Sony patent reveals Wii U-like controller

Sony and Nintendo have long been rivals, what with both companies challenging each other on the console gaming front with the Sony PlayStation and Nintendo Wii, and let’s not forget Sony’s PlayStation Vita versus Nintendo’s 3DS handheld console. Well it seems that thanks to a patent filing, it would appear that Sony and Nintendo might have crossed wavelengths at some point in time. A Sony patent has revealed what appears to be the company’s version of Nintendo’s upcoming Wii U gaming console.

The patent was filed back in 2010 and it shows Sony’s plans for a handheld, touchscreen device that essentially could do what Nintendo’s Wii U does. The patent has been given the title “Position-dependent gaming, 3-D controller, and handheld as a remote,” and the device reportedly would be able to track its own location as an “input to a video game,” and also comes with the ability to render “an avatar on a mobile device such that it appears to overlay a competing user in the real world.”

At the moment the Sony PlayStation Vita has the ability to share saves and transfer data between the PlayStation 3, and can even double up as a PlayStation 3 controller with compatible games. This has led to some speculation that this patent could be referring (in part) to the already existing Vita. What do you guys make of this?