Sony Patents PlayStation Controller With a Touchscreen, Possibly for PS5

Sony has filed a patent for what appears to be a PlayStation controller that uses a touchscreen, perhaps hinting at a new device or one for the next generation of consoles.

Spotted first on Reddit (via MP1st), Sony Interactive Entertainment's patent for the touchscreen-enabled device was filed back in September 29, 2017, before being made public on October 16, 2018. An abstract description for the product included some vague language that referenced a touchscreen situated between in the middle of either side of the console, that full description found below.

"A controller for interfacing wirelessly with a computing device is provided, including the following: a housing defined by a main body, a first extension extending from a first end of the main body, and a second extension extending from a second end of the main body, the first extension and the second extension for holding by a first hand and a second hand of a user, respectively; a touchscreen defined along the top surface of the main body between the first extension and the second extension; a first set of buttons disposed on the top surface of the main body proximate to the first extension and on a first side of the touchscreen; and a second set of buttons disposed on the top surface of the main body proximate to the second extension and on a second side of the touchscreen."

An image of the controller shown above depicts how it would be designed, the touchscreen referenced above situated between the sides of the controller where players would naturally grip it. While other PlayStation devices such as the Scuf Vantage have a similar bar there that can be used to control settings like microphone volume, more descriptions within the patent indicated that the touchscreen could be used to control elements on the players' TV or monitor and "display various images."

"In one embodiment, the touch panel 26 can be coupled with a display screen to provide a touchscreen interface as part of the controller. The touchscreen interface can be controlled by an interactive application to display various images in accordance with the interactive application. For example, the touchscreen might display an image which delineates regions of the touchscreen that correspond to various functionalities for the interactive application. As another example, the touchscreen might display a line which indicates a gesture that the user may perform. The user might trace the line shown on the touchscreen so as to perform the indicated gesture. As yet another example, the touchscreen might be configured to display a gesture or gestures of the user, by providing a visual trace line of where the user touched and swiped/moved their finger(s) along the touchscreen. In one embodiment, the touchscreen is configured to display the most recent gesture or gestures which have been performed on the touchscreen. By way of example, older gestures may be eliminated from display when a new gesture is detected, or trace lines may be configured to fade from display over time or be eliminated from display after a preset time has elapsed."

Sony's patent could be for an idea that it's currently toying with for the PlayStation 4, but it could also be alluding to a controller for the PlayStation 5, a device that Sony confirmed was in the works in some capacity.