Nintendo Trademark Teases New N64 Controller For Switch
The year is 1997, you've just jumped off a dam as Pierce Brosnan, Wizpig has bested you, you've beat your Special Cup PB on D.K.'s Jungle Parkway, and you're home for a slice of Princess Peach's cake before sunset - you must be playing the Nintendo 64. Some 25 years after the N64 first came into our lives, it's still held as one of the greatest consoles of all time.
We've come a long way from that black box - or blue and yellow Pikachu edition if you were lucky - with the House that Mario built still lauding it over the competition with the Switch. Even if we aren't getting that long-rumoured Nintendo Switch Pro, there's some good news. A new trademark leak hints that the Switch could be getting a Nintendo 64-inspired controlled.
Is the Switch getting an N64 controller?
Industry insider Samus Hunter has shared new details on a rumoured Switch Controller that has been discovered. Whatever this peripheral is, it doesn't have NFC support, meaning it won't be compatible with the amiibo line, and therefore, won't replace the classic Joy-Con.
Posting on Twitter, Hunter added, "The only doubt I have is that I don't think the Bluetooth has enough band to transmit this signal, but the controller does have some CPU and things to help elaboration". While most of us are in the dark about what this means, Hunter has put their sensible hat on.
Remembering there were recent reports that the Switch Online service might be expanded to include classic N64 games (with a premium subscription), the release of an N64 controller could be well-timed. Hunter concluded, "Could it be a N64/GB wireless controller like the SNES one? It's possible, but unless Nintendo want to release it later than expected (next year) or they have plan for another firmware update before its release, I have some doubts. In the OS we don't have icon for such a controller".
Going against this idea, the N64 controller was a divisive peripheral that's slowly become a cult classic over the years. Also, let's remember the beloved GameCube controller isn't a million miles away from this and is compatible with Switch games like Super Mario 3D All-Stars.
What else could the mystery controller be?
Sticking with the recent news of the Switch Online store finally expanding its catalogue, others have suggested it could have something to do with the addition of Game Boy and Game Boy Colour games. We're not sure how a Game Boy peripheral would work, but could Nintendo really do the unthinkable and rerelease the classic handheld that can also be attached to the Switch as a controller?
After the runaway success of the Nintendo Classic Mini, it would undoubtedly be an easy sell. Elsewhere, others have suggested it could be an entirely different kind of peripheral in the vein of Ring Fit. Personally, we hope it's the N64 option. Just imagine the transparent Funtastic colour options of the old N64 being made into a modern controller.
With a Nintendo Direct still tipped to land this month, and just a week left, things will hopefully become clearer soon. We just hope it's not another Wii bowling ball.
