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Old Sony Patent Shows Controller Similar To The Wii U

VentureBeat.com has uncovered an old Sony patent that shows a device with similar functionality to the Wii U and the Kinect.

The patent for the "Position-Dependent Gaming 3-D controller" was filed in 2010 and looks very similar to the Wii U's tablet controller. As you can see in the image above, it also looks capable of full body interaction with science fiction robot shooting games that feature at least one pyramid.

There is no telling if Sony is still pursuing such a device, but it seems like the Vita could be perfectly suited for it. The handheld has connectivity options with the PlayStation 3, built in cameras, and a touch screen. Sounds like it might be able to handle everything this patent is showing off.

[via VentureBeat and US Patent and Trademark Office]

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Comments
  • "it also looks capable of full body interaction with science fiction robot shooting games that feature at least one pyramid." ^made me laugh. Sounds interesting. And will probably just help Sony lose more money if produced.
  • That thing looks (fill in the blank)
  • Omg i didn't see it coming! What a surprise......

  • Glad sony decided to go to the dualshock in stead.
  • More expensive clunky technology for use to buy.

  • That could actually be cool. What disturbs me is that it looks like it might use x-rays.

  • I'm usually the last person to buy any weird gizmos for my consoles/pc, all I want is a joystick for my flying sims and thats about it... I don't see why they need to pursue the stupid concepts. wii is just plain annoying (made me feel brain dead after few minutes), move is just weird to use (good way to destroy your house or an excuse to punch people around you) and kinect has so much potential as a stand alone piece of kit and instead they dumb it down so people who cant use a controller can play xbox.

    These people need to stop throwing money down the sinkhole at every rurn and focus on developing the next consoles or more first party games. I would much rather have better, bigger games with more freedom, better AI and graphics and then play them with a standard controller rather than an expensive piece of plastic discarded in the corner of the room.
  • Hm... good thing I don't have a ps3. I might not need to buy this.

  • I could go for some robot arms.

  • :| All I know is I want the Vita. Beautiful piece of hardware. I was skeptical until I handled one and fell in love. Fits right in the hand, great looking graphics, well-placed controls that work well and a screen that pops. It's got everything a great handheld needs, so I hope they back it up with some good games, otherwise it'll fail in the US.
  • It's quite obviously the X-Ray peripheral *Lead vest sold separately
  • whats cool about the first image its the fact that you see player 1 playing his favorite game and player 2 its aiming the 3d controller at player 1 and sees him as a robot aiming his laser pistol at the tv, talk about enhance reality...

  • weird, strange but sounds awesome. . . . . or not i don't know  but it seems cool, but are they going to make that though. hell i don't know

  • They must have hired an artist to draw those pictures.

  • Robot arms never hurt.
  • Perhaps this is the product that lead to Reeverbot.

  • LOLWUT?

  • OMG they are sooooo ripping Nintendo off. Geeze Sonies, why can't you ever come up with your own ideas.

    /shouldn't need to say it

  • The PSU. Well, it's still a better name than the Wii U.

  • Okay, after reviewing this again, I uh... Still don't really get it. It's like a tablet controller with AR, or something.
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