Images from a patent just filed by Sony tickle the fancy of the millions of gamers waiting for the release of the new PlayStation
About a year before the debut of the PlayStation 5, expected for the 2020 Christmas holidays, Sony gets from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) the registration of a patent related to a new type of controller, which could equip just the PS5.
This is a device very similar in shape to the DualShock 4, but that shows some small and significant differences such as the presence of new buttons on the back. Like all patents also this one, released on December 26, is not necessarily going to become reality. However, Sony has announced a few days ago the arrival of an additional device, called Back Button Attachment, which adds new buttons to the DualShock 4. The most credible hypothesis, at this point, is that the newly patented device will be the controller of the PS5 while the addition of the Back Button Attachment to the DualShock 4 will allow the latter to become compatible with the future Sony 2020 console.
The new Sony patented controller
The front of the controller just patented by Sony is very similar to that of the DualShock 4: there is a digital pad on the left, two analog sticks in the middle and the four classic buttons on the right. The PlayStation button is missing. At the back, however, there are two additional buttons that would appear to be programmable. The patent shows different types of controller layouts, so Sony is still studying the best position and function for these two new buttons.
Will it be the PS5 controller?
This patent precedes the launch of the PlayStation 5 by exactly one year, but it’s not necessarily about the controller of Sony’s new console. One detail, for example, would seem to negate this hypothesis: it has a microUSB connector and not USB-C. This could mean that it’s actually a new controller to be used on the PS4, or that the patent request was made before choosing USB-C as the connection for the PS5 controller.
The presentation of the Back Button Attachment, finally, would suggest that this new controller is the one of the PlayStation 5, while the DualShock 4 upgrade will serve to make the existing controllers compatible with the new console. Or, what is always possible when we talk about patents, this new controller will never see the light.