Sony has been known to file the most bizarre controller patents on the internet, oftentimes just for the sake of it. Most PlayStation patents never see the light of day, mainly serving as a “this is mine, you can’t have it” level of legal protection. But after seeing the latest one, which resembles the shape of one of the best joysticks, you might wonder why on earth Sony would want the rights to some of these ideas.
The latest published patent from the Japanese gaming giant is shaped just like a typical gaming joystick – you know, those things your uncle used to play flight sim and starfighter games with back when he was young.
I’ll warn you now; it’s very difficult to read you the description of this patent without my immature sense of humour forcing a giggle or two, but I’ll try and keep it together and be professional for you. (If you want to have a giggle to yourself, I’ve put the funny bits in italics for you)
“This operation device is provided with an operation member that receives an operation from a user. The operation device is provided with: a contact part that is disposed on the surface of the operation member and receives a force applied by the user for the operation; and a hardness control unit that changes the hardness of the contact part.”
I know, I know, it sounds ridiculous, but I swear to you that’s the actual description of the patent. The patent was originally filed back in November 2024, but only published in May of this year under the name Operation Device, Information Processing Apparatus, Control Method Thereof, and Program. It’s since been spotted by Cheat Happens, but has been reported on by numerous gaming outlets.
Beyond its very silly, slightly creepy description, I do think the product that’s depicted in the patent is really just a broad example, and this patent has been filed so that Sony can explore the concept of it in the future. In fact, it could point to the brand’s controller plans for the PS6.
For instance, I don’t think Sony is going to be releasing a joystick with hardening and softening button actuations anytime soon. I think really, the thing Sony wants legal rights to could be a progression of the haptic feedback we’ve seen with the PS5 controller, the DualSense.
Imagine if there wasn’t just haptic feedback in the grips of your gamepad, and imagine if that adaptive trigger resistance that feels so cool in Returnal or Astro Bot was applied to each button on your DualSense. That would open the door to so many enhanced moments of game feel and fun character bits in games.
If you were playing as Ellie in The Last of Us Part II and you were trying to crawl toward a gun on the ground during a scripted fight scene, the buttons could get harder to tap just for that moment, which might help to indicate how much of a struggle it was for the character. Your jump button could have a different actuation while playing as Astro Bot than in another game, or your axe recall as Kratos could feel even heavier. That certainly opens more interesting doors for players than done-to-death quicktime events.
If anyone’s interested in the mechanics of the patent, the adaptive resistance in the buttons would function using a magneto-viscoelastic elastomer – which sounds made up. Essentially, it’s a material that uses attached magnets to harden and soften resistance.
As weird as it is at first glance, this patent does really intrigue me. Not the weird joystick-sex-toy looking thing, the concept of enhanced button resistance. As a PC controller nerd, I really like when companies can push the envelope to give us a more immersive feel in video games. I also feel a tad disappointed with how haptics and trigger resistance have been implemented this generation, because I’m not sure they’ve lived up to their potential.
To be completely honest, I’m not sure a more conclusive suite of feedback options would be something developers would go in for next generation if the current options have gone underutilized. Even so, if the mechanics and potential are there, it could mean a future with even better feedback as we play.
Do you play on another platform? Check out the best Xbox Series X controllers, the best Switch 2 controllers, and the best TMR controllers.
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