Sony has filed new patents for a new gaming glove controller, leading to speculation that it will be used in conjunction with the upcoming PlayStation VR headset.
Ever since Sony unveiled its PlayStation VR headset two years ago, gamers have been eagerly awaiting the release of the company's first efforts into the world of VR gaming. But if recently revealed Sony patents are to be believed, it appears that gamers may be getting more than just a sleek-looking headset when the PlayStation VR launches this fall.
A NeoGAF forum thread has revealed that Sony filed three new patents with the United States Patent and Trademark Office for a gaming glove controller back in 2014, but the details were only published publicly this week. The thread states that the three patent applications describe a "glove controller for use with a head-mounted display," which presumably refers to Sony's PlayStation VR headset.
While these patents don't necessarily mean that Sony is working on a new glove controller, there is excitement brewing over what Sony has in store for the future since these are the patents in question:
- 14/517733 | Thumb Controller
- 14/517741 | Glove Interface Object
- 14/503275 | Systems and Methods for Providing Feedback to a User While Interacting With Content
It also appears that Sony's hypothetical VR glove controller may be used for more than just video games, as part of the glove's patent description states that it can also used for entertainment, sports-related activities, travel-related activities, and even human-to-human contact such as shaking hands with another remote user.
Additionally, if this portion of the glove's description is anything to go by, it seems like there may soon be a new way to share information and conduct business meetings:
"The users may be co-located or interfacing in a shared space or shared game from remote locations using a cloud gaming system, networked device and/or social networked collaboration space.
In some embodiments, a glove may be used by one or more remote users to interact in a collaborative way to examine documents, screens, applications, diagrams, business information, or the like."
For all the additional applications that Sony's hypothetical VR glove can be used for, what gamers will be most interested in is seeing how effectively this VR glove can be applied to video games, especially with Sony stirring up anticipation over a potential virtual reality RPG when the company trademarked the phrase "VRPG" just last month.
Seeing as how patents for a Sony head-mounted display were uncovered just before Sony announced the PlayStation VR, perhaps an announcement for a glove controller is coming in the near future. Whether VR gaming will be the next big thing in the industry is still up in the air, but there is a sense of optimism as analysts have already predicted that the PlayStation VR will be a massive success.
With the future of VR gaming nearly here, the upcoming months will prove very interesting for the industry and Sony. It remains to be seen whether a Sony VR glove controller actually exists, but at the very least, it can't be any worse than Nintendo's disastrous Power Glove.