Feed: Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
Feed Link: https://www.engadget.com/
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Title: Nintendo designed a Playdate-like crank for the Switch 2

Date: Fri, 08 Aug 2025 21:14:21 +0000
Link: https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/nint...

Nintendo has eyed adding a Playdate-style crank to the Switch 2, according to
a recently spotted patent from Nintendo Patents Watch. The hypothetical
accessory would add tracking rotational movement to an existing bag of Joy-
Con 2 controller tricks that includes motion and mouse controls.

Based on the patent application, the crank accessory attaches to the side of
a Joy-Con 2 magnetically, not unlike the controllers' wrist straps. Whichever
game supports the accessory can use the Joy-Con 2's mouse sensor to track the
rotations of the crank as an input. Fishing games or games with dedicated
fishing mini-games, like Animal Crossing: New Horizons, seem like the obvious
contenders for an accessory like this, but knowing Nintendo there are weirder
possibilities, too.

Nintendo

Another patent imagines a similar setup being used for a clickable wheel. The
patent illustrations looks like a lighter, but the accessory could just as
easily be used while dragging a Joy-Con 2 along a surface. It might even add
extra resistance or friction to the Switch 2's mouse controls.

Given that these are patent applications, there's no guarantee Nintendo plans
on turning either of them into real products. Still, they're a glimpse at the
Switch 2's untapped potential for supporting goofy accessories, something
that defined a good portion of the Wii's lifespan.

The wildest Nintendo got with the original Switch was Nintendo Labo,
cardboard accessories that turned the console into everything from a VR
headset to a simple fishing rod. A crank might be the first of several
adventurous accessories for Nintendo's new console.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at
https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/nint...
crank-for-the-switch-2-211420947.html?src=rss

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