Sony Patents Universal Game Controller
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.
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Another "great" Sony product !
Um universal game controller = our hands. Duh! (jk)
No good, where is "Z" trigger for Nintendo 64?
Maby i should patent underwear, especialy t-shirt and bikini and make sure no one could ever use them...
Gosh the patent system is so silly at times when you can patent ANYTHING and then patent troll it for years to come!
Where is L1, L2, R1, R2? On top of the controller?
How will L3 and R3 analog sticks work?
Why didn't they patent the 6-button controller? That would of been useful.
Not sure this will catch on. Is likely to look very cool, and it works on phones as most of the time it's the same screen as where your GUI is. For console games, however, I would think the tactile feedback is vital when playing games on a different screen without eyes on the controller.
ill pass for the price im sure i can just buy 1 of each controller... and hard buttons are king for games... you need to feel the buttons to know where they are... i have a feeling alot of people will lose their buttons lol
Seriously? They got a patent for this? WTF!!
No! I would not like a controller like that.
Kick ass ergonomics on that thing.
I just don't think a touch screen could allow for the pressure sensitivity both what the controller receives and what the user feels and force feed back?
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.
No PC, how is it universal?
The day the controller breaks due to pressure hints back to the days of the joystick breaking whilst hammering the orange button (atari).
Good concept but no real buttons = crap! How will they address the analog joysticks/buttons?
Never liked touch screen things. So useless controller for me. Maybe Sony is trying to go for the most patents competition.
... Maybe Sony is trying to go for the most patents competition.
I'm pretty sure Microsoft is miles ahead of Sony in that competition.
Kick ass ergonomics on that thing.
lol
Negative on that.
This would be the end of all fighting games. You can't rest your fingers on the buttons any longer.
I don't see someone buying a device like this because the cost will be too much for something that performs less favorably than standard console controllers. However if they were to find a way to turn people's touchscreen phones into a universal touch controller, then I could see this being successful.
going to need physical buttons for gaming, at least I do
Am I understanding this correctly? Sony Patents ability to makes controller that works with ps3 and xbox, so that xbox can't make a controller that works with xbox and ps3?
Can you throw it at your TV and expect wiimote-like results?
No PC, how is it universal?
IF you use it in XBOX 360 mode it should work for PC.
As for the controller itself, it could use a little work (and some real buttons) but I think the overall concept is great.
innovative but i can't see it working for long. Controllers take seriuos abuse not to mention liquid spills. Another take, would it be square like that or what kind of physical holding layout would the "controller" have? thats really what is the most important.
Nope. Touchscreens only work when you are looking at the screen, and in this case you would be looking at the tv. The absence of physical buttons can only take gaming so far, and I think most console games would suffer from the loss of those buttons.
I think it would take some getting used to but I think it would be nice to be able to use it for texting/typing as well as a universal remote not only for game consoles but for TV's and other devices as well.
...Gosh the patent system is so silly at times when you can patent ANYTHING and then patent troll it for years to come!
Agreed. this is such an obvious attempt at patent trolling. Sony must of gotten wind of an unpatented 3rd party company universal controller. Notice that the patent generally covers "Playstation" (could be PS1, PS2, PS3), "Nintendo" (could be N64, Cube, Wii), and XBox (XBox & XBox 360).
Hope these guys have good lawyers...
I've become fan of XBOX360 Natal...
It would be good for anything but gaming, where you usually don't have the luxury of looking at the controller.
I can't see this working too well. We need physical connections for all the parts of gaming on most consoles today. why not just make a face plate that syncs every time you put one on the "controller"?
Meh
No textile response, no sale.