Nintendo patents rumble for handheld
Internal mechanism would require new DS.
An old Nintendo patent has been updated to include a rumble-feedback feature for a handheld device. How curious.
According to the refreshed filing (picked up by Broke My Controller), vibrations of varying strength are given through an LCD touch-screen. This appears to be an internal mechanic, which would require a new handheld - a new DS? - to be realised.
Earlier this year Nintendo's Satoru Iwata was reported to have said that a new DS will have "highly detailed graphics" and "a sensor with the ability to read the movements of people playing". The company said his comments had been misinterpreted, but the Japanese newspaper in question, and the translators reporting the comments into English, both stand by the accuracy of their work.
The expectancy surrounding a possible Nintendo hardware reveal this year - either at GDC in March or E3 in the summer - is at fever pitch. Yet the Mario-maker has shown time and time again that it will not be rushed. Must be. Mustn't it?