The Lord Of The Rings may have had the one ring to rule them all, but a recent Sony (NYSE:SNE) patent filed with the US Patent and Trademark Office shows the schematics for a universal game controller that would work with a variety of different gaming consoles. The inspiration for this design concept seems reminiscent of another home entertainment device, the universal remote control.

It’s not clear at this time whether the Sony game controller would interface with just Sony gaming devices although the patent does make reference to the Playstation as well as the Xbox and Nintendo, though no Nintendo game controller (ie Wiimote) is mentioned by name.

It appears that the Sony controller will come with a touchscreen LCD display screen that can create a virtual map of the controller keys for any gaming controller that it has been programmed to emulate. A series of plural keys will also be available for game players to enter commands directly into the console game.

A virtual controller does seem like an interesting idea and should appeal to users that have multiple consoles. However, something still to be validated is how receptive gamers are to the idea of a virtual keypad as many like the tactile feedback available with physical buttons.

Via: Electronista