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News Nintendo patents AR Nintendogs concept

MondoMega

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Now that’s a game that makes sense for phones. Will there be a console equivalent though…
 
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Yes, that makes sense.

I can see Nintendo invest into AR and also as into making assets for the metaverse. They have such solid IPs that they can easily sell new tech to their customers with them.
 
I wonder if the Switch 2 will come with more handheld features such as cameras.

So far Nintendo has explored the idea of a console you can take with you, but there are many equally exciting possibilities in the idea of bringing the handheld experience to the big screen.
Think of importing pictures and other data from the outside world into your games for example.
 
As I said on Era, could this just be something from Pocket Camp? Kazuyoshi Sensui and others are attached to that patent.
First I've heard of this app. Interesting!
 
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As I said on Era, could this just be something from Pocket Camp? Kazuyoshi Sensui and others are attached to that patent.

It didn’t even come to mind because the AR features of Pocket Camp were added in 2020 but you’re right; the patent is very similar to that implementation.


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This thread may have been a false alarm in that case; not opposed to a lock if this is our conclusion.
 
So that’s why the Switch 2 hasn’t been announced yet. Nintendo is preparing to go third party on smartphones.
 
Nintendogs is a perfect mobile game even if this patent ended up being for Animal Crossing.
 
It didn’t even come to mind because the AR features of Pocket Camp were added in 2020 but you’re right; the patent is very similar to that implementation.


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This thread may have been a false alarm in that case; not opposed to a lock if this is our conclusion.
It's based on a Japanese patent application filed in November 2020 a few days before the AR feature was added, so yeah.

First result if you search for 2020-191511 here: https://www.j-platpat.inpit.go.jp/
 
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Looks like NintenCats for Phones will have to wait a bit longer. One day! One day...
 
Have cats at launch and I'm sold!

Hope this is what the Mario Kart team's been working away on!
Hey, why only dogs and cats? At a minimum, Nintendogs 3 should have bunnies too!
I wonder if the Switch 2 will come with more handheld features such as cameras.

So far Nintendo has explored the idea of a console you can take with you, but there are many equally exciting possibilities in the idea of bringing the handheld experience to the big screen.
Think of importing pictures and other data from the outside world into your games for example.
Most people think Switch 2 will be a Switch with enhanced graphics, but I think re-introducing at least a camera and a mic is a top priority for Nintendo (perhaps as part of the Joycons?). Their "core" games might make minimal use of such features, but they are vital for series such as Nintendogs. Brain Training Switch already feels limited without a mic. Animal Crossing and Miitopia would be better games if they supported scanning QR Codes (AC does, by using your mobile phone as an external camera, but having it integrated with the hardware would be more convenient).
 
A) this is actually just a generic AR patent, the examples used being Nintendogs doesn't mean that is what they've patented or that is something they're making

B) this was published last May, I'm surprised nobody picked up on it then. Originally filed back in 2020 in Japan.
 
honestly, why is this a patent at all? thats just how ar works?
or am i missing something?
Yeah I'm having the same issue here, they seem to be claiming a generic process for augmented reality. I don't think this will hold up in court.
 
Hey, why only dogs and cats? At a minimum, Nintendogs 3 should have bunnies too!

Most people think Switch 2 will be a Switch with enhanced graphics, but I think re-introducing at least a camera and a mic is a top priority for Nintendo (perhaps as part of the Joycons?). Their "core" games might make minimal use of such features, but they are vital for series such as Nintendogs. Brain Training Switch already feels limited without a mic. Animal Crossing and Miitopia would be better games if they supported scanning QR Codes (AC does, by using your mobile phone as an external camera, but having it integrated with the hardware would be more convenient).
I think there's definitely a case to be made for adding more handheld features to the next Switch, but there's also a case for relying on better software interfacing with mobile devices to accomplish these goals. It's a balancing act between functionality and form factor, cost and complexity and appealing to different audiences, for sure.
 
Yeah I'm having the same issue here, they seem to be claiming a generic process for augmented reality. I don't think this will hold up in court.
to be honest i have seen so many random pointless or plain stupid patents in IT, where companies claim to have reinvented the wheel.

I feel like many of them just file them just in case, not because they really feel like they invented something. if you have to have patent layers, might as well give them something to do in between more important stuff.
 
I think there's definitely a case to be made for adding more handheld features to the next Switch, but there's also a case for relying on better software interfacing with mobile devices to accomplish these goals. It's a balancing act between functionality and form factor, cost and complexity and appealing to different audiences, for sure.
It’s worth noting that a front-facing camera and a mic array wouldn’t necessarily be handheld-exclusive features. Nintendo experimented with mics next to TVs as a method of voice chat with Wii Speak and with video chat with Wii U; they may want to revisit one or both of those ideas as a way to enable connection in the post-covid era.

I don’t think the Switch’s current voice chat setup is Nintendo’s vision for the future, but I also don’t think Nintendo sees the answer as a Nintendo-branded headset. I think Nintendo would want to bypass the need for a headset.
 
It’s worth noting that a front-facing camera and a mic array wouldn’t necessarily be handheld-exclusive features. Nintendo experimented with mics next to TVs as a method of voice chat with Wii Speak and with video chat with Wii U; they may want to revisit one or both of those ideas as a way to enable connection in the post-covid era.

I don’t think the Switch’s current voice chat setup is Nintendo’s vision for the future, but I also don’t think Nintendo sees the answer as a Nintendo-branded headset. I think Nintendo would want to bypass the need for a headset.
microphone arrays that cut out background noise has come a long way, so maybe they will try to do that.
but in this case, the format of holding it and having back facing cameras make phones just better suited for AR... except if nintendo adds a depth sensor in next to a solid camera, then i could see the benefit of having total control on what hardware will be used and optimizing for it.
if they feel like they can do a lot with ar i could see it, but even tho the 3DS had ar capability, it never really took of in regards to software.
 
if they feel like they can do a lot with ar i could see it, but even tho the 3DS had ar capability, it never really took of in regards to software.
I will say that the 3DS was just a pretty poor fit for AR in a lot of ways. It was a dual-screen device with two small screens, and also it had a clamshell design and the part you held was not parallel with the cameras in the same way AR is on a phone or tablet (or would be on a Switch), so you were always sort of awkwardly “aiming” the cameras and looking through a little porthole rather than just holding a tablet up.

In general, the history of Nintendo’s controller innovation has been them adding more and more ways of sensing to their devices – analog sticks, motion controls, touch screens – with cameras and mics being a rare example of a “sense” they’ve removed. I wouldn’t bet on them being gone forever.
 
Yes, that makes sense.

I can see Nintendo invest into AR and also as into making assets for the metaverse. They have such solid IPs that they can easily sell new tech to their customers with them.
Yeah, no, the "metaverse" isn't really worthwhile, investment wise. That bubble popped months ago. However, AR and VR content will continue to evolve and improve, and Nintendo's always shown an interest in such technologies, so this isn't surprising to me.
 
Nobody even knows what the metaverse is besides a buzzword. Like, I think more “normal people” know about NFTs than what the metaverse is and that’s saying something. And there’s no real evidence that average people want either.

And even if people donning a VR headset to “live” and work in a virtual world eventually becomes a thing, I wouldn’t bet on any of the current metaverses to be, like, The One That Makes It Happen. Like, we’re all sending messages on our phones all the time now, but none of us are using AOL Instant Messenger to do so, despite that being the once-dominant messaging service in the early days of “the web.”
 
Yeah, no, the "metaverse" isn't really worthwhile, investment wise. That bubble popped months ago. However, AR and VR content will continue to evolve and improve, and Nintendo's always shown an interest in such technologies, so this isn't surprising to me.
Well, it depends on how you define the metaverse.

At its simplest, the metaverse is just that a platform to help users navigate the data in the internet. That can be done through VR or AR or the usual interfaces. In that sense, Pokémon Go is already an set of assets and a product in the metaverse provided by Nintendo.

But I realize that I used a fuzzy word. My bad. Let's rather move on.
 
I will say that the 3DS was just a pretty poor fit for AR in a lot of ways. It was a dual-screen device with two small screens, and also it had a clamshell design and the part you held was not parallel with the cameras in the same way AR is on a phone or tablet (or would be on a Switch), so you were always sort of awkwardly “aiming” the cameras and looking through a little porthole rather than just holding a tablet up.

In general, the history of Nintendo’s controller innovation has been them adding more and more ways of sensing to their devices – analog sticks, motion controls, touch screens – with cameras and mics being a rare example of a “sense” they’ve removed. I wouldn’t bet on them being gone forever.
oh,for sure, but even then they could have done more. but i also think that they where restricted in the processing power to get the AR to work great (but then, they had stereo camera setup making depth sensing easier then a mono camera AR solution most phones use)
yeah, i was surprised that cameras and microphones where gone on the switch, and expect the switch 2 to add them back in some form. i don't expect front facing cameras. what i really hope is a lidar / depth sensor. next to a camera, for usecases like AR. Or heck, scanning things (similar to the iphone) to use as models in games or for level designers. (my only worries are, that it would be to expensive)
 
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As i said, this feels like something they have already done in mobile games before.

And something they did on the 3DS, though that was AR with markers, instead of the more modern markerless AR.

It's weird because by having 3D cameras, the 3DS was more suited to depth tracking, but the low power hardware and low res of the cameras meant they probably couldn't do true markerless AR.

It's definitely something they seem to be into, also given their investment into Niantic that has done a lot of work in that area. Wonder if the next switch will add hardware for AR.
 
It’s worth noting that a front-facing camera and a mic array wouldn’t necessarily be handheld-exclusive features. Nintendo experimented with mics next to TVs as a method of voice chat with Wii Speak and with video chat with Wii U; they may want to revisit one or both of those ideas as a way to enable connection in the post-covid era.

I don’t think the Switch’s current voice chat setup is Nintendo’s vision for the future, but I also don’t think Nintendo sees the answer as a Nintendo-branded headset. I think Nintendo would want to bypass the need for a headset.
The problem with this line of thinking is that Switch 2 needs to cost significantly less than a smartphone. I'm not against adding a camera, microphones, etc. But these all add to the BoM and increase complexity. At some point it makes more sense to spend resources developing an interface with devices that are ubiquitous and perform many of these functions better.
 
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Well, it depends on how you define the metaverse.

At its simplest, the metaverse is just that a platform to help users navigate the data in the internet. That can be done through VR or AR or the usual interfaces. In that sense, Pokémon Go is already an set of assets and a product in the metaverse provided by Nintendo.

But I realize that I used a fuzzy word. My bad. Let's rather move on.
May I interest you in Mozilla Firefox? 😆
 
Yes, that makes sense.

I can see Nintendo invest into AR and also as into making assets for the metaverse. They have such solid IPs that they can easily sell new tech to their customers with them.

Yeah, no, the "metaverse" isn't really worthwhile, investment wise. That bubble popped months ago. However, AR and VR content will continue to evolve and improve, and Nintendo's always shown an interest in such technologies, so this isn't surprising to me.

Well, it depends on how you define the metaverse.

At its simplest, the metaverse is just that a platform to help users navigate the data in the internet. That can be done through VR or AR or the usual interfaces. In that sense, Pokémon Go is already an set of assets and a product in the metaverse provided by Nintendo.

But I realize that I used a fuzzy word. My bad. Let's rather move on.

May I interest you in Mozilla Firefox? 😆
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It didn’t even come to mind because the AR features of Pocket Camp were added in 2020 but you’re right; the patent is very similar to that implementation.


image0.jpg


This thread may have been a false alarm in that case; not opposed to a lock if this is our conclusion.
IIRC Miitomo had a similar function I think?
 
Would love a new Nintendogs with a phone companion app, one of the games Switch needs before Switch 2
This would be such a hit

Although I question what the switch one would bring to the table that the mobile one can’t
 
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IIRC Miitomo had a similar function I think?
Miitomo did not have such function, but you could take a real-life picture and use them to make Mii photos in the Miifoto option anyway, so that's the closest thing to this.
 
It didn’t even come to mind because the AR features of Pocket Camp were added in 2020 but you’re right; the patent is very similar to that implementation.


image0.jpg


This thread may have been a false alarm in that case; not opposed to a lock if this is our conclusion.
The original Japanese patent application was filed in 2020 so that adds up
 
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Can only mean 1 thing...

Nintendogs must be the next expansion to Super Nintendo World
 
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A game for the "Can You Pet the Dog" generation.

(I don't like Nintendogs; this is probably a good idea, though)
 
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