Good news, fishing game sickos: Nintendo has filed a patent for what looks like a reel to attach to your Switch 2 Joy-Con

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Hook, line, and Joy-Cons

Animal Crossing: New Horizon update 2.0 features
(Image credit: Nintendo)

I don't mean to get anyone's hopes too high, but Nintendo has seemingly filed a patent for an accessory that looks an awful lot like a fishing reel and I'm already hooked.

The two new Nintendo patents detail and even show mock ups of accessories that, if the Big N ever actually turns its ideas into a real product, would attach to your Switch 2's Joy-Cons. The first looks like a reel or crank of sorts, not too dissimilar to the Playdate's signature appendage, that uses the Joy-Con 2's mouse sensors to work and magnets to stay in place.

A new Nintendo patent shows two novel Joy-Con 2 attachments—a crank and a clickable wheel. In the first embodiment, the crank features a rotary disc (#803), which is tracked by the mouse sensor (172) through a window (807). Two magnets (511 & 512) secure the attachment. 1/

— @ninpatentswatch.bsky.social (@ninpatentswatch.bsky.social.bsky.social) 2025-08-09T06:52:49.471Z

The second patent displays a clickable wheel, which also slots into place via magnets, though it's a little harder to imagine in-game uses for it. (Thanks to Nintendo Patents Watch for living up to its name.)

This is obviously a huge deal for Playdate enjoyers and fellow fishing mini-game sickos. I'm the type to download a big live service game that's been hustling to attract new players for almost a decade, like Destiny or Fallout 76, just because they finally let me fish in a new update. Needless to say, any potential Nintendoified fishing thing that makes use of this dreamy little crack would probably have my attention too. Heck, integration into the next inevitable Animal Crossing would be enough.

It should be noted that loads of patents never actually manifest into physical products you can hold in your hands (or rather leave in your drawer for 364 days of the year.) So, we'll need to see what Nintendoes or doesn't do in the coming months and years.

For really real things on the horizon, check out the upcoming Switch 2 games that we know about so far.

Kaan Serin
Freelance contributor

Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that's vaguely silly. Also has an English Literature and Film Studies degree that he'll soon forget.

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