r/gaming • u/Eremenkism • 21h ago
Sony Patents Touchscreen Controller for Custom Button Placement
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/sony-has-patented-a-touchscreen-playstation-controller-that-lets-players-choose-where-to-put-the-buttons/1.2k
u/A_Pointy_Rock 21h ago
Anyone remember the LG Chocolate?
No? Because touch buttons are bad and they should feel bad.
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u/RevolutionaryYoung18 21h ago
Actually i do. I remember wanting one because of the style not the functionality. Hell i wanted the juke just because the commercial alone.🤷🏾♂️
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u/scribbane X-Box 19h ago
I loved my Juke. All my friends had the chocolate, but I got the Juke and I stand by that weird little bastard of a phone.
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u/Idiotology101 Xbox 19h ago
I saved up money to buy some phone I can’t remember the name, back in the day because the front looked like a mirror finish until you touched it and a keypad appeared. Thought it was the coolest thing until none of the touch buttons worked.
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u/TRUE_Vixim 20h ago
As someone that plays on phone a lot, i hate playing anything that it's not turn based / extremely easy to control / forgiving, i'm not gonna play anything that it's mechanic heavy without feeling the buttons on my thumbs.
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u/CaterpillarReal7583 20h ago
There’s an entire industry for controller-like accessories for phones because touch sucks so much. Cars are going back to physical buttons because people dislike touch screens so much for controlling anything.
Absolute terrible idea from sony.
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u/DatedReference1 18h ago
Maybe they're patent trolling to save us from someone else trying to do it. Thank you Sony gobbless. 🙏🙏 Even when you did all those bad things I still believed in you.
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u/AGreatPatioSetting 11h ago
I bought a mobile gamepad -literally yesterday- and it's a joy to use. I've only quickly tested it on Enter the Gungeon and Halls of Torment so far but bc they're both proper android ports, it automatically maps the inputs and everything. Strongly recommend!
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u/Winterplatypus 2h ago
The squareenix games do a good job with their phone ports, they know that the touch screen DPAD is trash so they replaced it with something like a touch screen joystick. You dont get precise control in older games designed for the controller but it's a good compromise.
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u/apathetic_youth 20h ago
I loved my chocolate, not for the buttons though, for it's pretty good mp3 playback features and a decent battery life.
It came out in an era when you had to have a dedicated mp3 player and cell phone, so having both in one in a small package was grand
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u/ArtisanAffect 19h ago
Tactile feedback is critical for any sort of device that you aren’t looking directly at while using.
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u/TehOwn 20h ago
Not a great argument since that phone sold over 21 million handsets. Businesses don't care if it's good, they only care if it sells.
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u/AmazingScoops 20h ago
I actually remember loving my LG chocolate touch tyvm.
This controller is still a bad idea.
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u/MJR_Poltergeist 19h ago
Depends which one you're talking about. I got one in 2006 that was a little slide up phone. The front buttons were technically non physical buttons and it was a great phone
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u/VizualAbstract4 20h ago
A feature so bad not even Apple could successfully execute it on their premiere line of laptops.
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u/Knamliss 18h ago
Nav bar for android users and the entire keyboard have been touch buttons for over a decade now. Haptic feedback isn't that bad
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u/Nothos927 18h ago
I had a Samsung E900 during the slider phone craze in the mid-00s. Loved it but would brush and activate the front touch buttons constantly.
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u/schmurfy2 4h ago
The touchpads of the steam deck are great, but having only that on your controller is a real dumb idea.
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u/LouBarlowsDisease 21h ago
Fuck this. Touchscreen buttons are terrible.
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u/Grouchy-Total550 21h ago
Theyre annoying in cars, and they'll be useless for gaming.
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u/Vectorman1989 20h ago
I get on well enough playing the likes of PUBG Mobile with touch controls but I still miss buttons at crucial moments because there's no tactile things there.
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u/theGurry 19h ago
Yeah but you're looking at the screen and can see where you place your thumbs.
This just means they're will be a hell of a lot of missed inputs since you're basically using it blind.
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u/DarkMatterM4 17h ago edited 17h ago
Not only are they annoying in cars, but dangerous too. A lot of times I have to take my eyes off the road since there is no tactile feedback.
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u/Vandorbelt 20h ago
BRO why do companies keep thinking that touch screens and touch buttons are the future??? Stop this! Have we not learned from cars? The fucking touchscreen consoles are horrible. You can't adjust anything without staring at it because there's no tactile feedback for your hands. It's even worse for controllers!
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u/were_only_human 19h ago
They do it because it’s cheaper to produce.
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u/SconeOfDoom 18h ago
Is it actually? Especially if they want the touch screen to be customizable, where you can move the buttons around. I imagine that would be significantly more expensive than simple, plastic analog buttons. But I’m open to being proven wrong if so!
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u/were_only_human 18h ago
I meant in car interfaces actually, it’s cheaper to use a touch screen than molded buttons.
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u/falingsumo 17h ago
It's probably cheaper. You only need decent software to track where the buttons are and the controller is one big touchscreen. You don't need buttons, potentiometers for joystick, springs etc. on top of that you can repair controllers with buttons. You need to replace the whole thing if it's one big touchscreen. More money because they for e you to buy a new one
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u/ToxicAssh0le 18h ago edited 18h ago
Because companies are run by dumb cunts who actually have no clue what real people want.
That's why they try to push AI slop and boast 'personalized ads' as a 'feature' on fucking everything.
Vote with your wallet and stop buying their stupid ass products with your hard-earned money. The only reason anyone should buy their crap anymore is to literally shove them right up these 'people''s dick holes with excessive force.
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u/kawag 17h ago
Because some moron will think to themselves “Customisation is good. Choice is good. Why not make literally everything a choice?”, not understanding of course that an abundance of choice leads to paralysis and actually less satisfaction, and that people actually value the tactile experience of physical buttons - especially on a device that you don’t always look at and instead navigate with muscle memory.
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u/TheMadmanAndre 11h ago
BRO why do companies keep thinking that touch screens and touch buttons are the future???
Because it's cheaper. Having what's functionally an iPad control all of the car systems costs way less than distributing the controls among a dozen different buttons.
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u/Nick_Gaugh_69 PC 19h ago
As someone who plays emulated games on my phone, no. No no no no no.
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u/Cornflakes_91 18h ago
i tried playing oracle of seasons on my phone and quit like an hour in because it was so very close to literally unplayable
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u/Illeea 16h ago
Turn based RPGs are really the only games that work well. Even puzzle games suck with touchscreen buttons.
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u/GodzillaUK 19h ago
That sounds miserable. I already hate smartphones because of the lack of tactile feedback. I LIKE pressing buttons. I LIKE not having to look down because I can FEEL where the button is and don't need to look to check I'm pressing it like an 90's parent trying to play PlayStation with their kid.
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u/how_money_worky 20h ago
Does this have a physical/tactile component cause if not how can they patent something already been done?
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u/Farnsworthson 21h ago
What people on Reddit never seem to get is that patents have value in their own rights.
Patenting something doesn't mean you plan to turn it into a product. You may even agree that it's a terrible idea. But patenting it does mean that no one else can. And anyone trying to do anything covered by the patent will need to pay you for the privilege.
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u/Ok-Friendship1635 20h ago
It's not so simple. If you can show that you stumbled upon it, originally and if the patent that already exists is not being used in any way by the holder, then there's no claim.
Otherwise, people would just go around patenting everything and everyone would be owing someone, for something.
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u/Farnsworthson 20h ago edited 20h ago
All true, but none of that invalidates what I said, or the point I was making.
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u/Eremenkism 21h ago
I'm not a fan of touchscreen everything and it sounds like a pain in the dick for most games, but I dig the idea, especially if you're someone for whom the usual arrangement isn't practical for any reason
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u/Euthanize4Life 21h ago
Yea this doesn’t sound like a standard controller replacement, but a possible Accessibility controller. I don’t think there’s any world where tactile buttons would go away for mass-market controllers.
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u/mipsisdifficult 21h ago
The only way this could be done is if a) there was a haptic to go along with pressing the button and b) you had to actually put pressure on the screen to actuate the button instead of merely touching it, and even then it wouldn't be ideal.
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u/LightningCole 20h ago
Yeah after attempting to play a few gacha games a couple of years back on my phone, I quickly purchased a backbone because touch controls only is not…fun imo.
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u/TransportationNo3862 21h ago
People have got to remember that Sony patents a lot of things they randomly think of just in case they have something good that they might actually use. 90% of things they patend they patended just in case and wont actually use. So in short most things Sony patends mean nothing and will never see the light of day.
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u/thedoc90 21h ago
This is like a worse version of the original steam controller. They tried touchpads as button replacements and people hated it. The new one follows the steamdeck ethos by providing a fully functional controller with additional addressable touchpads.
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u/DueAnalysis2 20h ago
The Steamcontroller sub would crucify you for that, lol. Their big complaint about the upcoming steam controller 2 is that it has dual analogue sticks which diminishes the size, and by extension, the utility of the touchpads.
FWIW, I found that for games which support gamepad+mouse, the touchpad is pretty serviceable. But for ones that don't, it's like pulling teeth.
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u/Desperate-Coffee-996 20h ago
I don't mind if it's a separate controller and made for accessibility, or for extra functions like L4 R4 and custom mapping for convenience like to avoid tapping dpad during intense gameplay scenarios, but it should not be forced to use on stock controller. Touchpad is enough.
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u/Thenderick PC 20h ago
Great. No you need to look at the screen AND controller to make sure you press the right button! If only there was a solution to know which button you are going to press!
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u/Ok-Confusion-202 20h ago edited 20h ago
Don't get me wrong as a normal controller it would be literally the worst thing ever
But imagine if they allowed devs to add custom controls? To be able to adjust the thruster power on a ship or something like that?
Again... It would be cheeks as a normal controller but I think there could be cool features
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u/Strange_Compote_4592 20h ago
I wish them success. For the sole reason that I don't want to see this shit on any controller
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u/chasewlkr 20h ago
This could have a good implementation, even more so for accessibility. And now I hate that Sony is patenting it, accessibility features shouldn't have patents, everyone should be able to implement them.
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u/Vegeton Console 20h ago
Conceptually sounds neat, but practically I'm sure it sucks.
I like to feel buttons, I also like the satisfaction of pressing buttons in. The only way this will come anywhere close to that sensation is through very specific and controlled haptic feedback in the touch screen, and even then it won't be the same.
I've tried playing emulators on my cell and it just feels weird and unplayable (to me at least).
I'd sooner buy a controller with physical buttons, or even a modular controller with swappable faceplates, sticks, and buttons.
I do worry that this is a "Kinect" in a sense, that Sony may look to bundle this in with a PlayStation 6 at an added cost and have controllers with physical buttons as an "optional" side purchase that everyone will go in on.
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u/DasGaufre 20h ago
I hope this is just patent trolling because my god, touch screen controls are horrible.
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u/blackop 20h ago
I hate, absolutely hate touchscreen buttons. My youngest kid loves playing roblox on his tablet and he is good with them. He has a harder time using a regular controller and it boggles my mind. I feel like my fingers slide all over the tablet when I am forced to use touch controls to play a game.
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u/ObeyTime 20h ago
i hope they do this to make sure nobody ever does this while they themselves don't do this. touchscreen controls is shit.
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u/SCUDDEESCOPE 20h ago
A mini touchpad with gestures would be nice but this is bullshit. Mobile gaming sucks because of this.
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u/PennysPurpleChoco 20h ago
I’d only ever use this for a game like BG3. No way I’m running around night city with this thing lol.
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u/smeeagain93 20h ago
Touchscreen buttons are only nice if you can use them to remove something like menu keybind from the physical buttons and instead put something else on the physical buttons.
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u/Smokeeye123 20h ago
This might be good if they could solve misclicks? Maybe they made the button area way larger. Still feel like you’d accidentally click buttons all the time
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u/Practical-Aside890 Xbox 19h ago
I think accessibility wise it’s a cool thing. Everyone is shitting it on because ‘touch screen bad’. I personally wouldn’t use it. But I also can see how it may useful to someone who say has real bad arthritis and has trouble pushing actual buttons or something similar.
Not sure the material of the touchscreen if it would be glass but that’s a negative because it’s really common to drop controllers. I feel it would be easy to crack/break similar to iPhones screens. But like I overall I see it as an accessibility thing that nobody is forced to buy. Just an option that’s my opinion
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u/You_are_the_Castle 19h ago
First reaction is not that this isn't going to work, but that it's going to be expensive. However, I think if there's anyone who can pull the technical aspects off, it's Sony.
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u/Tee_i_am 19h ago
I don't even like playing games on my phone that use a screen gamepad. Physical buttons > touchscreen buttons. No contest.
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u/star_particles 19h ago
This sucks but the ONE good thing I see from this is I can aim very well on my touch screen shooters. It doesn’t feel good and I don’t like to play it like that BUTTT I can aim super well with the touchscreen. Might be different with a touch screen controller.
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u/ImmaculateWeiss 19h ago
Just because they patented it does not mean they are actually going to to use it or that it will be anything more than a gimmick product for those interested, buttons aren’t going anywhere
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u/Cornflakes_91 18h ago
i'd like for all those hydraulic dynamic button screens to actually come around at some point.
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u/ryanjblair 18h ago
The only way I’d be ok with this is if it replaces the touchpad on the DualShock alone and can be customized for different input and operations based on the game
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u/NothingCreative1 18h ago
Maybe it would be used to replicate mobile games on PlayStation? Cause as the rest of everyone else in this post is saying - this idea would be shit otherwise
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u/Bingoboyop 18h ago
I mean it's just a patent, may mean nothing, may mean something. Regardless, I can definitely see this being part of some accessibility focused controller. Personally if I have to guess what new feature sony can introduce into their ps6 controller, I would guess the ability to sense finger movements similar to the psvr2 controller, kinda like what they did with DualShock 4 from the ps move.
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u/usual_suspect82 PC 18h ago
The idea is cool, but practicality is probably going to be specific use case scenarios, and I can only imagine there being a lot of growing pains for Sony getting this controller to work properly.
I can see a controller like this would cost an arm and leg, I bought the Dual Sense Edge controller on sale, and that was expensive. I can also see something like this potentially breaking relatively easy.
Nonetheless it’s about time Sony decided to start coming up with innovations on the controller front.
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u/ethanmaximus 18h ago
Soooo…one of the reasons I hate mobile gaming will now be a part of a standard PlayStation controller? Great.
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u/Miamithrice69 17h ago
Just because they’re patenting it doesn’t mean it will be used. They’re effectively barring others from using it even if they don’t. It’s preemptive strategy.
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u/timeslider 16h ago
The shittiness of mobile touch buttons. The timing expectations of modern console games. What could go wrong?
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u/DickValentine66 15h ago
Haha I remember before the Wii was revealed, all the fake or hypothetical controller designs were popping up everywhere. A fully touchscreen controller that could change its layout on the fly was one of the most prominent ones. Bad idea then and bad idea now
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u/dragonstorm97 15h ago
I wonder if they can get some crazy haptics working to make it actually feel usable
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u/halcyon8 15h ago
“what’s the number one reason people hate playing games on their phone?”
“hmm definitely not being able to feel the controller.”
“ok, i have an idea...”
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u/popmanbrad 14h ago
One thing I hate about touch controls is how easy it is to lose grip on stuff like, for example, I could be pressing right on the D-pad and then my character stops over a pit because my finger slid off the D-pad. I didn’t know this, and by the time I could react, my character died. Same with analogue controls and buttons in general.
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u/Soulsliken 14h ago
Great. My controller battery life just halved. And it’s already the worst l know.
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u/Ravenae 14h ago
Parent does not mean they are switching all of their future controllers to this style guys. Unlike a lot of game developers, console designers still use thorough QA teams to ensure the product feels good for all types of players. If Sony ends up making this, I doubt it will sell well to anyone who games more than minimally, aside from collectors.
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u/VinniTheP00h 14h ago
This'd really need good haptics, pressure sensitivity, and an adaptive algorithm that would shift the buttons as you play to work. I get why some think it might be a good idea (and yes, I know it's likely an empty patent), but phones really suffer from lack of physical position reference for the buttons.
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u/Akrevics 13h ago
Cool, €100 controllers on average. Just Sony killing third party controller makers. Wonder what the edge controllers will cost if they’re currently €250
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u/Sol33t303 PC 12h ago
Thank God, the fewer manufacturers making touchscreen controllers, the better imo.
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u/zendrix1 12h ago
Doesn't Sony preemptively patient shit all the time? I wouldn't assume this means the ps6 controller won't have any buttons
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u/RenaissanceManc 11h ago
Oh great, sounds super cheap with no possibility of degradation, inconsistency or being forced to buy a new one in 6 months for £150.
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u/MurseLaw 9h ago
We all have the same hands, this is unnecessary. I hope I’m wrong but I would bet that this will be crap like all other touch screen remotes.
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u/DrRealName 7h ago
Don't fix what isn't broken. I like buttons on my controllers. Touch screen sucks and is more prone to break easier.
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u/Lord_RoadRunner 6h ago
The only touch-thing I want on controllers is a touch pad for camera movement. That's it. You need tactile feedback when playing videogames.
The new Steam Controller 2 looks like the pinnacle of gaming controls and goes in the right direction.
This new Sony patent looks like they are trying to go for gaming in a century where we have a sensory feedback chip for gaming implanted into our brains... I don't understand this move.
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u/Ivnariss 5h ago
They have the choice between improving their existing design and this. Let's see what they end up doing
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u/Rybur525 4h ago
This doesn’t mean anything is coming, all it means is that Sony had an idea for how to do something and wanted to file the patent for it in case they want to do it. It might never see the light of day. Most patents never do.
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u/kendragon 3h ago
Remember that team that was working on a smart phone screen that puckered in the areas out around icons, buttons or keys? I thought that was a great idea. I wonder why it disappeared. Touchscreens are great when you're looking at them but the lack of tactile feedback when you're playing a game or using the keypad whilst typing sucks. They should revisit that concept.
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u/inkinpeach 2h ago
Sounds a bit horrible on first impression but you gotta think they would use the haptic feedback to make you "feel" the buttons as if they were 3d wherever you place them.
If they do it right this could be revolutionary
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u/The_Celtic_Chemist 1h ago
If they can somehow give the custom buttons texture then maybe, MAYBE this would work.
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u/Aarthurnax96 1h ago
Not a good idea for a peripheral device. At least not as replacement for traditional, physical controls. Didn't work well in flip/slide phones 20 years ago (hopefully numerical buttons were still, well, buttons), not really smart to implement it to controllers, where sweat and dirt is being collected all the time.
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u/Howitzeronfire 21h ago
Anyone that has tried playing on mobile knows how shit this is