Sony has patented a peripheral for the Playstation Move controller that looks – odd. The peripheral, as you can see in the illustration above, is a ring in which the Playstation Move controller can be inserted. It’s similar to Nintendo’s steering wheel peripheral that came with its Mario Kart Wii game, except Sony’s design has handles sticking out of it. And from the pictures provided with the patent, it appears the handles can be moved 90-degrees from a horizontal position to one where they are parallel. It’s hard to describe in words, so take a look at the photos themselves, and keep in mind that the dotted lines are what Sony is not patenting:

What could Sony be thinking with this design? The easy answer would be that the controller is designed to be used as either a big-rig steering wheel or motorcycle handlebars, but I can think of a few possibilities that are more fun. It could be used to simulate avian flight by flapping the “wings” up and down repeatedly. It could simulate hedge trimmers, or, more excitingly, lock cutters. Perhaps players can use it one-handed and whip it at their TV screens for a new Indiana Jones game.

Of course, Sony may simply be covering their bases against 3rd party peripheral designers. If that is the case, I really hope the videogame industry isn’t going to follow the rest of the tech industry and descend into a cesspool of patent troll lawsuits. If that does happen, you’ll have to excuse me while I patent the series and order of directions preceding a shoryuken.

(via PlayStation LifeStyle)