Google gaming console controller design, features reportedly revealed in patent

By Aaron Mamiit March 10, 2019

A newly discovered patent may have shown the design and features of the controller for Google’s rumored gaming console, which will reportedly be revealed this month.

The patent is not for the controller itself, but rather for a notification system. It will enable the controller to let the player know if a game becomes available, if the player has received an invitation, if there are changes on a leaderboard, and if a chat request was received.

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The document, filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, comes with images that reveal the design of the controller, which resembles the PlayStation 4 DualShock controller.

There are two joysticks, a directional pad, four gameplay buttons, and pairs of shoulder and trigger buttons. There also appear to be home and back buttons at the top part of the controller, a circular button that Google referred to in the patent as an action button, and microphone button in between the joysticks that may hint at compatibility with Google Assistant.

The patent was filed in October last year, and is a continuation of a previous filing that was lodged in 2014. This means that there may have been changes to the controller’s design, if the patent is indeed for the rumored Google gaming console.

That did not stop people from creating unofficial renders based on the patent’s technical sketches though, with Sarang Sheth, editor of Yanko Design, coming up with these:

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The rumored Google gaming console is known as Project Yeti, which aims to run high-performance titles on Google’s machines and then stream them to devices owned by players. Part of Project Yeti is Project Stream, which ended a three-month demo in January that successfully streamed Assassin’s Creed Odyssey on Chrome browsers.

The hardware for Project Yeti reportedly started as a Chromecast dongle, but it has since evolved into a console and controller that were designed by Google, which is rumored to be revealed at the Game Developers Conference on March 19.

It remains unclear if the controller in the discovered patent will be what Google will unveil at GDC 2019, if the rumors are true. The event is just a week away though, so official confirmation may arrive soon.

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Although I can be tough on cloud services that have faults, I actually do enjoy cloud gaming on Google Stadia and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate quite a bit, and I’m excited about the technology’s potential for both players and developers. Currently, most of my cloud gaming takes place on my phone, but Logitech and Tencent Games want me to start playing cloud games on a new device. In October, the Logitech G Cloud Gaming Handheld starts rolling out, and it hopes to become the way to play cloud games.
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