Looks like a periscope, actually

We've seen plenty of Wii controller patents in the past, not all of which saw the light of day — remember the inflatable horse and American football? Now the company's put out a patent for a Wii Remote touch-sensitive pad, as spotted by Siliconera.

The pad clips in the bottom of the Wii Remote and uses mirrors and infra red light to detect touch, with Nintendo suggesting it could be used for drawing or to add a mouse-like controller to the Wii.

Of course with Wii U on the horizon we have to question the timing of this patent: without a screen built into the pad it doesn't really bridge the gap between the Wii and Wii U experiences. Will we see this reach the light of day or is it destined to be another forgotten Nintendo patent?

[source siliconera.com]