It seems possible that Nintendo’s future game releases may be digital download only.
A post on NeoGAF by user Rosti shows a rough outline of a sketch for a console from a patent filed from Nintendo earlier this year, specifically one that “is not provided with an optical disk drive for reading out a program and/or data from an optical disk.”
The patent lists many details (you can read the entire thing here), but includes details about a controller with a display screen as well as Speed Control Processing.
“An example system includes an internal hard disk drive storing a program and/or data, a communication unit transmitting/receiving a program and/or data via a network, and a processor executing a program stored in the hard disk drive to perform game processing. The example system is not provided with an optical disk drive for reading out a program and/or data from an optical disk,” the patent’s abstract reads.
Rosti also points out the following as an important statement, “In recent years, high-speed communication such as ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) or optical communication has widely been spread. Such high-speed communication is utilized to allow a server apparatus or the like to distribute a game program to a game apparatus. When a game program is obtained through communication, a user can enjoy playing a game using a game apparatus without purchasing a recording medium such as an optical disk.”
Is this a patent for the upcoming Nintendo NX – a device without discs but looking to use streaming capabilities? Check out the patent for yourself and let us know your thoughts below.