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New Sony Controller May Let You Draw Your Own Buttons Using Conductive Ink

Don Carlo

Member
From Source:

Sony is always ahead when in securing innovative ideas that the gaming industry has not seen before. Some of these discussed ideas, however, are completely wild in theory. A new patent published by the company wants to bring a controller that you can fully customize. It reminded me of the PlayStation Access Controller until the patent noted that you can hand-draw the button layout, spacing, and shape using electrical ink on it.

The legal document dubbed “USER-CUSTOMIZED FLAT COMPUTER SIMULATION CONTROLLER FIELD” explores giving full control to users for customizing a controller. Jumping into the technicalities, the user will need a regular Sony controller to set up the customizable one. During the set-up process, the hand-drawn buttons of the customized controller will need to be pressed together with the buttons on the regular controller.


This will let the personalized controller know which drawn controller corresponds to which button on a regular Sony controller. It’s worth noting that Sony may also allow users to select the shape of the controller. In some snippets, the company mentions an example of a parallelepiped-shaped device, but it also discusses the possibility of spherical and other shape options.

A player with a customized controller base 700 (Figure 7) without any button yet formed on it may draw, e.g., using conductive ink, any of the buttons described herein on the top surface of the controller, in any layout, sizes, and shapes desired by the player,” reads the patent.
The image shows a user interface for set-up of the customized controller Image | Source: Patentscope

What could this possibly be? :messenger_mr_smith_who_are_you_going_to_call:
 
"Sony is always ahead when in securing innovative ideas"

Applies more to Nintendo consoles and portables, I believe.
But that's besides the point...

It's probably an accessibility controller...
I will be using the regular simple one... I'm not bright enough to understand what the fuck this controller is...
 
You know, there is an actual educational platform made by PlayStation for Japan only since 2019, that even has its own first-party games (Toio).
bnvdvnX.png

Ayphv2y.jpeg

What's funny is that years ago, SIE patented some cartridge stuff for the system, and people were going crazy thinking that it was meant for PS5.
You got me

Ice Skating Reaction GIF by Hallmark Channel
 
"Sony is always ahead when in securing innovative ideas"

Applies more to Nintendo consoles and portables, I believe.
But that's besides the point...

It's probably an accessibility controller...
I will be using the regular simple one... I'm not bright enough to understand what the fuck this controller is...
Not to mention, using a controller is for hand manipulation, not for something you need to look down at in the middle of playing something.
 

yurinka

Member
Maybe they are doing something like these prototypes that have been researched for years, where touchscreens are dinamically modified to feature physical buttons on it:


In Sony's case, instead of being only predefined buttons defined by each game the new thing would be that the player would be able to edit such button layouts.
 

ShaiKhulud1989

Gold Member
Well, sounds like a terrific idea for additional accessability controller. But being just a published patent it's 99% not happening.
 

Dacvak

No one shall be brought before our LORD David Bowie without the true and secret knowledge of the Photoshop. For in that time, so shall He appear.
90% of the time it’s nothing. Companies patent strange things that never go anywhere all the time.

They can be pretty funny though. Nintendo’s Wii-Saddle and Sony’s ‘vocal ads’ are classics:
saddle_orig.jpg

xHWutWJDpEqDTgHXhHxzkD-1200-80.png.webp
This is still one of my favorite images on the internet 😂
cHv9QJv.jpeg
 

Knightime_X

Member
Sony puts out 12,000 patents a day
99.99% of these are just napkin thoughts that won't even be remembered the next meeting.
Kinda hard to be excited, to be honest.
 
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