Motion sensing controls are neat and all, but what about a controller or handheld that could sense your mood and translate your fears, stresses, and joy into a game in real time ? No, we're not talking about Nintendo's long-delayed Vitality Sensor (that's still a thing, right?), we're talking about a patent filed by Sony for a biometric sensor that may or may not be coming to a PS Move wand, PS Vita, or DualShock controller near you.
The patent, unearthed by Sileconera, shows PlayStation brand controllers and a PS Vita-like handheld outfitted with special surfaces designed to collect biometric data. According to the documents, the sensor would pick up three main mood identifiers including the player's heartbeat, muscle movements, and the sweatiness of their hands.
Aside from making PlayStation games virtually unplayable on first dates, Sony says the biometric feedback could be used in a number of innovate ways. They include using one's stress level to determine in-game abilities, adapting facial animations depending on one's state of mind, scaling the effectiveness of weapons based on one's fear, or using a player's muscle reflexes to “withstand an attack or charge up a shield.”
Judging by the mock-ups below, the bio sensors would come built in to existing Sony devices. That is, of course, if they existed. Like most video gaming patents, this could simply represent an innovative idea Sony deemed worthy enough to earmark. Are you interested in seeing biometric video game feedback become a reality?