14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft continues the transition to a devices and services company and as part of this transformation plan, the company is also preparing a touchscreen game controller that could be part of a new gaming tablet first rumored more than one year ago.
A recent patent filling with the USPTO reveals what's being called a “game controller on mobile touch-enabled devices,” which pretty much means that Microsoft could create an on-screen controller that would turn any touch-capable device, such as a tablet, in a gaming unit.
Information included in the patent reveals that Microsoft wants the touch-capable controller to provide almost the same functionality as a traditional controller, with the only difference being that you'd be allowed to reassign buttons for better customization.
The patent games that the new device would represent a “method of controlling a game with a mobile touch-enabled device” that would boost several key features, such as the following (quote from the original documents):
• rendering a thumbstick on a reassignable area of a display of the mobile touch-enabled device; • rendering a mode selection button on a mode selection area of the display of the mobile touch-enabled device, wherein the reassignable area and the mode selection area are non-overlapping; • controlling a first operation in the game with the thumbstick represented as being at a default height in response to a first touch detected within the reassignable area of the display; • detecting a second touch, wherein the second touch is a drag from the mode selection area of the display to the reassignable area of the display; • controlling a second operation in the game with the thumbstick represented as being at a depressed height in response to a third touch detected within the reassignable area of the display, wherein the second touch and the third touch are detected without discontinuity of contact; • detecting a discontinuation of the third touch; and controlling the first operation in the game with the thumbstick represented as being at the default height in response to a fourth touch detected within the reassignable area of the display upon detecting the discontinuation of the third touch.
While Microsoft hasn't provided any details on such a project, it seems to go hand in hand with rumors regarding a potential Xbox Surface 7-inch tablet specifically designed for gaming.
Speculation that reached the web more than a year ago revealed that Microsoft was planning a smaller Surface unit that would be specifically created for gaming purposes and would include an ARM processor and lots of RAM to be able to cope with requirements of the latest titles.
No other details have been provided, but it's pretty clear that such a device would clearly support Microsoft's adventure in the hardware market, especially if it were to provide longer battery life that would pretty much turn it into a fully featured gaming device.