Apple Working on Gaming Accessories For iPad?

[Mister Zero]

News from 1up.com: http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3178633 (pictures)

A pending patent application suggests that Apple might soon be taking gaming more seriously than ever before. Discovered by the sharp-eyed bloggers at Patently Apple (via IntoMobile), the application outlines an accessory designed to add features like a d-pad, face buttons, rumble, motion sensing tech, and more to portable touchscreen devices like the iPhone and iPad.

The patent acknowledges straight away that, although there are thousands upon thousands of games available for Apple's handhelds, they can occasionally be a bit of a pain to play with touchscreen controls alone.

"Unfortunately, while playing games can be fun on these portable electronic devices, it can also be somewhat awkward, particularly on a portable electronic device having a touchscreen. The same screen used for viewing an avatar's activities is used to control the avatar. This arrangement causes the user's fingers block the action. Thus, while these portable electronic devices include a highly efficient interface, when playing games it is often desirable to have a more specialized user interface."

Their proposed remedy for that is a sort of outer shell that something like the iPhone could slide into, adding a suite of gamer-friendly user interface options. That shell might contain anything from a more traditional button layout to cameras -- one iteration even includes an additional screen. There's also talk of wireless communication with home theater systems and televisions, allowing players to stream audio, video, and information pertinent to their games to and from the entertainment devices in their living rooms.

[Gnash]

That would make the ipad too big imo.