Motion controller patent for PS3 uncovered

Looks like someone might be trying to steal a little bit of the Nintendo Wii's thunder. Newly found patent documents show that Sony has been hard at work creating a new motion controller for the Playstation 3. "gofreak" over at the NeoGAF forums was the first to stumble on the patent applications.

According to "gofreak", the new controller will use several technologies to determine the actual location of the device in 3D space. They are: 

1) Ultrasound to "determine absolute depth from an ultrasonic detector"—the PS3 EyeToy being the detector. 

2) A set of LEDs "picked up by the PSEye camera to determine absolute X/Y position."

3) An accelerometer to "determine xyz and rotational inertia."

By looking at the diagram (click on the images for larger shots), it also appears that the controllers will be able to link together in various positions for multiple functions. One position shows the two linking side-by-side to create somewhat of a "DualShock" appearance, while another image shows two controllers linking up end-to-end, creating a crazy boomerang-looking device.

The whole design looks very intriguing, but it seems like it might be too complicated for the "casual" gamer market that Nintendo has successfully tapped. And that "boomerang" mode looks like it could be particularly dangerous in some scenarios. Sony could be attempting to bring sophisticated motion controls to its hardcore demographic. Regardless, it all boils down to the games, so Sony, I ask you to bring it on.

So, this holiday season, are you leaning towards the Nintendo Wii, or are these new developments going to make you think twice?

Check out all of the images over at NeoGAF—trust me, they're worth a click.

Links:

NeoGAF via Gizmodo