The Chinese conglomerate Tencent recently obtained a patent for a controller that looks strikingly like both a PlayStation and Xbox controller blended together for its Nintendo Switch competitor. Although Tencent has historically been best known for its prominent role in mobile gaming, it has recently been investing more into cloud, console, and PC gaming. In addition to these roles in the video game industry, Tencent is also massively popular in China as the owner of Tencent QQ and WeChat, two of the most widely used instant messenger services. When taking all of these properties into account, it comes as no surprise that Tencent is among the top ten most financially valuable companies in the world.
Many gamers may already be familiar with Tencent’s holdings without knowing it. For example, Tencent fully owns League of Legends and Rings of Elysium. It also partly owns PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds and Fortnite, in addition to hosting Call of Duty Online, the series’ first free-to-play title (exclusive to China). Four years ago, Tencent unveiled its first dedicated gaming platform, called WeGame, which hosts global content and has over 200 million active users. Considering Steam is available worldwide and only has 125 million active users, it seems that Tencent is poised to become even more of a powerhouse once it begins to focus on Western audiences.
The controller patent, posted on Twitter by Niko Partners Senior Analyst Daniel Ahmad, was submitted on November 17th of last year and contains features from both PlayStation and Xbox controllers. The most immediately recognizable similarity is the location of the analog sticks and D-pad, which are identical to the Xbox’s. However, the touchpad and adjacent two buttons are lifted directly from the PS5's DualSense. The biggest difference comes in the form of two buttons between the right analog stick and the D-pad, which at first glance might function as Start and Select buttons.
Ahmad specifies in his tweet that “there is no announcement on if this will be sold/an actual product.” However, in a later tweet, he mentions that Tencent has slowly been pushing into the territory of AAA gaming, as evidenced by its latest cloud gaming service, “Start.” If this new controller is actually to be sold, it would make sense that Tencent would either have it be compatible with Start or perhaps sell it as a third-party controller. Regardless of the controller’s implementation (if any), Tencent’s latest movements and multiple investments in companies such as Epic Games, Activision Blizzard, and Ubisoft indicate that the company may have its sights set on bigger things.
It’s worth noting that Tencent also recently obtained another patent, this one for a handheld console that resembles the Nintendo Switch but features Xbox-related buttons. For example, the face buttons are identical to the Xbox’s and analog sticks are also slightly angled to resemble the Xbox controller layout. Most interestingly, this patent also contains the “Windows” button found on a keyboard, which, along with the patent title “PC Video Game Console,” indicates that the console will play PC games. Once released, this platform could easily be a major competitor to the Nintendo Switch. However, the patent’s paperwork leaves out any mention of a docking station, which would give the Switch a clear advantage for players who prefer to play both at home and on the go.
Source: Daniel Ahmad/Twitter