Social media account Nintendo Patents Watch is on the lookout for new Nintendo patents, and it may have just spotted one of the most unusual, involving a violin-typed music device and your Joy-Con!
The patent was filed on 20th November 2023 and just published a few days ago, on 30th May 2025. And, as seen below on Bluesky, and over at the patent site itself where you can – if you can understand Japanese – read more details, and as explained by Nintendo Patents Watch, these diagrams show what looks like a device that simulates bow movement.
It also allows players to control the octave, scale, and volume by directing and tilting a controller along a cylindrical object. Almost like your changing and titling between violin strings.
We’ve had a scan of the patent site itself, and the Status Report confirms that the device was created by Keisuke Iba, a programmer at Nintendo EPD. He’s worked on Splatoon, Mario Kart 8 (and Deluxe), but his most recent credit is on Nintendo Switch Sports.
Nintendo Patents Watch goes on to join some dots for us in a fun follow-up post — Wii Music followed on from Wii Sports, after all. So, Switch Music following on from Switch Sports? We would 100% be down for that!
Mouse Mode would make for the perfect musical tool, after all. At least in terms of video games.
In fact, now that we’re on the topic, this writer is not sure they’ve ever actually played Wii Music, so that’s something that needs remedied now.
Would you like to see Nintendo’s musical side return on Switch 2? Let us know!
