Nintendo patent application lends a look at Wii U's core technology, add-ons too

[wraggster]

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2012/05/nintendo-wii-u-patent-gun.jpg (http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/04/nintendo-applies-for-wii-u-patents/)Little did we know that, just two months after we were trying the Wii U (http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/07/nintendo-wii-u-controller-first-hands-on/) for ourselves, Nintendo was busy patenting nearly everything its unique game console would have to offer. A pair of just-published US Patent Office applications filed last August get into the nuts and bolts of how the controller and the legacy Wii remote (http://www.engadget.com/tag/Wiiremote/) will play with the new device. It's clear that the patent work had started before Nintendo had redesigned the main system (http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/07/nintendo-wii-u-console-eyes-on/) -- the box at the center of the patents looks like the existingWii (http://www.engadget.com/tag/Wii/) -- but it does show the nitty-gritty of things we only saw at last year's Nintendo E3 keynote (http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/07/live-from-nintendos-e3-2011-keynote/), such as the gun attachment or playing golf with a combination of the Wii U controller and the traditional Wiimote. Nintendo also gave itself some wiggle room on the controller's screen size: although the LCD is officially 6.2 inches across, the patent (http://www.engadget.com/tag/patent/) allows that it might be "5 inches or larger." We're wondering how much of the overall look and technology will survive through to the finished Wii U design's unveiling at this year's E3 (http://www.engadget.com/tag/E3/). For now, though, you can explore the patents yourself at the links below.

http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/04/nintendo-applies-for-wii-u-patents/