Let’s travel back to nearly a decade ago, in the glorious Pokémon GO days. Everyone spent every waking minute of their lives buried in their phones, trying to fight at gyms, catch wild Pokémon, and win achievements. There was a time when more than 80% of my screen time was just in the Pokémon GO app. It sucked all my time, and also nuked my phone’s battery, which eventually needed to be charged twice (sometimes thrice) a day. What if that wasn’t the case?
What if, instead of your phone, there was a wearable that let you engage with the game’s core functions? That’s what the Nintendo Niino concept set out to be – a tiny Nintendo device capable of playing microgames as well as engaging with larger Nintendo titles in a limited but fairly acceptable capacity. With three buttons and a touchscreen, the Niino (if it existed) could arguably be MORE popular than the Switch.
Designer: Fabio Zuccoli
Imagine being in the outdoors, eating a meal, grabbing a coffee, or doing a grocery run, and you get a buzz on your wrist. You look at the Niino, and it tells you there’s a Snorlax or Gyarados in the area. Instead of taking your phone out and running around like a headless Psyduck, you look at the Niino, press a few buttons, and catch the legendary Pokémon. The Niino sends the Pokémon directly to your collection without you needing to take your phone out. You can battle at gyms, defeat other trainers, and even walk your Pokémon right through the wearable.
The device is a tiny, palm-sized number that’s just a fair bit larger than your average smartwatch. It comes with this unique SIM card-shaped design that sort of harks back to the Game Boy Classic’s unique design with the one extra rounded corner, but has the Switch color scheme. The body is black, and you have a red, blue, and grey button. The device can be used as a handheld toy like a Tamagotchi, although it feels much more legit when strapped to your wrist, like a gaming-focused smartwatch.
Designed by Fabio Zuccoli, the Niino has exactly 3 buttons – the minimum number needed to play any game. Although you probably wouldn’t be able to have a Mario Kart run through the tiny device, it’s honestly enough for a few key games – Zuccoli envisions Kirby, Super Mario, Pokémon, and Sonic being the perfect catalogs for the Niino. While the device itself has a single colorway, users can buy themed wristbands to pay tribute to their favorite games, creating an entire product ecosystem that feels just as rounded as the Switch… but in what could easily be Nintendo’s smallest form factor yet.
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