Sony has obtained a US patent for a special controller with a touchscreen that lets players choose where the buttons should go.
The patent was filed back in February 2013, but was issued last week, and is described as “designs and methods for a game controller”.
According to the patent’s description and accompanying images, the controller would have a large touchscreen covering most of its top surface, where the buttons would usually go.
The idea is that players would be able to customise where the D-Pad, sticks or action buttons should be positioned on the controller, to best suit their personal taste, accessibility needs or what best suits each specific game.
It appears that players can also choose to resize the buttons or even remove some buttons altogether for certain games.
In theory, this could mean if the player was playing a simple platform game, they could replace all the buttons with a single large jump button. Or, if they were playing a game that only required a D-Pad or a left stick, they could choose to remove one and make the other larger.
“Often [conventional] controllers adhere to a similar control interface of having a directional pad on one side of the controller and buttons on the other side of the controller,” the patent description reads.
“One of the drawbacks of existing designs may be the fixed configuration. By way of example, a fixed layout may be too small, or too large, for a user. Similarly, a fixed layout may not be comfortable to a user. Manufacturers typically do not veer from layout or controller size to reduce cost. As result, controllers may include button configurations for hand sizes that do not accommodate all players.
“There exists a desire for game controllers to allow for different configurations, and accommodate hand sizes without having to customize or manufacture controller size.
“Another drawback of conventional controllers may be the fixed nature of input controls. For example, a controller only has enough space to include a directional pad and joystick, and each element is usually located in a different location.
“Due to size of physical control elements, game controls may be limited. In addition, inclusion of controls can increase controller size. There exists a need and a desire to allow for improvements and modifications to game controllers.”
One potential issue with the patent design is that of the Turbo Touch 360, a third-party controller released for 8-bit and 16-consoles in the 1990s. This replaced the D-Pad with a touch pad to reduce stress on the player’s thumbs, but resulted in players accidentally moving their character when naturally ‘resting’ their thumb on the touch panel.
Sony‘s patent mentions that the touchscreen would have a pressure sensor and a heat sensor to “detect condition of the input surface”. It’s not clear whether this means simple on/off sensors or sensors with a varying degree of sensitivity, but if it’s the latter it may potentially be able to determine the difference between a thumb resting on the controller and a thumb pressing down on it.
As ever, the decision to apply for and acquire a patent for an idea is not necessarily confirmation that the idea will actually become a product in the future.
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