Sony is a juggernaut in the gaming space. The company has the massive multi-generational success of the PlayStation family of consoles and first-party games to thank for that. Now, it seems that Sony is looking to innovate the PlayStation brand with a new customizable controller.
According to recently revealed patents, Sony has a new customizable controller in the works that features a “swappable, rotatable button cluster” and a “customizable touch interface.” For many gamers, these words conjure visions of the disastrous Wii U that has trapped games to this day. But these patents reveal that Sony has plans to make this new controller fair better than its Nintendo predecessor.
The patents reveal that the controller’s “customizable touch interface” refers to UI elements on the screen. In theory, players would be able to change certain visual elements on the screen, allowing for controls that players could tweak to their own personal style. This could also refer to customizable actions such as swiping in a certain direction to reload a weapon or use a special. It could even refer to allowing developers to alter the screen for various purposes, such as in Hideo Kojima's rumored Silent Hill entry.
The controller will also feature a “swappable, rotatable button cluster.” While it is not entirely clear what this could mean, it is clear that player customization appears to be the primary focus of this controller. The button cluster in question appears to be configurable in a number of ways. The implications of this are vague, but exciting. If the controller is too unwieldy for certain players to use, as was a complaint levied against the Wii U, some of its issues could be resolved simply by allowing players the freedom to customize their controls.
While many enjoyed the Wii U, it was an objective commercial failure. Part of the reason the console failed was poor integration of its touch screen controller. It was and still is an interesting concept, but a failure to capitalize on its uniqueness is what ultimately killed the system. Sony is obviously hoping to avoid a similar fate, and it seems that the company is placing a lot of stock in customization to make this new controller viable. Maybe these features could be put to use in one of Sony's upcoming rumored remakes.
Most of what is known about the new Sony controller is vague. It is still unclear how these admittedly cool features will affect gameplay for a given title. If Sony wants to avoid going the way of the Wii U, they will have to ensure that these unique features give players a reason to change up the way they play. No matter what happens though, one thing is clear: Sony is looking to innovate the industry in a lot of ways, and their focus now seems to be shifting towards their controllers. Something big is on the way.