Mobile gaming: Is Sony planning a controller for smartphones?

The mobile gaming market is booming. Sony knows this, too, so it’s hardly surprising that PlayStation boss Jim Ryan sees enormous growth potential in mobile gaming. A new patent from SIE (Sony Interactive Entertainment) now indicates that the company is planning a PlayStation controller for use on smartphones.

Sony controller for mobile games shows up in patent

Sony has had its eye on the mobile games market for some time with its PlayStation division. After saying goodbye to the in-house handheld consoles such as PS Vita, one could enter the market of smartphone games in the future.

At least, this is what a new patent indicates, which shows the concept of a PlayStation controller for use on smartphones. The website Videogameschronicles has discovered a corresponding entry including a picture at Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) Japan.

The patent image reminds us of the Dualshock 4 controller of the PlayStation 4 and not of the innovative DualSense of the PS5. The picture shows a gamepad with two classic grips, in which the user’s own smartphone is inserted in the center. The design is somewhat reminiscent of the Nacon MG-X in Xbox design.

Sony and mobile games

Mobile games, but also game streaming via Google Stadia, GeForce Now, Microsoft xCloud or just PlayStation Now is growing in popularity. It is conceivable that the PlayStation Mobile gaming controller could also be used for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 remote play in addition to PS Now.

Via PlayStation Remote Play, it is possible to stream titles from the PS4 and PS5 directly from the console to a smartphone, tablet, PC or notebook. PS Remote Play is available for Android smartphones and tablets, iPhones or iPads, Windows PCs and Macs, and PS5 and PS4 consoles.

PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan had only recently promised to make some iconic PlayStation game series available for mobile platforms and even before the end of the current fiscal year, i.e. before March 2022. The future racer Wipeout is supposed to be the first title in early 2022.