Speculation about Nintendo's next console has been rampant for a very long time. Will it be some sort of hybrid system that combines a handheld with a traditional console? Will it support virtual reality headsets? Will it play old Wii U games?
But one of the biggest questions has simply been: What will the controller look like? The Wii and the Wii U, after all, both had very unconventional control schemes, and every indication is that Nintendo's next system, which they've codenamed the NX, will follow suit.
So of course Nintendo fans went crazy when images started appearing online that claimed to be leaked photos of controller prototypes.
Both images show a controller that kind of has the shape of a football which has a screen, two thumbsticks and no buttons. This mimics something from Nintendo that we can confirm as fact: A patent filing. Back in June of last year, Nintendo filed a patent for a new type of control device that would meld physical thumbsticks with virtual buttons on a touch screen. Drawings included with the patent show an oval-shaped screen that actually surrounds the thumbsticks, allowing for those virtual buttons to be right next to your thumbs at all times.
It's a really interesting concept, if a little weird. But it's hard to really wrap your mind around simply based on some text and some very simple concept art.
Fastforward to March 17, when the website DualPixels published what they called the first leaked image of the NX controller. The image is pretty low quality, but the basic size and shape definitely resembles that patent art.
But if you're saying that it must be Photoshopped, well ... that's because it is. There was already a great deal of doubt about the image after it's release, but on March 24 someone posted on Reddit claiming to be the creator of the "leaked" image. As proof, they shared a video that appears to show the entire process of how they pulled the hoax off.
So case closed, right? Not so fast. On March 23, a couple more images surfaced online via Reddit. These photos look like the same device, but the images are much more convincing and don't have the usual telltale signs of being Photoshopped, leading many people to take them seriously.
The photos even prompted one person, Tim Aza, to animate an example of what the new Zelda game might look like running on the device, and that itself looks pretty impressive.
But on Friday morning, the man behind those images, Frank Sandqvist, posted a YouTube video showing how he created his own fake. He gets major props for not using Photoshop -- he used a 3D printer to make a physical controller based on the original fake. It's less impressive when seen up close, and the hoaxer actually admits that the design is very uncomfortable to hold.
So we're back to square one, and we don't really know what the NX is going to look like. But based on how much discussion a couple of fakes generated, all eyes are going to be on Nintendo come June, when they're expected to finally unveil the console at E3. Personally, I'm a believer in the idea that it will be a hybrid system that doubles as a handheld and a game console, but there's a reason I don't make games. I just write about them.
