Sony Patents Controller That Has Buttons Becoming Harder Or Softer In Reaction To Gameplay

Sony Interactive Entertainment has filed a new patent for a controller that is able to react to gameplay and have its buttons become harder or softer as a result.

Spotted by Cheat Happens, the patent was filed last month and mentions the buttons on the controller are manufactured out of smart, magnetically responsive composite materials that can become soft or harder depending on the magnetic field’s strength. As an example, the patent notes that when a character is walking through swampy terrain the buttons would become softer, and would harden when the player is scaling a mountain.

The operating device can dynamically change the hardness of the contact part in response to external control commands. Therefore, by sending control commands to the operating device, the information processing device can change the hardness of the contact section in real time.

Elsewhere, the patent also describes a ‘finger grab’ effect, where buttons become softer to allow the player’s fingers to sink in and then harder to hold them, which is used to simulate being grabbed in-game.

It should be noted that Sony has filed many patents over the years for new technology and devices, but it doesn’t necessarily mean they will materialise down the line. Still, it does give us an idea of what the hardware manufacturer is looking at possibly implementing in the future.

Back in January this year, the format holder filed a patent for technology that allows players to call on an AI-generated ‘ghost’ version of their character to complete a stage or find a solution to an area you are stuck on. Whether or not any of these patents could be related to Sony’s as-yet unannounced PS6 remains to be seen.

[Source – Cheat Happens via VGC]