Microsoft is Prototyping Controllers to Use with Mobile Devices

Microsoft is currently in the process of prototyping controllers for mobile phones and tablets. The company, via Windows Central, recently released research it’s been conducting, titled “Demo: A Versatile Controller Concept for Mobile Gaming”. The research is authored by John Helms, a Senior Designer at Microsoft; Senior Research Software Development Engineer, Stuart Taylor; Principal Researcher and Research Manager, Steve Hodges; and Principal Research Software Engineer, Chris Lovett.

The prototypes have been been exploring ways to bring “console quality” streaming to mobile gaming with Project xCloud. Based on an image released along with the research, some elements of the controller Microsoft is currently testing are grip sizes, charging docks, usb charging, and “trigger and bumper” controls.

A portion of the research lauds mobile gaming consoles like Nintendo Switch, DS, and the PlayStation Portable for overcoming the limitations of touch screen by implementing joysticks and buttons.

Mobile gaming devices like Sony PlayStation Portable and Nintendo’s DS and Switch are dedicated mobile gaming platforms which overcome these limitations via physical controls. The success of the Switch is a testament to the value of mobile gaming with physical controls. A number of cheaper products allow a smartphone to be clipped into or onto a modified handheld gaming controller; these include the ION iCade mobile, the GameCase, the GameVice and products from Moga. However, the fixed form of these accessories means they are bulky and inflexible.

The research goes on to explain that Microsoft is building these prototypes using foam, then having them 3D printed. Windows Central has reported all of this work was actually started back in 2014, but now Microsoft Research is brushing the dust off the project, seemingly inspired by the large success of the Switch.