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Sony Patents PlayStation Controller With Buttons That Hardern & Soften Based on Gameplay
Story Highlight
- A new Sony patent discusses a PlayStation controller with buttons that dynamically harden and soften.
- The hardness of these buttons can change based on gameplay and personal preferences.
- The buttons might feel softer when a user is traveling through a swamp in-game, and vice versa.
Console controllers still rely on fixed-feel buttons and joysticks despite improvements across multiple generations. Sony is now exploring a concept that lets players experience different tactile sensations based on gameplay and personal preferences.
We at Cheat Happens have dug up a new Sony patent that will change the 'feel' of controls by altering button hardness in real-time. The invention discusses contact parts whose hardness changes dynamically via a new hardness control unit.
The contact part (buttons) can be made of magnetoviscoelastic elastomer—a mouthful, I know—that softens or hardens based on magnetic field strength. Other hardware methods, like fluid-filled membranes, are also explored that aim to achieve the same goal
Sony's goal here is to let players experience different tactile feels for an enhanced sense of realism and adaptability.
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.
Why it matters: Besides haptics, tactile feedback in console controllers still has a lot of room to grow. The ability to change button hardness could help controllers adapt to different gameplay scenarios in real-time.
The patent called 'OPERATION DEVICE, INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS, CONTROL METHOD THEREOF, AND PROGRAM' aims to enhance immersion in different ways.
One embodiment talks about a 'finger grab' effect, where buttons soften to let fingers sink in and then harden to hold them, simulating being grabbed in-game. The buttons can also soften to mold around the user's fingers, then harden to lock shape to prevent slippage.
For gameplay examples, the buttons may soften when a user is walking through a swamp in-game, and vice versa. Meanwhile, the button mold effect could trigger when a player is climbing up a mountain.
The information processing device hardens the contact section when the user character controlled by the user is touching a hard object or moving on hard ground. In contrast, when the user character is touching soft objects or moving over muddy ground such as swamps, the contact section is softened.
A structure that changes the hardness of the contact part.
Similarly, the ability to soften or harden buttons can also be used for accessibility purposes. The buttons can adapt to palms, elbows, or other external objects for input.
Sony has published a variety of other patents over the decades, such as one that describes a unique way to transform phones into PlayStation controllers and another that outlines a PSSR breakthrough to end FPS drops in games.
Do you think the technology proposed in the patent should be realized as an actual feature? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
