The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office last week made public a patent application from Sony. Dated August 2008, the application details a universal controller with a twist.
Up until now, universal remote controllers haven't been very notable. Most commonly produced for people who often lose track of their remote, universal controllers are a useful but boring affair. That is, until learn about Sony's plans for an LCD-equipped universal controller for consoles.
Sony's USPTO application covers a controller that features a touchscreen LCD that would display a controller key layout of the users choice. In the patent application Sony talks of a PlayStation layout, a Nintendo game console layout, and an Xbox layout, meaning the controller would work with outside consoles.
It seems like something a lot of people would be really into, but then again, many could be completely against the touchscreen aspect of things. Since the advent of touchscreen phones, a lot of people have discovered that they just can't do without physical buttons.
Would you like a controller like this? Let us know in the comments below.
Check out the patent filing here.
Gosh the patent system is so silly at times when you can patent ANYTHING and then patent troll it for years to come!
How will L3 and R3 analog sticks work?
Why didn't they patent the 6-button controller? That would of been useful.
I think the Touch screen controller will be a toy for gaming market much like the DS not a "controller" people will control their consoles and what not with.
Maybe prefect the original controller some more. I don' want to learn a new controller layout every new console I play let alone if game company'can make what every layout on a controller they like with a touchscreen.
I'm pretty sure Microsoft is miles ahead of Sony in that competition.
This would be the end of all fighting games. You can't rest your fingers on the buttons any longer.