Nintendo has filed a patent for a console that apparently has no optical drive. A Neogaf user by the name of Rosti spotted the patent. It shows a schematic of a console that “is not provided with an optical disk drive”, according to the filing’s abstract. The patent further shows games stored on a hard drive and mentions “high speed communications such as ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) or optical communication as a way to deliver game data. This could allow Nintendo to go for an all digital future and deliver games via a server distribution process.

Also of note is the fact that the filing does show a card reader included in the console for reading and writing from devices “such as an SD memory card”. Nintendo has been relatively quiet about it’s new NX console due to concerns that competitors would try and capitalize on it’s ideas. If the filing is for the upcoming NX, it could mark a significant departure from traditional game delivery methods for the Big N.

What do you think? Those comments aren’t going to write themselves!