A sharp-eyed NeoGaf user, Atheerios, has found a very interesting description of Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild on the U.S. Trademark system.

The post lists the types of media that the next Zelda game will utilize when it is released in 2017. It lists trademark requests for both discs, downloadable programs, AND “video game cartridges“.

We know that Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is scheduled to come out on both the Wii U and Nintendo’s next console, NX, in 2017. This would explain the descriptions of downloadable programs and game discs, as the Wii U obviously uses both mediums to deliver game content, however only Nintendo’s 3DS portable system uses cartridges.

Could this listing point to a possibility that the Nintendo NX will use cartridges as a physical media?

Rumors in the past few months have suggested that NX will mark Nintendo’s return to a cartridge-based format.

Late last month, Gamestop CEO Paul Raines confirmed that NX will utilize some sort of physical media, during a conference call with investors.

“It will have physical media, we will play a role in it, our pre-owned business will also play a role. So we’re excited about that.”

Raines went on to espouse the advantages of cartridges over optical disks, as it pertains to the refurbishment and resale of defective software, which provides GameStop with a large amount of its profit margin each year.

Earlier in May, chip manufacturer Macronix, who is the supplier of Nintendo’s ROM chips which are used in cartridges for the Nintendo 3DS, went on record to say that they expected an increase in earnings during the next fiscal year as a result of Nintendo placing larger orders in conjunction with the impending arrival of the NX in 2017.

As reported March, 5th by Nintendo Life:

‘In the past, Macronix sales performance usually peaked at third quarter, while declined at the fourth quarter. However, Wu Miin pointed out that because Nintendo has announced that the new platform will be launched in March next year, orders should be placed in advance. Therefore, the operating revenue of Macronix in the fourth quarter may be as good as the third quarter.’

The original source of the NX using cartridge rumors were precipitated by an August 2015 patent filed by Nintendo entitled, “Stationary Game Apparatus, Game Apparatus, Game System, Recording Medium and Speed Control Method“.

This patent described a system capable of reading and recording memory, but fascinatingly, did not include a description of an optical disk drive, which would, of course, be needed if the machine were utilizing DVD’s or Blue-ray disks.

“A stationary game apparatus, comprising: an internal hard disk drive storing a program and/or data; a communication unit transmitting/receiving a program and/or data via a network; and a processor executing a program stored in the hard disk drive to perform game processing, wherein the game apparatus is not provided with an optical disk drive.”

Further on, the patent described the”device” as being able to interact with another device carrying an optical drive.

“The stationary game apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the game apparatus is compatible with another game apparatus comprising an optical disk drive for reading out a program and/or data from an optical disk, and a processor for executing the program read out from the optical disk to perform game processing, and an interface for the hard disk drive is same as an interface for the optical disk drive in said another game apparatus.”

While the march of technological progress has taken us from the bulky cartridges of old, to the gigabyte packing Blue-ray’s of modern times, the prospect of Nintendo using cartridges is not as backwards a step as one would believe at a cursory glance.

Modern flash memory, which any speculative cartridge-based system would use, is capable of packing in far more memory than Nintendo’s last home console to use the medium, the Nintendo 64.

Nintendo’s own 3DS handheld system uses cartridges that can hold approximately 8GB worth of data, while PS Vita’s game cards could hold up to 16GB. Sony also sells Micro SD cards capable of holding up to 64GB of data; enough to easily meet the space requirements of many titles in the PlayStation 4 library.

Game designer Jool Watsham concurred with that sentiment via Twitter:

If the 32nm NX ROM chip rumor is true, carts could contain at least 16GB for each game – even x2, x4, x8 that size. pic.twitter.com/XHrzSjv3Y8

— Jools Watsham (@JoolsWatsham) May 5, 2016

A move to cartridges for the Nintendo NX would also lend credence to earlier rumors surrounding the machine, which suggested that it would be a hybrid, home console, that had the ability to also be used as a portable device.

Nintendo has been miraculously tight-lipped regarding any details of the Nintendo NX, aside from letting investors know that they were planning on releasing the console during the first-quarter of 2017, and that the just revealed, Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild would arrive as a launch title.

Until Nintendo decides to finally shine the spotlight on the NX, we’ll have to rely on numerous rumors and speculations as to what Nintendo is actually planning.

However, rumors and speculation that always arise prior to the official announcement of any new hardware, is part of what makes gaming journalism so fun.

What do you think of the possibility that Nintendo is returning to a cartridge-based format for the NX? Load your thoughts in the comments section below.

Written by The Watchman

The Watchman is a journeyman gamer who has seen and played a good chunk of gaming history.
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