This could be a (pun-intended) game changer…
Having pushed immersion in gaming to a new level with the recently released PSVR2, the folks at PlayStation are pushing that envelope once again, if the patent on their new controller is to be believed.
The new tech would include a magnetic fluid which, when used within the haptic feedback of the PlayStation controller, can adjust the shape, hardness and temperature of what the player is interacting with. As per the patent application, Sony describes it as follows:
“A controller having a sensor using an elastically deformable elastic member, the controller comprising: a temperature control section that is connected to an information processing apparatus, the temperature control section being configured to change a temperature of the elastic member in response to a signal input from the information processing apparatus.”
Additionally, it would be a “controller comprising: a sensor using an elastically deformable elastic member, the sensor being configured to detect user’s contact with or deforming action of the elastic member and output an electric signal based on the detected contact or deforming action; and a temperature control section configured to change a temperature of the elastic member according to an electric signal output from the sensor.”
Essentially, this means that when your character in the game is near a fire, the controller will “heat up”, or if you’re playing the colder levels of, say, God Of War Ragnarok, the controller will “cool down”, giving real time temperature feedback to the player.
Between that and the fluid potentially matching the shape and density of certain items you interact with in the games, the level of low-key but inventive immersion for the player could be spectacular.
Whether or not these inventions will arrive for the current generation of PlayStation, or if Sony might save them for the arrival of the PS6, we’ll have to wait and see.
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