Nintendo filed patents for 3D/HD display for controller

It seems that Nintendo weren’t only interested in 3D for their newest handheld, but also for the Wii U. Patents filed in September 2011 by the company talk about how the MD (mobile display), in other words the controller screen, may have a 3D display.

The patent also hints at 3D output to an SD (standard display) such as a television screen. It seems unlikely that the final controller will have a 3D display but it’s interesting to see that Nintendo had considered including it.

Another patent hints that Nintendo was also considering a HD display for the controller. This seems the more likely to happen between the two, but it is unlikely that the controller will change its form now.

Would you have liked to see these features in the Wii U’s controller?

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Comments, Reactions, and General Hooliganism

  1. It would be awesome to have a 3D display on the controller… If it’s true, there’s hope for a 3DS Player for it.

  2. kallum

    I hate the fact I keep hearing Microsoft is doing a tablet kind controller next. I thought Bull crap so summit like this should be done to make sure they wont do as better.

    • N_S

      The new “Google Entertainment System” is also allegedly going to use an android device to use as a remote, which means a touchscreen controller! This seems to be the way it’s going, although Nintendo remains the touch champ, what with releasing the DS far before anything like the iPhone was around to my knowledge, and announcing the Wii U before Google announced it’s thing or Microsoft might announce it’s touchscreen console. Of course, when we look back at the rumors about the eReader and the iOS apps, the Wii U might end up being the best of both worlds.

  3. suportedcofe

    The controller doesn’t really need a hd screen in my opinion but it’s not an impossibility it will end up that way.

  4. jonathan

    hd display with multitouch screen like and ipad like seriously they need to wake up and add this!

    • Lene

      Multitouch isn’t that useful.
      And stop boring us with your Icraps all the time! There other more interesting things in the world, seriously >.<

    • man on fire

      Jonathon i will be applying to the UN to have people like you life banned from gaming could you enlighten us to how a lagging rubbish non stylus screen is in any way beneficial to gaming ! HUH?

      fact 1, multi touch has massive lag and is totally unsuited to gaming

      fact 2, multi touch 99% of the time doesnt support stylus or mouse like (pc touch pad like) interaction so how would we be able to have a DS like experiance with out a stylus

      fact 3, by implementing a high quality single touch lag free mouse like touch tactile screen with limited multi touch (witch DS haS ALSO you give the player a fine tight interactive experiance

      multi touch screen controlled gaming on ipad is a casual stupid joke virtual buttons are crap as is virtual analog and d-pads multi touch is a gimmick for phones LOK FOLKS I SWIPPED THE SCREEN WITH 2 FINGERS AND MY YOUTUBE VIDEO BOX GOT BIGGER WOW WEE hint hint!!

      noooooooo its look at my high quality lag free single touch with limited multi touch screen look how cleasn and fast i can game/interact and icon touch with my stylus look how i can mouse aim with my stylus look how i can cam control via my stylus ,oh i can write notes on my maps or in game note pad i can draw pictures or take down information or draw a map i found on a cave wall in my rpg game

      all of this is ether imposable or extremely laggy on a multi touch screen CORE GAMING FACT!

      nintendo uses screens that operate LAG FREE REAL TIME they also employ a 1mm by 1mm aim touch radius JUST LIKE A MOUSE multi touch offers no such thing

      theres a reason nintendo use the screens they do ITS CALLED GAMING NOT GIMMICK

      play games on any smart phone or pad with multi touch the controls are a sad joke you clearly have zero knowledge of what gaming is….

      nintendo A GAMING COMPANY dont know controls but apple a joke of a company wen its gaming DO KNOW CONTROL

      you sound as idiotic as those analists saying ipad is for gaming and wii U ISNT the stupidity i see is shocking

      you cannot mouse aim and mouse like camera control a multi touch screen the wii u screen and the DS screen operate in a touch way the same as wii remote operates in a point way GAMERS MOUSE CONTROL in pick up and use form ITS CALLED NINTENDO

      now a next gen multi touch /single touch screen that operates BOTH WAYS yes multi touch NEVER it aint for gaming

      and last time i checked at mobile screen level 480p is HD the wii u pad is about 15% higher resolution than wii and its locked down at 6.5 inches thats MOBILE HD last time i checked

      AND APPLES USE OF NEAR HD and HD screens on such small devices has been criticized by all phone reviewers etc FOR NO IMPACT ON VISUAL QUALITY BUT A HUGE DRAIN ON THE BATTERY yoy need to look up visual facts regarding the human eye and display resolution

      480p @ 6.5 inches is like 720p at say 36 inches its called PPSI Pixels PER SQUARE INCH thats a fact by the way

      sorry to moan but im sick of anti experts like 99% of neogaf talking BS based on no scentific fact whats so ever

      ipad has nothing tio do with this device U WAKE UP

    • Hey, Jonathan:

      The primary reason why people don’t use multi-touch screens a lot is because they tend to need to be calibrated a lot more than single-touch touchscreens.

      Multi-touch screens get thrown out of sync easier, makes game programming a bit tougher for programmers, and in the case with bigger touchscreens, multi-touch typically aren’t too useful for gaming in most situations given that you usually need one hand to hold the controller as you use the other hand to operate the touchscreen. While an iPad can be laid down and played with, and since it relies 100% on touch-based functions (for both iPad games and daily-use apps), it can afford to sport multi-touch. But a Wii U controller is meant to be held in your hands and typically used in conjunction with the buttons, so single-touch is sufficient for its needs.

      Another reason why Nintendo doesn’t use multi-touch screen yet is because it’d make their systems cost more. It might work better for a smaller platform such as the PS Vita than it would with the Wii U controller. But even then, PS Vita may just have one multi-touch input too many…

      Hey, man of fire:

      Chill out and cool down, dude. It’s not that serious, man. It’s all good, guy. It was just his opinion, not a mandate.

    • Johnny

      Does multi-touch do anything than than let you zoom in and out? I’ve never seen it used for anything but that. It’d be a waste of time and money, if the game has something to be zoomed in on the tablet screen then the dev could just put a slider or a zoom button on the display.

    • CBNS

      I think Wii U will use DS like touch screen with controllers analog stick & buttons. It’s better than any multitouch control setting i have seen this far. In Ipad/Iphone/etc. you must have multitouch for gaming because you don’t have real analog stick or buttons. Try to imagine playing Contra or Mario with multitouch only and you see that it’s not so smooth.

  5. crackkat

    awesome!!! with sony and microsoft rumoured to be copying wii u, nintendo needs to make the wii u the best it can so microsoft and sony can’t surpass it

    • If Nintendo was smart (and I think they are), they’d continue just the way they are with the Wii U controller and not worry about Microsoft and Sony copying them. Why? Because if they do copy Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony are bound to add HD and/or 3D to their imitations, and, well, it just won’t work as well as the simplicity of the Wii U controller.

      Right now, adding multi-touch, 3D or HD to a console controller’s screen just wouldn’t be the best idea for this next-generation. They’d make the console cost too much in terms of performance and price.

      But you can bet that Microsoft and Sony will likely go ahead with implementing such anyways. They might find some success with it, but, for reasons I listed in my comment below, it’s not likely. So I say, let them copy Nintendo. It’ll be their loss if they do.

  6. Lene

    If the only use of the “MD” was to display 2D graphics, like in most 3DS games, a low res display would not be a problem.

    But as it is planed to use it for advanced graphics and gameplay, maybe a ~960×540, half the “SD” res, would be better.

    A 1280×720 would be far too expansive…

  7. Agent000

    Where’s Feld0?

  8. Link_Prime

    3D display would be gorgeous! But switching constantly between the couple of screens going to give many headhache.

  9. gr8 Monst3r

    An HD display would be awesome!!!
    Having the TV turned off and playing a game in HD right on the controller…. it truly is playing …… LIKE A BAWSS!! ;D

  10. australian girl

    just a wii bit of commonsense for those embarrassing ones amongst us that dont have the foggiest idea what there talking about….

    right here goes im sorry il be embarrassing you but it had to be pointed out..

    DS vs smart phone or tablet at controlling a game and overall view and interaction

    DS D-PAD BUTTONS AND TIGHT TOUCH PEN CONTROL

    3DS D-PAD OR ANALOG STICK PLUS TIGHT PEN STYLUS CONTROLS

    IPHONE / IPAD ERM ERM ERM LETS NOT GO THERE SHALL WE THE CONTROLS STINK UP THE PLACE

    WIIU PAD = GIANT DS SO WHY WOULD ANYONE NOT MENTALLY ILL CHOOSE A IPAD LIKE INTERFACE OVER A WII U DS LIKE INTERFACE

    the fact i had to point that out is beyond comprehension

  11. MorbidGod

    I want this, and I saw this coming. 😀

  12. An HD or 3D (or even an HD 3D) touchscreen on the tablet would be neat, but I think they’re wise in not including it, at least in this final design for now. I would imagine that featuring HD or 3D would drain the controller’s batteries too quickly and take its toll on the streaming between the console and the controller.

    This is just how I would’ve liked to see haptic-feedback technology on the touchscreen, where you can literally feel textures on the screen, but for the same reasons, I considered that it probably wouldn’t be for the best. Not to mention that any such feature as these would make the Wii U itself cost more. Also, it’s a fact that touchscreens and 3D technology just don’t mix well at this time in technology.

    The fancier the feature, the more it costs in performance and price. I would rather see Wii U support at least two Wii U controllers as they currently are than support one super-fancy Wii U controller. But it’s still cool that Nintendo has been keeping their mind open towards its design.

  13. Sparkymoreno

    I like seeing these comments about the pros and cons of using HD and 3D on the new tablet. I mean, with those aside, developers should already have plenty ideas with how to make this thing super fun. Surprised that no one mentioned the slide pads…. Should they just put dual analogs on there with a click function?
    I was talking to a friend about this and he pointed out something very interesting. The right slide pad seem to be strategically placed above the buttons for easy/simultaneous access. Similar to the the bean buttons on the gamecube controller (you could literally press all 3 of the A, Y, X buttons at the same time). If a dual analog was there it would not be possible, because your thumb finger is lifted too far from the controller, thus the implementation of a slide pad. Maybe we were looking at it too analytically LOL. I thought it was interesting.

    • zxride64

      who knows that could be the very reason why it was Nintendo went with circle pads.

    • N_S

      Holy crud, i think you’re on to something huge.

      This allows for use of the face buttons and “claw control” at the same time. I’m not sure any dev is willing to take the chance to make a game based around that because it sounds pretty complicated (and heck, it might be) to have one thumb do all that work. However, in games with custom buttonmapping like Smash, you better bet i’ll be using/abusing this.

      And if a developer makes a kicking title that makes strong use of this? Microsoft and Sony are going to have to rethink their own controllers, and may bring more innovation to the table while they’re at it.

    • N_S

      Sorry for the double comment, but i just pulled out my 3DS and placed my thumb on the circle pad. The bend of my thumb hits the D-Pad. Perfectly. Nintendo understands controllers better than any company on the market, as evidenced by their extremely ergonomic Gamecube controller, the diamond buttonmaps on the DS and 3DS being covered by one thumb, all the brilliance that went with the Wii controller as soon as it stopped being a pointer, and now this.

  14. Johnny

    I can’t imagine 3D being implemented into the screen as when a 3D screen gets marks on them the display is badly affected, like when you get finger prints or something on the 3DS 3D screen. And with the HD aspect a screen of that size really doesn’t need HD. All HD or 3D would do is needlessly increase the price.

  15. Agent000

    I’m still a bit worried about the Wii U’s popularity. It’ll have a year to establish itself (which is good) but then Microsoft will release their imitation of it and call the Wii U “inferior,” when all they’re really doing is 1-upping it. Thing is, most consumers won’t realize this. I’m just hoping that year-long headstart will be enough…

  16. Snake

    Stop with that cos now Nintendo are this who copy from Sony they want now their tablet to be like VITA and about that for 3D and 1080p they are very stupid how can make one little tablet with resolution of big tv screen

    • Meelow

      How is Nintendo copying Sony?, the Vita is not 1080p it’s not even HD, it’s just close to 720p, and the Vita does not have 3D so…

    • Johnny

      Nintendo are the ones who always get copied, the fact that they’re working on 3D for the screen isn’t copying Sony, Nintendo were the first to have a 3D console. Although the Vita is 720p HD it doesn’t mean Nintendo are copying Sony, it just means that they’re using HD like every console/computer/phone/tablet etc. is using these days.

    • Bluewolf

      Yeah and from what you said wouldn’t Sony of copied Microsoft with HD since the Xbox 360 was the first HD console.

    • hinkik

      The PS vita isn’t 720p. 720p is 1280×720. The vita is 960×545.

  17. replyed ok

    actually MS followed sony , ms was going to go with 256mb ram not 512mb and 480p + rendering and use the 10mb edram for AA and strong framerate x360 was supposed to be a 480p to say 576p 60fps monster console they layer went HD and 512mb ram the whole before ps3 was RUSHED to release to gain a years head start xbox 1 was only 4 years old….

    sony was going HD from the get go again not a gaming decision but a BLU-RAY HD TV SONY NEEDS SALES decsision both machines were very poor at HD performances…xbox didnt even support HDMI until the later elite consoles..both companys went from living room set top box cold war to fully blown war as each corp super power nuked each other into billions in loss NINTENDO DISRUPTED THE MARKET to end Sony and jesssssus what a masterstroke that was……. historical FACT

  18. CBNS

    If it’s possible passive 3D made by WiiU’s software could be nice add. Passive 3D glasses are pretty cheap so the price shouldn’t be big issue. HD for controller is always better than no HD if it doesn’t make console cost too much for customers.

    • degesu

      It’d make more sense to have the 3D display like the 3DS.
      A 3D screen isn’t very expensive, and given the Wii U will be capable of displaying to two screens at once, having an option to only display on the controller for 3D would be easy to do, and the result would be pretty, if smaller than displaying on your big screen TV.

  19. degesu

    Why do you people want HD on a tiny controller?
    The resolution they gave us at e3 is more than enough for it to look stunning.
    Please stop confusing the term “HD” with anything but resolution.

  20. Guy Guy

    I don’t know if it’s too late for them to change the controller features just yet. Personally, I think 3D screens could still be a possibility. We’ve heard from several industry folk that they have made some major changes since last years E3 debut. When they re-reveal the Wii-U, or whatever it’s going to be called now, at E3 2012, it may look very different.

    I believe the current look of the controller will suffice, but:

    -analog triggers would be nice
    -a 3D screen would be cool (but I could still live without)
    -a rear-facing camera would be quite useful for creative developers
    -official confirmation for multiple Wii U controllers usable on a console would be highly appreciated
    -and multi-touch, although not completely important, could prove quite useful, if it’s to have any kind of realistic web browser.

    -and even though I’ve kinda gotten used to the Wii U name, I wouldn’t be at all mad at a new name for the console

  21. Deuce

    This is just Nintendo’s way of ensuring that no one else attempts to profit off those features.

  22. josh

    The patent for hd seems silly for me. What if you have an hd android tablet and some writes a controler app. It could be very easy to violate this patent even if the device manufacturers didn’t intent to violate it. Who would be responsible for the law suite, because the manufaturer would only be making and hd device, the programer would only be writing controler software, the user would be using what was aready there.