Fascinating stuff

Move's a simple beast, really: glowing sphere, gyrometers, accelerometers and that's about it. But what if it could be more? Recently revealed patents filed by Sony show the different avenues the controller could have taken in its route to market, including analogue sticks, twistable balls and a pressure-sensitive sphere enabling the controller to function like a traditional joystick.

Essentially the controller would be changeable, allowing you to use its different configurations depending on its orientation: want to use it like a joystick? Push it against a table. Want to use the ball on top to navigate? Hold it upright and navigate away.

Probably the patent we'd most like to see is the controller featuring an analogue stick built-in, which could bring new life to first-person shooters and horror titles: imagine navigating a Project Zero title using just one controller.

Of course, as always these are granted patent applications and not necessarily any indication of what Sony is planning to bring to market, but they're still fascinating insights into goes on behind the scenes at Sony.

[source playstationlifestyle.net]