What madness is this? Our pals over at our sister site GameSpot have unearthed a patent for a Sony controller that combines the standard DualShock with its Move wand.
The result looks a little like a cut and shut, but it could make for a handy space saver, giving gamers the best of both worlds.
The controller would snap together to work as a standard DualShock. But then pull it apart, and you've got both parts of a PlayStation Move controller, for motion-sensitive gaming. A magnetometer and accelerometer enable the motion controls, and there's vibration feedback too. Audio would also play through an embedded speaker, which would be great for receiving radio commands from a squadmate in a first-person shooter, for example.
The patent was originally filed in May last year, but was only published yesterday.
According to one of the diagrams accompanying the patent, the PlayStation Eye camera will work with it, too. It's not clear whether the controller is meant for the PS3 or PS4, so we could be in for a bit of a wait before it hits the shelves. If it ever does, that is.
The PS4 is rumoured to be 'very affordable', unlike the PS3 and other Sony consoles before it. But that doesn't mean it'll scrimp on the specs. It's said to have a Blu-ray drive, a 256GB hard drive, and up to 32GB of RAM. But it could have a fight on its hands. Microsoft is said to be working on an Xbox set-top box for casual gaming, as well as the Xbox 720. Nintendo, meanwhile, launched its Wii U in the UK yesterday. It's bringing out a Wii Mini console in Canada as well, offering casual thrills on a budget.
Would you use this hybrid controller? What next-gen console are you most looking forward to? Let me know in the comments, or on Facebook.
Image credit: Free Patents Online
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Comments 8
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anonymous 1 December, 2012 18:49
Stupidest thing I have EVER seen!
Peter Hudson 1 December, 2012 19:24
I don't know anon, haven't you seen the Wii U?
anonymous 1 December, 2012 22:51
@Peter Hudson 1 December, 2012 19:24
I have seen the Wii U and I have to say the GamePad looks and works a lot better than I initially thought it would. This however, looks like Frankenstein's monster and would not be released if Sony had any sense.
Going by the creation of the Move controller and the lack of success of the Vita, I would say they don't!
anonymous 2 December, 2012 07:07
@peter Hudson
This looks terrible!
I received my wii u on release date and its awesome I have not used my tv once! I was reluctant to get it but it is an A* console, cnets review of it is awful and has given it 3 stars for battery life and small storage even though you put sd cards in and stretch the storage.
The wii on the other hand for me was not a good console. But still sold more consoles than Sony have and still more than Microsoft.
leoevs44 2 December, 2012 08:59
Must say i dont quite like the look of this controller, surley soney can come up with something better, and as for the wii u, i have been playing it for a couple of days now with a friend and its horrid, the controller is way to big my daughter van even get her hans around it, the screen is very low quality images are grainy,you have to take youre eyes of the tv to do things on the touchpad which is pathetic,and seeing ps3 and xbox360 have been out a number of years only now nintendo can just about match them, next year is rumored xbox720 and ps4, so what at nintendo going to do then their still playing catchup, the latter consoles will be multiple times more powerfull going into the true next gen consoles,nintendo you suck.....
Peter Hudson 2 December, 2012 10:07
I wasn't saying that this controller looks good, it looks rubbish. It was more a commentary on how rubbish the Wii U is. I was willing to give the WiiU a chance but when all the reviews say the hardware isn't that great and the launch line up consists of sub-par ports and fairly uninspiring original games, you cant help but feel a bit let down.
eddo85 3 December, 2012 09:58
super ugly but a good step in the right direction
anonymous 3 December, 2012 11:23
@Peter Hudson 2 December, 2012 10:07
I think the WiiU has been released with some questionable games. However, as with any console, we will see the best that the console is able to do within the next couple of years at very least.
That being said, the hardware is revolutionary and I predict that Sony (and to some extent Microsoft as well) will copy the hardware.