Sony Applies For More Futuristic PS3 Controller Patents
Sony quietly took another step last week in the game of catch-up they and Microsoft are playing as they attempt to capture the wave of interactivity and interest following Nintendo’s success with the Wii. It began with Sony trotting out the Sixaxis and its tilt-functionality mere months after word of the Wii-mote’s motion-detection capabilities came to light and was seen largely as a hasty “me-too” by Sony that might have cost its agreement with Immersion for force-feedback in the controller.
Little over a year ago word of Microsoft’s Project Natal was leaked and a patent filing by Sony lawyers for a break-apart “hybrid video capture and ultrasonic tracking system” was discovered followed by applications for emotion sensing controllers and tech.
Sony’s latest filing with the US Patent and Trademark Office details controllers capable of accepting a variety of attachments including a biometric reader, maracas, flashlights, and microphones.
It also talks of the controllers having onboard memory accessible through USB ports which could hold user profiles or downloadable content. It all sounds a little crazy to us and covers mostly conceptual tech rather than something actual and in the prototype stage sitting on an engineer’s desk in a Sony R&D lab somewhere.
Perhaps next month someone will come across a patent application for an inflatable holodeck attachment for the PS3 or a wireless matter teleportation device for use in multiplayer games?
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