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Is Nintendo Working On A Standalone Pokémon Handheld?
A new patent filing seems to indicate that Nintendo and the Pokémon Company are working on a new handheld system built specifically for pocket monsters.
The patent filing was spotted by users at the popular video game message board NeoGAF. As you can see by the pictures, the system appears to be a one-screen handheld with simplified controls -- there are only A and B buttons. The patent also includes NFC functions that would allow use of Pokémon figures similar to Nintendo's new Amiibos.
This patent was filed in March of this year, but only surfaced online today.
Our Take
A Pokémon-only console, especially if it used Skylanders-style NFC figurines, would likely be a license to print money for Nintendo. On the other hand, it does seem odd that the company would choose to further split its handheld base in the wake of the recent announcement of a new 3DS. A Pokémon handheld would mean that there were four Nintendo handhelds on the market at one time: the original 3DS, the new 3DS, the 2DS, and a potential Pokémon-only model.
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