Sony has filed a patent describing a PlayStation controller equipped with NFC capabilities that would let players tap their credit card or smartphone against the device to transmit information directly to the console. The filing, submitted as part of a wave of next-generation hardware patents from both Sony and Microsoft over the past week, outlines a controller with near-field communication built into its design. While the most obvious application would be contactless payments, the technology could also streamline account transfers when migrating a PlayStation profile to a new console. As with any patent, there is no guarantee the concept will ever reach a finished product, but the idea aligns closely with functionality that is already standard on virtually every smartphone.
The patent, titled “video game controller-driven information transfer,” envisions a controller that can act as a conduit for data between a player’s personal devices and their console. Rather than relying on an on-screen keyboard or scanning a QR code with a phone, users could simply tap their card or phone against the controller to complete a transaction or push information through. The reasoning behind the approach is reliability: Sony’s documentation argues that coordinating multiple operational steps across several devices can cause a console’s performance to suffer or cause operations to fail entirely. In theory, NFC communication—which has improved considerably in recent years—could offer a more dependable method of transferring account data during setup.
A Payment Feature Already Everywhere Else
What makes the patent notable is less about the novelty of contactless payments and more about how familiar the concept already is to consumers. Pretty much every smartphone on the market today supports the exact functionality Sony is describing: you can tap a credit card to add it to a digital wallet, or hold Bluetooth headphones against a phone to pair them without navigating through a settings menu. Bringing that same convenience to a console would represent a genuine quality-of-life upgrade for players, particularly for those who want to fund purchases or top up their balance without pulling out a card and typing in details.
“Facilitating and coordinating these operations by performing multiple operational steps using multiple devices often causes performance of the video game console to suffer and/or one or more operations of the video game console to fail.”
Sony patent documentation
Still, the practical hurdles are significant, especially around security. If Sony intends to allow players to import their entire account through a simple tap, the company would need robust safeguards in place. Without proper precautions, it would be trivial for someone to grab a player’s phone, tap it against a controller, and effectively gain access to their account. Apple sidesteps this problem when setting up a new iPhone or iPad by displaying a cloud image that the new device’s camera must scan to authorize the data transfer. Sony is unlikely to embed a camera into a controller, but a simpler alternative could involve the phone displaying a PIN that the player would enter into the console to pass a security check.
Signs of the Next Generation
The broader context of this filing is telling. In the last couple of weeks, both Microsoft and Sony have surfaced a string of patents that hint at the direction of next-generation consoles. While some of the ideas lean dystopian, this particular one feels genuinely useful, and its emergence adds weight to speculation that the PlayStation 6 and Microsoft’s Xbox Project Helix are closer to reality than many assumed. The catch, however, is price: both machines are expected to be quite expensive, particularly if they are announced amid the ongoing memory chip shortage that has pushed component costs upward across the industry.
Until Sony officially confirms the details, the patent remains a blueprint rather than a promise. But for players who have grown accustomed to tapping their phones for everything from payments to pairing accessories, a controller that brings that same frictionless experience to the console would be a welcome evolution for the platform.
Photo by Anusak Laowilas/NurPhoto via Getty Images.
Jackie Thomas is the Senior Tech Editor at IGN and the PC components queen. She’s been covering gaming hardware for more than a decade for IGN, TechRadar, Gizmodo, PC Gamer and more.
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