I'm assuming it's cool to post about this here as I couldn't find anything pointing to the opposite. (If not I can remove this)

So some Nintendo design documents have leaked from 2014 showing what appears to be a very early concept for the Nintendo Switch, including the name which was already finalized at this stage, despite the console being MUCH different from its final form. 

Aside from the form factor being absolutely bizarre (and similar to that of a public patent which at one point someone made a fake prototype for) this early version was also set to include a 480p screen with 3D visuals like the 3DS, backward compatibility with 3DS games, a possible dual screen setup in addition to single screen play, Streetpass functionality, and the ability to wirelessly connect the console to the TV. (Unlike the current Switch which connects through the dock)

Source

Any thoughts? I think the design for the console itself is abysmal, having the control sticks on top of the screen would be incredibly distracting and hurt the gameplay experience, not to mention the lack of face buttons. But the features like Streetpass would have been great. I actually really loved that feature on 3DS and I think it's a shame they got rid of it, it's such a great idea and was executed pretty well, could have been even more so on Switch potentially.

I liked it, seems a nice handheld

Remember those fake NX mockups based on the patent? This is like those and honestly been a terrible idea. buttons on the screen is shit and the fingers covering the screen. WHy mobile gaming is such ass. You need feedback on pressing a button in gaming. The whole no buttons thing has been tried since the 16 bit era. It was shit then and now.

The concept is still super cool evolution of the touch screen and allows it to be integrated into gameplay more seamlessly. It does need some face button but the idea is that haptic Ui elements would function as customised input for each game. Layout still needed some work but I think when the implementation becomes cheap enough we'll see this on a console controller. Its essentially the fully functional version of one of the DS4 prototypes with a screen

Isn't this the design of that hoax console from 2016? The one everyone thought it was the NX?

Looks like one of those things that a marketing team would think looks epic, but UX designers know consumers would hate how it functions.

I'm with the majority here, Switch now is a much better device than this proposition.

Yeah, I saw that one before. Not sure if it that one, but a similar design it was at the very least.

I was also thinking about that. Good ol’ NX times.

Sure, it looks nice. Until you put your thumbs on the joysticks and are covering a good portion of the screen.


Style over functionality for sure. Glad they decided on the current model.