Microsoft is experimenting with prototype Xbox controllers for phones and tablets. The controllers attach to the sides of devices to provide an experience that’s similar to Nintendo’s Switch. “The success of the Switch is testament to the value of mobile gaming with physical controls,” explains a Microsoft Research paper, spotted by Windows Central.
Microsoft has been experimenting with a variety of slide-in grips that can make the attachments far more flexible and less bulky than solutions that already exist like GameCase, GameVice, and ION iCade mobile.
The research paper documents some of the popular solutions to gaming via a touch screen, while hailing the Nintendo Switch and other portable game consoles for circumventing touch-based control limitations with full joysticks and buttons.
Microsoft built the prototypes out of foam and then had them 3D printed, based on conceptual renders. The work was carried out quite a while ago, back in 2014, but it seems Microsoft Research has resurfaced their efforts recently, noting the recent success of the Nintendo Switch.
We’ve been waiting for a company to step up and create a good controller design for phones, and Microsoft might just be ready to fill that gap. Microsoft also makes the best pro gamepad, so extending to phones and tablets looks like the next logical step.
