Is the Nintendo Switch getting a chunky new single-player Joy-Con controller?

Recently approved by the patent office in April this year, a single joy-con by Nintendo has been discovered that gives a more rounded-design than what’s been a standard for the last three years.

Joy-cons have been the staple of the Nintendo Switch system, but there’s been no improvements since their announcement; just more and more colours to mix up the personalisation of every Switch.

But even though this patent was filed in 2017, it’s only been granted in April of 2020, which may hit towards some new model coming to the rumoured ‘Switch Pro’ that could be appearing next year.

With that, here’s some details that we can see from the patent that could hint towards a newer version of the controller.

Patently Approved

This patent shows just one joy-con, but with no connectors, so this could hint towards the fact that it doesn’t slot in to a Switch console, just wirelessly.

This could help towards the Switch Lite, as the controllers are part of the system itself, so pairing some joy-cons that are tailored to the system could help when in multiplayer, or even in some two-player modes such as in Mario Galaxy.

It may just be a drawing of the controller, but there are no extra buttons for going back to the home-screen, or no ‘minus’ or ‘plus’ button which usually substitute start and select for many games on the console.

But again, it could be better suited for the Switch Lite for those two-player moments that can help aid the player.

READ MORE: Why Tekken Tag 2 should be ported to the Switch.

A Joy of Cons

A ‘Switch Pro’ or ‘Super Switch’ is rumoured for release early next year, and while there’s been no leaks in the way of patents, there are rumours of a more powerful chip being introduced in the new system.

With new joy-cons, Nintendo may have found ways to implement a bigger battery or even better wireless connections, as previous controllers have not had the best range between itself and the Switch console, as this writer as experienced many times.

But again, this is a patent; it may mean absolutely nothing. Granted, it was filed in 2017, but some do forget that this was only granted in April of this year, so it could lead up to something rather than nothing.

There’s plenty that could occur next year, and with the Xbox Series S announced with a price and a tentative release date of November, it could begin the next-gen wars, while Nintendo could start the last of this with their updated Switch and joy-con early next year.

READ MORE: Xbox Series S Release Date; All the details.