It appears Nintendo are looking to launch a new Switch Controller, thanks to a confidentiality agreement filing to the FCC surfacing online.
As reported by Video Games Chronicle, the unknown product is described simply as a “game controller” and, understandably, not much else. The accompanying letter requests photos of the controller, its manual and schematics are to be kept secret for a period of 180 days, or six months. It’s presumed that after that time, Nintendo will be ready to announce it.
The small bits of information that have been gleamed include the controller having the model name HAC-043. All previous Switch hardware apparently uses the HAC prefix, which is how we know it’s for Nintendo’s system. HAC-001 is the console itself, HAC-042 is the Wireless SNES controller which launched in 2019, for example.
VGC also appear to have found a radio test report, submitted to prove the safety of the controller’s wireless signals. The report also reveals the controller was plugged into the Switch AC adapter, implying it has some kind of USB-C port. Aside from that, the report has a diagram that shows two rectangles. (The same report for the SNES controller apparently had a diagram with that controller’s distinctive shape.)
Aside from that though, that’s all we have to go on. Nintendo haven’t commented on this find at the time of writing, understandably. Fingers crossed that we hear more in six months’ time, around March 2022. The Nintendo Switch controller news comes just days after rumours that Game Boy and Game Boy Color games may be coming to the console soon.
