Valve patented controller?

[RA92]

So, I've been hearing a lot of rumors about a Valve console after Gabe's hints that he wants to get into the hardware business - which I think is a bit of a far cry. Gabe so far has only shown interest in creating input devices.

Which makes this patent by Valve interesting.

http://www.faqs.org/patents/app/20110105231#b

"A game controller is provided. One or more main control input interfaces on the game controller consist of generalized sockets. A variety of modular input interfaces can be plugged into these sockets. Hardware specific to the input type of the modular input is contained within the modular input itself, and plugged in via an interface. This allows for dual analog sticks, a combination of analog and trackball, or further any combination of touchpad, directional pad, or additional components."



http://www.faqs.org/patents/img/20110105231_03.png
http://www.faqs.org/patents/img/20110105231_04.png



Thoughts?

 

[Gorilla Gunk]

It looks kind of... bad.

The placement of the buttons and analogue sticks seem weird.

 

[DazZ.]

It looks kind of... bad.

The placement of the buttons and analogue sticks seem weird.

That's not what's patented, the ability to change the things around is what you're looking at.

 

[VonKlaw]

Seems like a reasonable enough idea I guess, but doesn't it seem abit...pointless?

 

[Cronq]

Not a bad idea at all. Although, most people treat their controllers pretty rough and I'd be too afraid it would smash into pieces when I threw it against the wall...

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

Seems like a great idea to me for 2 reasons.

1. It lets people set up their controller in a way that's most comfortable for them rather than what the manufacturer thinks is comfortable. I'm always for the consumer being able to customize things for comfort.

2. If part of the controller gets broken (like one of the buttons stops working, or one of the joysticks wears out) you wouldn't have to rebuy the entire controller, just that one controller part.

 

[dessertmonkeyjk]

I'm not too sure about this... the fact that the PS3 and Xbox 360 share near identical layouts makes it fairly easy to map input for both platforms. Chances are that the number of combinations you can do with these module inputs won't be supported and may be asked for specifically for certian games in order to operate correctly. The same can be said for PC games requiring joystick input instead of mouse & keyboard.

If anyone can figure out what games can benefit with this kind of input swapping (besides arcade fighting games) then lay it down.

 

[Ieyke]

There are actually plenty of applications for this. First and foremost among examples that spring to mind, if you can keep your two joysticks that you know you actually use and can replace the d-pad with a more useful set of maybe 8 actual buttons for weapon selecting or key items, would that not make waaaay more sense than limiting yourself to only 4 weapon hot keys shoehorned onto the d-pad that is actually designed for use as directional controls?

Also, this might potentially hold the key to creating a controller layout that actually works well with RTSs, or a controller actually capable of rivaling a mouse and keyboard.

I think you folks should give Valve the benefit of the doubt. They generally tend to know what they're doing, and they do it brilliantly, and they only do frivolous things if they intend to give it away for free (e.g. hats).
Maybe this is just a "just in case patent" while they evaluate possibilities.

 

[Hazy992]

Uhh, isn't this kinda what Mad Catz has already done with the MLG Pro Circuit Controller [http://www.madcatz.com/mlg/360_controller.htm]?

 

[Space Spoons]

I think it's sort of a step backward, to be honest. The entire reason I play Valve games on my PC and not my Xbox is that they handle so much better with a keyboard and mouse. Why would I ever want to go back to a controller?

 

[DazZ.]

Why would I ever want to go back to a controller?

In case you want to play a fighting/platform/racing/flight sim/local splitscreen multiplayer game.

 

[Space Spoons]

Why would I ever want to go back to a controller?

In case you want to play a fighting/platform/racing/flight sim/local splitscreen multiplayer game.

But why wouldn't I just play those on my Xbox?

 

[DazZ.]

Why would I ever want to go back to a controller?

In case you want to play a fighting/platform/racing/flight sim/local splitscreen multiplayer game.

But why wouldn't I just play those on my Xbox?

Because they're PC exclusive, or don't own an Xbox, or prefer to get games on your PC for mods/higher graphics.

Loads of reasons.

 

[Valagetti]

I honestly think its not worth the time and money. The key-board and mouse have been perfectly fine. If you want a controller use console, or better yet, use an X box controller and connect it to your PC. And no one in there right mind thinks track balls are a good idea, let alone on a controller.

 

[DeadlyYellow]

I think I'll pass. Never been big on fat controllers, and my PS3 one does an excellent job pulling double duty.

 

[targren]

It's been done. Two or Three years ago I bought a gamepad for my buddy for christmas that did this. You could swap out the stick and button layouts so that you could basically use the Xbox 360 layout or the PS3 layout, and reverse it for southpaws.

Wasn't even particularly expensive either.

 

[WhiteTigerShiro]

But why wouldn't I just play those on my Xbox?

Because the 360 isn't going to be around forever, and when it comes time to upgrade to Microsoft's next console, you might end-up deciding that Valve has the better one to upgrade to.

 

[isometry]

I play all my PC games with a controller. Using a controller is really not an aspect of the PC vs Console discussion. I could even argue that PC has the best controller support, because I can remap all the buttons and bind multiple functions to each button, make my own shift keys, etc, much more customizable than using a controller with a console.

 

[Akimoto]

As long as Valve produces games for both console and PC I don't really care. But on the topic, that is one heck of a controller