Sony patents system that turns a banana into a video game controller

An illustration from Sony's patent filing

Credit: Sony

Sony has invented a bizarre system that would allow people to use household objects like bananas to control video games.

The Japanese technology business recently applied for a patent that would allow it to use cameras to detect handheld objects so that video games could be played by holding them.

A camera strapped to the player’s head, potentially as part of a virtual reality headset, could detect whatever item is being held, such as a banana, an orange, a mug, a pen or a glass.

As the player moves and rotates the item, their in-game character would move accordingly. The camera could also virtually place buttons on the item, meaning a tap on the bottom right of the banana could see the character jump or attack an enemy.

A second item could be held in the player’s other hand, allowing them to use two different household objects as controllers, the filing says.

Players could use two bananas to play games

Credit: Sony

“It would be desirable if a user could use an inexpensive, simple and non-electronic device as a video game peripheral,” Sony wrote in the patent filing.

Sony’s patent suggests that items like bananas could be used as temporary controllers if normal devices run out of charge or if there aren’t enough controllers for a large group of players.

Video games businesses like Sony and rival Microsoft earn significant sums from the sale of controllers. Microsoft has produced an “Elite” range of wireless controllers for its Xbox system that sell for £159.99 in the UK, meaning any switch away from these controllers could harm revenues.

There have previously been projects to turn pieces of fruit into video game controllers. The £40 “Makey Makey” kit first sold in 2015 uses crocodile clips that can attach to items such as bananas to turn them into game controllers.

Sony’s filing for the virtual controller patent doesn’t mean that the company is about to stop producing controllers any time soon, however. Technology businesses typically file patents as forms of marketing or to block rivals from developing projects, meaning it’s far from guaranteed that Sony will let players game using bananas.