Nintendo has recently filed a patent on a gamepad design which has a touchscreen taking up most of the device's real estate.

Rumored to be the upcoming NX controller, the device still features the usual analog sticks and shoulder buttons, but the face buttons have been replaced by context-aware touch technology. Click here to see a rough draft of the touchscreen-dominated gamepad.

The gaming industry has been quickly albeit quietly shifting from console games to mobile app games in the past few years, mainly due to the latter's growing popularity. Nintendo appears to be more welcoming of the change than its console rivals. Per Engadget, the new gamepad design mimics the smartphone interface with key controls most are familiar with in a TV system.

As the case with all patents, there's no assurance if Nintendo will use the design in the future. Although, The Verge noted that details of the unannounced device do corroborate with prior rumors suggesting Nintendo will integrate Sharp's free-form displays in a future product.

Considering the inclusion of a card slot, users can potentially play their favorite mobile app games on the gamepad without needing a separate TV. Needless to say, the final product could be far less exciting, but no one could really fault Nintendo for at least contemplating about nonconventional hardware.

Meanwhile, Microsoft took to Twitter over the weekend to confirm that it has no knowledge of any of its published games arriving on the Wii U, outside of "Minecraft."

The aforementioned tweet was intended to clarify a prior tweet from the same Microsoft Studios account which suggested the company might bring Xbox One's "Rare Replay" to Nintendo's current-gen console.

It was just last week when a fan asked Microsoft on Twitter if it could make "Rare Replay" available on the Wii U. The Washington tech giant responded by saying anyone who wants that to happen should forward the matter to UK developer Rare, which happens to be a subsidiary of Microsoft.

The previous tweet had many fans believing Microsoft was open to the idea of "Rare Replay" eventually coming to the Wii U. Interestingly enough, Microsoft concluded its more recent tweet by saying it has nothing to announce "at this time," leaving the possibility of a future announcement being made.

"Minecraft" for Wii U will be released this Thursday, Dec. 17. Microsoft bought the "Minecraft" franchise alongside its developer Mojang in 2014 for $2.5 billion.