With each passing week we get closer to the official reveal of the Nintendo NX, and recent reports have brought to mind the prospect of a portable with multiple and interesting control options. Some interpretations point to detachable controllers, and a recently released patent filed earlier in the year gave an intriguing perspective on controller accessories that could be clipped onto a tablet-style screen.

Now another long-running Nintendo patent has been updated and made available to the public, which portrays a similar idea. Previously submitted in late 2013 and published in early 2014, the just-published update portrays an assortment of controller attachments that can be placed into the device with a notable degree of freedom.

As you can see in the initial images below, in its simplest form (mimicking the similar patent that emerged in the past week) it allows a bespoke control option to be added in a modular way on the top right of the device.

Some further images are interesting; the following indicate variations of more control options that can in theory be swapped in, included sets of three and four buttons.

As with all patents, it may or may not be an indication of products to come. It's interesting, nonetheless, to note the similarities in recent patents in terms of detachable and modular control elements. If these ideas do appear in the NX hardware, in some form, it'll be intriguing to see them in action.

Is this a concept you'd like to see in Nintendo hardware?

With thanks to Jeremy for the heads up.