The Wii U might have been one of Nintendo’s biggest flops, but it seems that a new Xbox controller could borrow one of the system’s better ideas. According to a new patent from Turtle Beach, the company is currently looking into creating an Xbox controller that would feature its very own touch screen. From what can be seen in the patent’s diagram, it seems the screen could be used in multiple ways, including selecting different controller loadouts, posting to social media, adjusting the audio, tracking a player’s performance in the current game, and more! It would also apparently sync with mobile devices.
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Images from the patent can be found below.
From the images, it looks like the touchscreen on Turtle Beach’s proposed controller would be significantly smaller than the one on the Wii U, but that might actually be a good thing; for one thing, it would be a lot less cumbersome. The Wii U’s touchscreen was used for a lot of different things, including remote play, but that doesn’t seem to be what Turtle Beach is going for with this design. Instead, the peripheral company seems to be focused on smaller, practical uses. Depending on how the design is pulled off, it could actually add some nice quality-of-life improvements, particularly for players that like to have multiple controller loadouts, or those that like to share a lot of screenshots and videos on social media. Unfortunately, there’s no way of knowing how much the controller might cost.
It’s worth noting that many patents get filed and never end up being used for real products. A few years ago, PlayStation filed for a patent that would have turned every day items (such as bananas) into “virtual controllers.” Sadly, that one never saw release, and it’s possible that this new Xbox design from Turtle Beach could face a similar fate. There’s simply no way of knowing for sure until we get some type of announcement from Microsoft and Turtle Beach. For now, Xbox fans will just have to wait and see!
Would you be interested in a touchscreen controller for Xbox? Do you think this design will ever see release? Let us know in the comments or sharedirectly onTwitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!
[H/T: Game Rant]
