section in which Nintendo has invested a lot, which has not given any practical application. As already mentioned, the former Nintendo president was very attached to this sector, so it is possible that with Furukawa he was definitively sidelined. The idea was to create products that could improve the health of users, also considering the growing average age of the Japanese people (therefore, consequently, of possible buyers). This device, through a smartphone (or a Switch?) Was supposed to monitor your vital signs during the night, and then give you advice / warnings to improve the next morning.Have you noticed any errors?
