Nintendo has lodged papers for a new wireless device, and they’re so light on detail that gamers are having a wonderful time speculating on what it could be.
The papers were submitted to the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) over the weekend, per The Verge. The website says it isn’t the Nintendo Switch 2, and appears to be a new product line, given the 001 code.
The product is described as a “wireless device” and The Verge notes it’s not described as a “wireless game console or any kind of controller like a Joy-Con”.
A diagram (see main image) in the papers shows where the FCC label will be placed on the product, and from that you can infer it may be a square shape.
“The documents also show that there’s no body-worn accessory involved with the testing and that it doesn’t have a battery and can only operate plugged in — it was connected to the same USB-C charger that Nintendo ships with its Switch consoles in tests, but that only reveals it can be powered by USB-C,” The Verge says.
“The CLO-001 is surprisingly light on wireless technology — there’s no 5GHz or 6GHz Wi-Fi radio and no Bluetooth, but it does sport a 2.4GHz Wi-Fi radio and a 24GHz mmWave sensor.”
The sensor could be related to something like tracking a golf swing and a golf ball, or for hand gestures to operate the device.
Guesses include “a new gesture control interface, an upgraded dock for some kind of device at Super Nintendo World theme parks, or maybe even a return of the Quality of Life sleep tracking initiative Nintendo attempted a decade ago. It could also be something to support AR features by detecting real-world objects — meaning it could be used for new Mario Kart Live hardware or even a Pokémon Go-like system”.
One reader said: “24mm wave can place someone within a room down to an inch. It’s even capable of gesture recognition. We’re either getting a Kinect like gaming experience or maybe Nintendo’s finally ready to make up for Virtual Boy and take the 3Ds concept as far as they can.”
Another suggested taking a look at the Garmin R10, “a very small radar device for tracking golf club and golf ball movements which can be used for a golf game on a smartphone, iPad or PC. I’ve been wondering for a long time whether this isn’t a technology from which Nintendo could conjure up something quirky”.
A third tipped a dual screen interface for the Switch 2 “wirelessly connecting the console to the TV, allowing DS/Wii U like functionality, with built in sensors detecting body movement for Wii Sports like interaction”, but then pragmatism took hold. “It’s probably something not exciting and we’ll all be disappointed when it’s revealed.”