Patent reveals Wii Remote began life as GameCube add-on

What's so interesting about the above image? Is it that the man (?) has no eyes? Is it that he's not using the strap on the Wii Remote? No: it's that this isn't a patent drawing for the Wii Remote at all -- it's for a GameCube controller. The original Japanese patent was submitted by Nintendo in 2006, around the time Shigeru Miyamoto admitted, "[Wii] is based on GC."

Now we know its controller was, too, by way of the US Patent and Trademark Office's database, which also contains related drawings. One shows what this line-art person is playing (a tennis game with Mario) and the other is the proverbial smoking gun: a Wii remote and receiver connected to a GameCube, which is, in turn, connected to a TV with sensors attached. Check them out after the break.

[Via Siliconera]