A future iteration of the DualSense, an official controller for the PS5 that Sony launched alongside what was then its brand-new console in November 2020, may feature a special button that allows players to rewind their games, according to a new patent application that has been spotted online. The patent, which is titled “Game Play Rewind with User Triggered Bookmarks” and lists Sony Interactive Entertainment as the applicant, includes several diagrams, with one of the more notable ones depicting a first-generation PlayStation controller that features a rewind button near the directional pad. See below for that diagram and an abstract for the patent, which notes the implementation of a new user interface.
A method including receiving actuation of a universal button on a controller during live game play of a video game, wherein image frames of the live game play are displayed in sequential order, wherein a current image frame is being displayed when the universal button is actuated. The method including receiving selection of a rewind mode from features presented in a user interface displayed simultaneous with the live game play in response to the actuation of the universal button. The method including accessing from storage a subset of captured image frames generated for the game play. The method including entering the rewind mode by automatically switching from displaying the live game play to displaying the subset of captured image frames in reverse beginning from the current image frame. The method including responding to rewind controller inputs for controlling the displaying of the subset of captured image frames in rewind mode.
Discussion (7 replies)
Join Discussion →The rewind button for Chessmaster on the NES is how I learned to play Chess (and beat the computer everytime)
Rewind is something I am used to with emulators, or newer ports of old games (like DN3D), but for natively-running modern games?!?!
new Sony controller patent unearthed
Sony has patented a controller with buttons that harden when you play with it
Sony Interactive Entertainment has published an intriguing patent for a new type of controller whose buttons can alter their resistance and tactile feel - becoming harder or softer - to adapt to what's being shown on screen. Sony initially filed the patent application with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the United Nations' patents agency, in November 2024. It was officially published in May this year, as uncovered by Cheat Happens.
According to the patent, the controller would adapt - either based on gameplay or personal preferences - by changing the hardness and resistance of the underlying mechanisms that respond to each button press. This is achieved using a magneto-viscoelastic elastomer, a material capable of hardening and softening based on inputs from attached magnets.
Said magnets can be controlled by the game, creating a magnetic field that varies in strength based on the action on screen. Sony's designs also indicate potentially utilising fluid-filled membranes to achieve a similar effect.
Elsewhere in the patent, there's a look at a different design that allows the player's finger to "sink" into the button itself, and for the button to harden around it. This could perhaps be used to simulate being grabbed by an enemy, or getting stuck in mud, though the usage isn't entirely clear from the language.
https://www.eurogamer.net/sony-controller-soft-hard-buttons-patent
Oh huh, expanding the Adaptive Trigger functionality to the face buttons huh?
Does anyone remember the pressure-sensitive buttons of the DualShock 2, the DualShock 3, and the original Xbox controllers?
So Wait... the "Button" Can get harder when the 'game' wants it to? Can it also be hard to find but very reactive to stimulation?
Asking for a friend...
Not sure any of the engineering team are female.
The lack of diversity. Definitely shows.