Sony Interactive Entertainment [Japan] has recently published a patent that describes a remote control used for playing games on a device coupled between two controller grips.
That might sound a little vague, but in practice, it equates to a PlayStation 4-esque controller sandwiching your mobile device.
This marks the first time that Sony has taken this sort of step into the mobile marketplace.
The patent describes it as being a; “left-side grip portion and a right-side grip portion gripped by the left and right hands of the user”.
In lamens, it’s a DualShock version of a Razer Kishi, the Backbone One, or the GameSir X2. And if you have any experience with any of those devices, you’ll know what this patent might be like.
Looking at the patent, the device apparently features; “a shaft portion that can be tilted by the user, and detect the tilting direction and tilting amount of the shaft portion”.
This suggests some use of gyroscopic control, similar to what was available with the DualShock 4.
Of course, Sony isn’t currently a big name in the mobile-sphere. This might be about to change, however. Some further credence comes following Jim Ryan’s comments at an investor’s day Q&A session earlier this year;
“We have been thinking about how players enjoy our content and have had some early success with experimenting with mobile games and apps to provide more choice to gamers. Mobile is just one of the areas we are exploring to reach millions of gamers beyond our platforms.
PlayStation has a huge catalogue of diverse first-party IP that can transition to smartphone gaming and complement our AAA games or live service games. We are exploring the mobile market with some wonderful PlayStation franchises so please stay tuned”.
[via/VGC]
Of course, just because the patent is there doesn’t mean the device will be readily available anytime soon. However, it could be an interesting time for PlayStation fans, especially in the mobile market.
ABG’s Senior Editor (News), YouTube content creator/streamer.