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It seems that Nintendo may have more planned for the Wii Remote than just a longer life span. A couple of weeks ago, three patents for Wii Remote add-ons were revealed to the public: two that expand on the infrared functionality of the controller, and one that changes its use altogether.
The first patent, and probably the one most interesting to potential Wii U buyers, is for a touchscreen that
attaches to the front of the Wii Remote. It utilizes the infrared technology, alongside half-mirrors, to locate the point on the screen that is being touched. And, thanks to the half-mirrors, it still works with pointer functionality while it’s attached. It does look a bit odd in the concept art, but if it works well, it could make for a great mini-U-tablet.
The next patent is something similar to what we’ve seen before. It’s some sort of pattern reader, like an e-Reader without a Gameboy Advanced. It works by shining an infra-red light through a clip on the end of the remote which shines through holes in the pattern on a card which the remote picks up.
The final patent is pretty strange. It’s basically a ball that goes on the end of the remote and turns the device into a joystick. It only works on a flat surface, though, and it isn’t shown whether or not a hand counts as flat.
While I’m sure many of you are getting excited for Wii U Pong, don’t expect much from these patents – they pop up all the time and rarely does anything come from them. That said, the touchscreen one could be a great way to close the gap between U-tablet users and Wii Remote users.
What do you think these expansions could be used for?
View and comment on the full article at Wii U Go
