Nintendo was working on an adaptive controller that could also be used on PlayStation and Xbox.
In an interview with Inverse, former Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime says that Nintendo was part of an initiative across the gaming industry to create a platform-agnostic controller. The company used Xbox’s Adaptive Controller as a “jumping-off point.”
Fils-Aime explains, “Imagine an adaptive controller that you could play with your latest Xbox, PlayStation, or Nintendo platform. That’s what we were working on three years ago.” He retired back in 2019 and isn’t sure whether the project is still underway at Nintendo, but hopes that it still is.
He continues, saying, “But also, my hope is that controller — and the ability for that controller to connect with all of the various systems — is launched and shared with consumers as quickly as possible.”
On the subject of accessibility, he believes that the best solution for the gaming industry is one that can work on all dedicated platforms and PC, while also being able to be tailored to the specific physical capabilities and needs of the player.
While it’s unclear if this platform-agnostic controller from Nintendo ever sees the light of day, the company has begun taking some smaller steps towards a more integrated future, such as finally making the Switch’s Joy-Cons compatible with Steam.
George Yang is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @yinyangfooey