Which company first released a gaming device with detachable controllers? Some of you may have guessed Nintendo, but that would be forgetting the Razer, which unveiled the Edge Pro and its Gamepad Controller in 2013. Razer has not released a product like it since, but it has patented something that looks more refined than the Edge Pro.
Applied for in March 2019 at the United States Patent and Trademark Office and published last month on the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the patent depicts something that looks like an idealised Nintendo Switch. As the drawings below demonstrate, the device has two controllers flanking a large display. The controllers are magnetically attached to the display and communicate with the hardware in the latter by USB HID. According to the patent each controller contains a battery, just the Joy-Cons in the Nintendo Switch.
However, the patented device is not a games console in its own right. Instead, and quoting the patent description, it is a hardware gaming controller "for use with a mobile device with for gaming applications". By our reckoning, that means an accessory and not a standalone device. While most patents are never brought to market, the idea of Razer releasing a Wii U GamePad style controller alongside the next Razer Phone does not sound that far-fetched.
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Source(s)
World Intellectual Property Organization via LetsGoDigital (1) (2)