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Sony Patent Reveals Biometric PS3 Controller And Handheld

By Spencer . November 1, 2011 . 1:00pm

Way back at E3 2009, Nintendo announced the Wii Vitality Sensor, an accessory players would clip on their fingers to feed biometric data (specifically the blood-oxygen saturation level of your index finger) into a video game. Plans for the Vitality Sensor have been put on ice since the device has difficulty performing with consistent results.

 

Perhaps, Sony will get the jump on biometric controls? A patent application reveals their possible plans for a biometric controller and handheld with specifications similar to the upcoming PlayStation Vita.

 

Sony Patent Reveals Biometric PS3 Controller And Handheld Sony Patent Reveals Biometric PS3 Controller And Handheld Sony Patent Reveals Biometric PS3 Controller And Handheld

 

The patent also has design schematics for a biometric DualShock3 controller and PlayStation Move style wand.

 

Sony Patent Reveals Biometric PS3 Controller And Handheld Sony Patent Reveals Biometric PS3 Controller And Handheld

 

Sony’s proposed devices will measure three biometric factors: galvanic skin resistance, electrocardio data, and electro-muscular data or in plain English – how moist your skin is, your heart rhythm, and muscle movements. All of this information will be sent into a video game by simply holding a controller or handheld. How are games going to use this? Sony has a list of ideas in the patent application.

 

  • Weapons that change depending on how stressed you are. An increase in stress level could make a weapon more accurate or less steady, which will make it difficult to target an enemy. Sony specifically mentions a sniper situation where the weapon becomes more steady if you’re relaxed.
  • Tensing up your muscles to withstand an attack or charge up a shield.
  • A video game character whose facial expressions, movements, posture, and even voice changes depending on your biometric data. For example, this character will sweat when a player is nervous.
  • An adrenaline style boost which will let you run faster, jump higher, and punch harder when stressed.
  • A health bar that depletes more rapidly if you have a high stress level.
  • An attack button that changes a character’s move depending if the player is stressed or relaxed.
  • Background music and scenery that changes depending on your stress level. Matching music is one example, but Sony also proposes to change music to make a player more relaxed. Brightness of objects and the zoom level, representing a higher level of focus, are two ideas for scenery.
  • A game that adapts difficulty levels depending on a players stress level.

 

Which idea do you think has the most potential as a game mechanic?


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  • Solomon_Kano

    Sounded stupid until I read the end. Did Nintendo ever actually do anything with that Vitality Sensor idea, because this sounds like it’d have some unique applications.

    • http://www.facebook.com/AliDawilah Ali Moeladawilah

      It’s not released yet, since it hasn’t been perfected.

      • Nemesis_Dawn

        And by “perfected,” they mean “found a way to use it in a casual party game.”

        • http://www.facebook.com/AliDawilah Ali Moeladawilah

          By perfected, they mean it only functioned well with certain percentage of people they tested it on, and the percentage wasn’t high enough for them to release it as of yet.

          • puchinri

            Being in a statistics class now, I can see how this works. And it kind of makes me want to do an example problem with some interesting numbers.

            I wonder if they’ve/they’re testing it differently than Sony will.

      • Solomon_Kano

        Ah.

  • Christopher Cates

    Sony does what Nintendon’t

    • James Beatty

      *Sony does what Nintendoes* 
      fixed it. 

      • Nemesis_Dawn

        So, the 3DS is region free now?

        • James Beatty

          Something being region free isn’t as important as you would think. Most games that don’t come out of japan are JRPGs with heavy story elements, few people would import them and enjoy them. It doesn’t help out in sales that much.

          • Solomon_Kano

            “as important as you would think” is ultimately up to the individual though. Nobody’s saying anything about sales here, just that it’s a feature that current Nintendo systems lack.

            Your statement that “Most games that don’t come out of japan are JRPGs with heavy story elements” is largely untrue as well. We don’t see a majority of Japan’s games stateside. The majority of Japan’s games are not JRPGs. So you saying that most of the games that don’t come out of Japan are JRPGs is a false statement. There are action, puzzle, racing, fighting, etc. games that don’t leave Japan that could be imported and enjoyed without needing to understand Japanese.

            Not trying to attack you or anything, but that just isn’t true.

          • Nemesis_Dawn

            Tell that to the people who wanted to play Last Story, Fatal Frame 4, Xenoblade, and Pandora’s Tower in North America.

        • AdamBoy64

          Ah, one can only dream. I would have had a 3DS on launch if that were the case.

          Thankfully one won’t have to worry about that region trash with the Vita.

  • icecoffemix

    Hahaha, no, Sony.

    I want to play games to relieve my stress, not to worry about it affecting my games.

    • jujubee88

      If your stress is already relieved, there is no effect on the game. Your understanding of how this controllers works are a bit unfounded. 

      edit: @Suicunesol: I already deconstructed icecoffemix’s comment. That person just does not like this type of gameplay.

      • icecoffemix

        Your understanding of my reasoning is off. Go take a look again.

        • jujubee88

          “I want to play games to relieve my stress”

          You are still playing a game

          “not to worry about it (stress, presumably) affecting my games”

          I see, you used poor wording. 

          What your concern is, is that you do not like to play this type of particular game. Your first premise made it seem like you where an open minded gamer but, you than clarified your intent of not liking this style of interaction within the context of the game on your second premise. Is that correct? 

          If so, I pitty you, man. :p

          • icecoffemix

            I don’t care what you think of me.

            I just hope this gimmicky thing doesn’t get off, and if it is I will avoid any game using this “feature” like plague.

            btw,
            “gameplay”… huh? okay…

          • jujubee88

            It was sarcastic. It is fine, I was only annoying you anyways. There was never a thought that popped up in my head that made me want to attack your personality. Too busy. (obviously)

            Part of me does not like when people just are totally caveman like and want these type of control schemes or environments to stay in gaming when obviously, things evolve. From NES controllers to motion controls, things get added or subtracted and gameplay adjusts. It is not gimmicky if it is a staple of interaction. 
            Yeah, thanks for quoting a word of mine. I am now in the same vein of your favorite heroes. For the sake of both of us, I hope that I am in good company. lol

          • icecoffemix

            I’m an old school gamer, I don’t believe game need more than normal pad to be functionally fun.

            (Keep in mind though, my main genre is RPG)

      • Suicunesol

        He’s saying that worrying about your stress level during the game will stress you more.

  • http://www.pixiv.net/member.php?id=2704923 Buntar0

    I’m almost always nervous when playing games, so most of Sony’s ideas on the list might not be good for me.
    I like the general concept though.

  • SirRichard

    I really like the sound of some of those ideas, especially the adrenaline boost one. Imagine, say, Demon’s Souls/Dark Souls with that. 

    You’re close to the end of your health bar, low on grasses/estus but the boss is also on its last legs. You just need one good hit, but the boss’ attacks are very irritating and stumble you a lot. You get really tense, jam on the attack button and BAM! CRITICAL HIT! YOU DEFEATED!

    Sounds like it would lead to some really awesome moments. Implementation would probably be awkward, though, and the weapon stability loss idea would probably just make people more stressed, especially the average FPS player.

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Cristian-Mancilla/100001196462582 Cristian Mancilla

      Or how about being able to notice the panic of the poor soul you just invaded.

  • aoihana

    It sounds like a great idea, but now I’m going to stress about my stress affecting my gaming >___<

  • http://myanimelist.net/profile/Kuronoa Kuronoa

    Eternal Darkness spiritual sequel please.

  • http://www.rukinet.com/ Rukishou

    Interesting, I suppose, but I fail to see how this could actually make games more entertaining. If it doesn’t do that, what’s the point? Penalizing players who sweat excessively for no good reason? Fun. XD

    • Joanna

      It could work, just not in all games. Like in games that try to relax you, perhaps or survival horror? And sweat isn’t the only thing being measured, so I don’t think just sweating is going to trigger the stress features.

      edit: I definitely don’t see it working in reward/punishment situations like the sniper rifle example. That would definitely make the game less fun when you are getting punished for emotional responses beyond your control. With survival horror, I picture it more like the game reads when you relax and throws something at you.

      Anyway, this seems more like an idea than something Sony is going to do. I mean asking consumers to rebuy their Dual Shock 3 Controllers or Move Controllers this late into the PS3′s life? I don’t think they would do that. Perhaps something they may be considering for the successor though.

      • http://www.rukinet.com/ Rukishou

        Yeah, that’s what I thought (that it’s an idea they want to secure, hence the patent, rather than a new peripheral like the Move) but still. Stress relief seems more like Nintendo’s kind of thing to me and it would be interesting for horror games as long as it only adds to the atmosphere and doesn’t actually make things a lot harder or simply less fun, but any other games I don’t think it will do too well in.

  • http://www.youtube.com/user/Kamek20xxExtra?feature=mhee Michael Stevens

    So, depending on the game or situation, you’re forced to calm down? Oh dear…..-_-

    • jujubee88

      I am not quite sure how many game designers would insist the normal person calm down during a bank robbery. Probably none, actually. The game designs will be a lot more resourceful than just forcing people to become desensitized, I think that is the point.

      . . . Or, maybe they some twisted people may want to desensitize the gamer even further. Muhahahaha!

      The possibilities are pretty endless though. Nice tech.

      • http://www.youtube.com/user/Kamek20xxExtra?feature=mhee Michael Stevens

        Yes I’m very interested though. Let’s see how far this will go!

    • Bruce

      I’m not sure that’s the point of all this . I think this is made just to enhance the gaming experience .To be honest i can’t imagine this working out , the ideas seem far too complicated to be implemented well . but , i could be wrong though ! XD

      • jujubee88

        Sometimes, it is hard to conceptualize without having a well understanding of the science behind things like the technology or the game design. But, technology and games are more and more evolving so, stuff like this has to come along.

        Whether this technology (in specific), along with the specific game examples Sony provided comes along, that is not known but, “tech” and “gaming” are going to really boom. To quote an old cliche, “It is a question of when”.

  • Merulana

    Oh god. Imagine what it would be like to play horror games with this. Sheesh.
    To be honest, I think that implementing things like this will stress people out more when playing video games. 

  • Suicunesol

    It could have some applications in theory, but I don’t know–not everyone is the same when it comes to their cardiovascular systems and their stress level. It could be hard to get consistent results. For instance, some people sweat more than others. It could needlessly get in the way of your game playing.

    This could be useful to have in the next Wii Fit though.

    • TrevHead

      I get sweaty hands so I can see this been a problem.

      besides I can see devs using the tech to adjust the difficulty on the fly, while I like the odd game to relax to much prefer action games that get me hyped up unlike most gamers who just want to chill while playing games

  • http://tristsantithesis.tumblr.com/ Tsunayoshi Sawada

    Well this is the only area future consoles and handhelds can go for developing gameplay experiences since some developers have maxed out their graphical output and even gameplay modes, I guess Artificial Intelligence is a frontier, however Sony games dont have wonky AI. 

    Their descriptions make it sound cool and compelling.

  • James Beatty

    I see a controller with a screen on it. So, even though they are adding a feature that few developers are going to use, they are still basically coping Nintendo again. .. -_-

    • Nemesis_Dawn

      Did you read the article? That’s the Vita.

      • James Beatty

        Not understanding this a lot. Better read up some more. The I might be confusing this with the vita/ps3 and wii u/wii u mote. What’s the new controller? Just another dual shock? 

        • Nemesis_Dawn

          Yes, it’s another Dual Shock, which is how it should be. I don’t want them making some new special controller just for a gimmick. Adding it to an existing controller-type, on the other hand, is what I want to see. I enjoy the comfort and shape of a Dual Shock. I don’t want Sony making some gimmicky thing that I have to stick my finger in or whatever.

  • JustThisOne

    Until I see this applied in a game in a great way, I’m not really going to take this seriously. I mean, the Wii Vitality thing never really got put into use. Has there even been a game that made use of it?

    Anyway, it might sound great on paper – and at times, it doesn’t sound great on paper either – but does it work? I’m already seeing complaints here about it, because things like heart rate and hand perspiration are hard to control. It would suck if changing your play-style to get the perks is impossible simply because you’re just high strung when you play.

    • http://twitter.com/Cudgeon Raji

      This isn’t meant to controll the game better, just that the game knows how the player feels and can deliver in appropriate way. With music that chills you out if your to stressed or some action if you are falling asleep while playing.
      I think it could be a great thing.

      • JustThisOne

        I guess that makes sense. Maybe I’m looking at this the wrong way. Maybe this isn’t supposed to be a punishment and reward system, but just a way to augment your playthrough a little bit.

  • TrevHead

    I could see CAVE and other bullet hell shmup devs working wonders with this tech since so much of the game design is about giving players an adrenaline ride

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1456280870 Kolby Webster

    So Mirror’s edge anyone?

  • Nemesis_Dawn

    This is the type of innovation I’d like to see from the next generation. Motion control was made to replace the way we play, this simply enhances it, the same way rumble once did. 

    • James Beatty

      You already saw this innovation at e3. It’s a wii u mote, with a vitality sensor. 

      • Nemesis_Dawn

        You mean the tablet thing that is, as with motion control, made to replace the conventional controller. That is NOT what I want. The Dual Shock is great the way it is. Adding this to a Dual Shock is what I want to see. Not making a whole new type of controller that is not how I currently play. That’s why I made the comparison to rumble. 

        I don’t want the way I play replaced. I want it enhanced.

        • http://www.facebook.com/AliDawilah Ali Moeladawilah

          It is enhanced if a touch screen is added. You’re not loosing anything, you’re only gaining.

          • Nemesis_Dawn

            No. Because I now have to do things on the touch screen to do them in the game, when previously they would only require a button press. That is not enhancing, that is replacing. And I have to hold some giant, clunky ridiculous thing, instead of a nicely shaped controller.  

            What’s great about this is that I don’t have to do anything extra for it to read my biometrics. I don’t have to do a silly motion with the controller or rub my fingers over it in a special way. I don’t want all that. Just give me a nicely shaped controller I can fit in one hand if I need to.

          • http://twitter.com/Cudgeon Raji

            He talks about the form. A huge ass controller with a touchscreen sure as hell is no enhancement.

      • danhese

        Really, thats an innovation? iPhones, iPads, SmartPhones, Nintendo DS, PS Vita with the inclusion of back touchpad are all examples of the touch innovation. Vitality sensor is a pulse oximeter which has been used in a console before. The Tetris 64 Bio sensor made by the publisher SETA for the game on N64. So nothing new, this Sony patent is another dimension of using biometrics included right in the controllers to affect major things that occur in the game. That is innovation.

  • http://twitter.com/PafuPafu7 Kevin Lor

    we are getting closer to living in the virtual world! Hopefully we do before I get to my 60s. Or better yet I can be a high school hero even in my 60s lOl!

  • Syltique

    I fall asleep gaming late night all the time.  They should put that in there.

    Honestly, I’m kind of surprised that a few of these sounds interesting.  The sniper rifle is cool, the NPCs reacting to your stress is cool.  They should keep them mostly cosmetic though.  You don’t want to reward people for playing stressed with increased power and whatnot.  Rewarding them for relaxing is probably better, such as the sniper rifle scenario.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Christopher-Carmona/100000347329518 Christopher Carmona

    You die in the game, you die in real life. Let’s make it happen, Sony!

  • theworldofnoboundries

    …….. I can’t understand lol. Health Bar depleted faster when u are stressed? Damn so if u are trolled by the game before u are stressed so u are much more death because the difficulties will increase the more u stress?
     
    I just can’t picture playing Ninja Gaiden on SNES using this system lol. The whole screen will be filled by Flying Bird.

  • hush404

    Wow… those listed ideas for the technology sound pretty awesome to have in a standard style controller, in that I’ll still be playing the game exactly how I like to and the game reads my reactions.

  • http://twitter.com/classyupins That one guy

    Wow this is a pretty awful idea.

    I don’t want to have to be a bastion of self-control to not be penalized by your games, Sony.

  • http://twitter.com/Xuiz enorka miho

    Here comes the 3D plus real time gaming revolution.. Next time.. They are going to have this smell release technology inserted into the device.. 

    But, some ideas really does seems like a cool idea.. I would vouch for it.. Will probably buy the device once its out.. I mean, having to calm yourself down in those situations seems like a good training to me.. XD

  • XypherCode

    this is kinda lame. the idea is nice and all but what if the game requires you to be relaxed and not stressed out, what if you’re the kind of guy who gets tensed so easily if the going gets tough. :|

    • http://twitter.com/Cudgeon Raji

      You would have to train, like in the real world. ;)

  • shaolinsword

    This could make for an interesting security feature on the Vita

  • http://twitter.com/ExceptionL ExceptionL

    The remote should change colors like a mood ring. now that would be the best application for this technology. 

  • willtell

    I remember DOTA 2′s preview tournament having the sensors very much like these attached to the players to show tension, excitement, etc.

    I also remember laughing with everyone else that it interested nobody and it was incredibly pointless.  Even making the guys running the tournament realize they shouldn’t do it the rest of the event, heh.

    Gimmicky is still my only reaction to this story..

  • theoriginaled

    It was stupid when nintendo tried it a few years back and its still stupid now.

  • AshPSPuser

    Kinect also started as a product which people thought not anything more than a gimmick ,but its a great tech (although still in its starting phase, there is room for improvement like improved feedback mechanism etc.) Lets see what happen here, sounds like another great tech to me.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=751665035 Dan Dougherty

    You know, as far as multiplayer games go, I could imagine the gameplay getting a lot more fun.  Just like those of us who are more skilled at games, adding another element to the mix may just spice up the fun, which is in desperate needs with all of these lame fps out now (Thanks call of duty).  Most “hardcore gamers” don’t relax when they play.  They scream, they yell, and probably get tensed up over ‘bs’ that happens in the game, like cheap shots and such.  So now in order to be the best, they have to turn to being headstrong, smart, and calm, to a sense.  The more calm you are, the more in control you are.  It doesn’t make you docile.  And keep in mind, you wouldn’t be the only one with these features.  I assume these are implementations they may add for the ps4 and other games.  Be that Sony is really supportive of Augmented Reality, this definitely is up their alley.  Not so much Nintendo’s…I wouldn’t call them hardware innovators.

    Let the hate messages begin!

  • http://twitter.com/kpsp2000 吉村くくみ

    そんなに欲しい機能ではない。

    • http://thrust-the-sky.deviantart.com/ WildArms

      同意する

  • Lion’s Paw

    The inputs seem quite subtle but could work if the game provided appropriate feedback to the player. I think it would work best for controlling things like ambience instead of having a direct impact on gameplay.

    The PS2 and PS3 controllers already support measuring how hard you are pressing the buttons, this could be used to detect stress levels, etc. And you know what some of the Playstation Move adverts said about buttons…

    Anyway, the only game I know that actually uses it is SOCOM Confrontation, but it was quite annoying because how hard you press controls how far you throw grenades, so I often dropped them at my feet.

  • brian yep

    I read this article and picture various ultra-violent (mostly FPS) games played to music like this.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Af372EQLck
    Obviously that would be at a stress free moment.
    It makes me think of that way Skies of Arcadia changed battle music depending on if characters were well healed and stuff.

  • stupid_liang94

    but does these thing can really handle your emotion..?=.=
    when i was playing a game..i was like a wolf chasing it’s prey…
    it won’t suddenly go boom when we playing too intense right??xD
    or it will??=.=

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