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Sony surprised with the introduction of the two-way controller a few days ago. The futuristic-looking gamepad for the upcoming Playstation 5 was quietly shown via Twitter and discussed in more detail in a later blog post. However, the information published was not very extensive, making the search for breadcrumbs understandable. Even until the concrete facts about Playstation 5 were on the table, the situation was similar with respect to the console hardware.
At the moment, claims about the additional functions of the two-way controller are going around and there is also talk of an expandable “touch screen” in addition to the confirmed touch panel. However, rumors in this form should not be true because the underlying source is unfounded.
Questionable report with “new” old patent
The starting point for the alleged “news” about the double meaning is the Pakistani side segmentonext.com. A current report talks about a patent that was allegedly published at the same time as the blog post on the PS5 controller. However, there is no direct link or specification of the patent number. At the end only a written reference to the United States Patent Office (USPTO) is mentioned.
In fact, no public patent from Sony and its subsidiaries Sony Computer Entertainment and Sony Interactive Entertainment, published in that period, addresses the described properties. If you use the images and quotes as a basis, you come across an already dusty and well-known patent from last year. The presentation took place in February 2019. The document has been accessible to the public since June 2019, as you can read here, among other things.
The passages of text and images cited are not related to each other. Furthermore, the text has been changed in a misleading and unrecognizable way. An important and decisive text extract is missing, while the reference numbers for the illustrations necessary for the classification have been omitted without comment.
They do not refer to the drawings shown in the message, which show the well-known Dualshock 4 controller, nor to the Dualsense controller, but to a completely different design, in which the touchpad is arranged under the analog sticks and that D- Pad was supplemented by a so-called “3D control bar”. As is well known, neither has reached the final design of the two-way controller.
Source: Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.
The original patent text also states: “In one embodiment, the touchpad 26 can be coupled with a display screen to provide a touchscreen interface as part of the controller.”
The deciding factor here are the first three words, which only refer to one possible option, whereby Sony legally guarantees that such patent will also be valid in the event that a touchscreen takes the place of the touchpad.
That would be the case if, as described in the patent, the touchpad and display are connected to each other, resulting in a touchscreen interface. There is no reference in the patent to coupling an additional touchscreen, as incorrectly stated multiple times in the original article on segmentonext.com.
Also worth reading: Sony Introduces PS5 Dualsense Controller with Touch Feedback
But that does not mean that all the ideas in the patent are unfounded or have been rejected. For example, it also talks about an integrated micron array, which also has the two-way controller. However, regarding claims on a touch screen, an oversized barrel of salt must be opened and the message from segmentsnext.com should not be taken at face value.
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