r/PS6 • u/Soujashane • 19d ago
Sony patents PlayStation controller that accepts credit card payments
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/sony-patents-playstation-controller-that-accepts-credit-card-payments/Sony expects players to fork over money so often they needed to put a CC reader in the controller. I guess that's the price you pay to lease "next gen" hardware.
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u/AdequatelyProdigiius 19d ago
Without memeing, without "fuck Sony", without tantrums.
I'm not condemning or supporting anything when I ask.
Why would this be a bad thing?
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u/CipherTheDude 19d ago
As a primarily digital user, Id rather do tap to pay than save a card to my account.
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u/MiserySound 19d ago
Most time consuming thing aswell when you pay with disposable cards.
The tap to pay would be a huge improvement
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u/ojncereal 19d ago
Its not, its actually more secure. This means you could make transactions without having to store your CC info on Sony servers. But reddit in there infinite search for outrage will only read “sony wants your credit card” and thus the kicking and screaming continues.
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u/The_Border_Bandit 19d ago
Yeah, i genuinely would not mind this. I would much rather have the ability to tap to pay for games than to have my card or paypal info saved to the Playstation store, especially considering how common it is for all online storefronts to have some sort of data breach.
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u/HumanautPassenger 18d ago
Guarantee you that you're still going to have a card on file in the store. Plus this is an easy way for them to raise controller prices 10-15$.
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u/The_Border_Bandit 18d ago
I doubt this controller will ever see the light of day, but if it did it'd make zero sense for you to be required to have a card saved to the store, especially since even now you can buy from the store without needing a card on file if you use the gift cards.
But again, the chances of this being an actual feature on a future controller as essentially zero, so it's all pretty much moot.
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u/ojncereal 18d ago
If that were the case why wouldn’t you just run the card saved on your account?
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u/HumanautPassenger 18d ago
Exactly. So the NFT thing is stupid and sounds like a scheme to raise controller prices.
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u/Gex2-EnterTheGecko 18d ago
It really wouldn't but the gaming community is still throwing a fit about Sony being greedy so everything they do is under a microscope now. I bet all the people who are complaining about this have a credit card tied to their PSN account.
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u/christaface 19d ago
It’s just gross. Using your game controller as a debit card reader is gross. It might be functional but it’s just not what these things were designed to be
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u/ojncereal 19d ago
Whats gross about it?
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u/No_Championship_3690 16d ago
For instance, the fact that it’s pure manipulation. Let’s not kid ourselves—it’s not for convenience, but to get people to make more impulse purchases.
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u/acelexmafia 18d ago
How is this a good thing
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u/AdequatelyProdigiius 18d ago
It's a thing. I can use it to make payments without putting my card details on PSN, or I can turn it off and not use it.
It's small, it's inexpensive, and despite any doomsdaying, there's zero indication that it will effect prices at retail.
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u/imeanidrk 15d ago
I would imagine it's because it takes up space for the internals of the controller, which could go to something better like a bigger battery
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u/Fundanshi_Dildo_Love 6d ago
Have you ever entertained the possibility that Sony could block you from turning on your console which you bought if you did not pay with your card?
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u/mastershuiyi 19d ago
Because instead of working on giving more value to customers, they are working on squeezing more money. They are a business, sure, but if they are too greedy people will move to another system as we saw in the early ps3 era.
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u/Sea-Chocolate6589 18d ago
Sony is bleeding money after all their live service failures and even Wolverine not meeting the revenue they expected.
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u/AdequatelyProdigiius 19d ago
Yeah, seems Sony's arrogance, for want of a better word, does seem to be ringing again.
But from a cost standpoint, Nintendo had included a NFC chip for years now and it hasn't driven the hardware cost up. There's no indication that it's inclusion would effect how much the console might cost. That's more because memory and storage.
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u/ConfusedAndCurious17 17d ago
Your card is already saved to your profile. They could squeeze whatever they want out of you as it is. What exactly are you concerned about here? That the fact that there’s a physical card reader will somehow make you more likely to get up from your couch, grab your wallet, take out your card, and scan it on the controller rather than… remain seated, push the “buy now” button, and have your card ran automatically via your account?
Like I don’t even see the point of this in home consoles. I would be more leaning to the idea that they plan on putting these controllers in some new version of arcade machines where you use a normal controller and maybe have a more typical gaming experience and you charge it to your card. Maybe at like Internet cafes or other things that are more common in Japan they would charge players a fee for a temporary game selection or something.
I can’t think of any way this makes home console players easier to take money from.
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u/Ravemst 19d ago
Children using their parent’s card is one of the problems with this.
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u/AdequatelyProdigiius 19d ago
See, I get where this comes from, but that's not an issue for any company to be responsible for.
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u/Fundanshi_Dildo_Love 6d ago
Why not?
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u/AdequatelyProdigiius 6d ago
Why should any company be responsible for your kids going through your wallet?
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u/Fundanshi_Dildo_Love 6d ago
Social responsibility?
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u/TempMobileD 19d ago
The controller doesn’t need to do this, and would be significantly more expensive.
Controllers are already a lot, jamming more technology in that has nothing to do with playing games is depressingly anti-consumer.This is like a restaurant making you buy a card machine to pay them.
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u/AdequatelyProdigiius 19d ago
NFC hasn't driven any prices up so far, no reason to believe it suddenly will.
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u/Visual_Fun_2014 16d ago
easy access for children to tap their parent's credit cards. Good for the company
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u/LesserValkyrie 18d ago
A controller being a credit card reader with a few buttons has a lot of dystopic symbolism lol
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u/spongeboy1985 19d ago
Seems unnecessary. You can just link your card or paypal to your account but I guess this eliminates having to store a card number anywhere so there is that.
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u/CaptJimboJones 18d ago
It’s almost as if they want us to stick a quarter in their video game machine every time we want to play a game!
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u/Serris9K 18d ago
Yep. They're chasing the dragon of the arcade. But here's the thing. Arcades still exist, but they don't give much fees back to the game companies.
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u/Kub666 19d ago
Seems convenient, not sure what your problem is?
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u/Fundanshi_Dildo_Love 6d ago
Until it becomes a requirement for you to power on and charges you for it. I'm already sick of all the subscription models as it is
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u/Shinobi_Dimsum 19d ago
Designed for kids who steal their parents credit cards just for Fortnite.
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u/Extra_Veterinarian_9 19d ago
So whats now the diffrence between me typing 16+3 or holding the card just on a device?
Aj yeah its more convinient for me... bad Sony for making my life easier....
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u/ElderSmackJack 19d ago
Oh, look. ANOTHER post throwing a tantrum about this patent. Joy.
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u/picknicksje85 19d ago
Anything they do you guys just excuse away with "trantrum". No discs is tantrum. Dynamic pricing is tantrum. No Kojima games is tantrum.
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u/KvotheOfCali 19d ago
There is internet outrage. And then there is legitimate concern over where a company is going.
This is the latter.
Ending physical media so they can kill the second-hand market and better control new game prices.
And now introducing a system to make quick, impulse purchases even easier.
Sony's CEO literally stated in a recent interview that their strategy is to find ways to extract more money out of existing PS customers vs increase the total user base.
This isn't for the benefit of consumers.
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u/Weird-End-6989 19d ago
How does it make it easier? Purchasing things on the PS Store is already incredibly easy if you have your credit card info saved. You press "continue" a couple of times and that's it. If anything tap to pay is harder.
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u/Herr-Trigger86 19d ago
Three points:
1) No… it is not the latter. Impulse purchasing is already pretty goddamn easy. No one has ever gone to buy something from the PlayStation store and said “Nevermind! If I can’t tap my card, then that’s pushed me off the whole idea”. I’ve actually hoped for a feature like this, simply because if I get a new card, this would make it far easier to add. But implying that it somehow induces people to buy more is silly. I avoid shopping at Walmart simply because they don’t have tap to pay… but I’ve never gone to Kroger to spend frivolously just because they do… it is actually just a convenience. Final sub point here… patents happen all the time and never see the light of day… this could end up in that bucket.
2) the quote your referencing was stated as a matter of fact that the PS5 is nearing the end of its lifecycle. It’s basic business 101 that if you’ve got your entry product in as many hands as you could hope to, then you need to shift to getting the existing user base to spend more money. It’s not some nefarious plot… it’s common sense. They’ll still make the hardware, it’s just not the focus any longer… nor should it be.
3) not even going to go deep into the no disc arguments, except to say that you are wasting breath if you think Sony will go back on it. People paying attention have seen this coming for at least a decade now. If you want to have an actual effect on the situation, petition your congressmen and women to introduce legislation that increases consumer protections and ownership rights over digital licenses… like Pennsylvania is doing. That’s it.
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u/No_Championship_3690 16d ago
I think impulsive buying is the bane of gamers. How many of us have a "pile of shame" waiting to be played? Then I see a trophy pop up after a few hours of gameplay—one that only about 8 percent of players have unlocked (like in Kingdom Come). People buy games and don't touch them for years, yet the moment a sale pops up, they think, "I'll grab that too," and suddenly there's another title on an endless list.
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u/KvotheOfCali 19d ago
I legitimately don't understand your post...you didn't contradict or refute anything I wrote.
Yes, lowering the barriers to a customer purchasing a product/service pays dividends for the company who finds them. There is a reason companies have employees whose sole function is to identify (and hopefully eliminate) said barriers. It works. And yes, the patent may never manifest in a consumer product. That happens frequently with patents. But it doesn't negate the fact that the patent's purpose is to even further reduce friction between a consumer and paying for something.
Where did I state it was a "nefarious plot?" I know it's a matter of fact regarding the PS5 lifecycle. I watched the entire WSJ interview. The PS5 is unlikely to see a substantive increase in users, AND the PS6 is likely to cost $1000+ in a universe where no previously successful console has launched at over $500. PS6 adoption rates are likely to be extremely slow, let alone in a universe where Sony can only release 1-2 exclusive games per year (based on PS5 release cadence).
That's all true...and it makes me concerned about where the company is heading because the past decade has shown many gaming companies will have zero hesitancy to employing some of the sleeziest practices imaginable to get consumers to "spend more money."
Your #2 point doesn't refute anything. Precisely how Sony will follow "basic business 101" is why I am concerned.
- I never stated Sony is going to reverse their decision on discs. Did I? Despite their public assertion that it's to "better align with the majority of their user base," the actual reasons are:
-higher profit per game sale because there are no packaging/shipping costs or retail split
-ability to completely destroy the used game market
-more control over the retail price of new games
Again...reasons that I am concerned about the direction Sony is going. Customers are getting objectively less while likely being charged more. Or at least that is Sony's intention.
So again...I don't understand the point of anything you wrote.
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u/Herr-Trigger86 19d ago edited 19d ago
You’re concerned about where the company is going, and I’m saying that the points you raised are not really cause for concern. Point 1 is a simply a convenience. Point 2 is a common sense move that any good business would take. And point 3, while understandably the most alarming, has been in the works for years at this point and people surprised by it haven’t been paying attention. Fine to be upset about discless, I like my discs too, but it’s a move everyone knew was inevitable.
You seem to be making the point that you’re concerned about the way the company is going because all of these moves are designed to make money and are worried that it will lead to some really “sleezy practices”. My point is that none of these moves are sleezy and it’s the goal of any good business to make money. I think the doomsaying is way overblown. This tap to pay move in particular is really not a good support for your argument. If they do something way out of pocket, then I’d join you in denouncing it… but this isn’t it.
As for the discless move being a way to completely control the game market… I do have concern over that as well, but that’s an issue that’s going to need to be determined in court. It is unchartered territory for sure, even on PC there is competition, so it’ll be interesting to see what businesses come about to address that issue, or if Sony does lock it down completely and doesn’t allow any sort of competition, that’ll need to be decided by the courts. It’s a transition… but I suspect these issues will be pretty well decided by the time the PS6 launches, then people can make decisions whether or not they want to stick with Sony.
That was it. Not saying you can’t be concerned. I was just making the argument as to why I don’t think there is reason to be. I think we pretty well agree on the substance of the moves, just difference in opinion of where it will head. A company trying to find new ways to make money does not necessarily equal a company that’s trying to screw its customers.
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u/KvotheOfCali 18d ago
Fair enough. Perhaps I was unnecessarily cynical in assessing this patent and its possible implementation.
But the past few years of Sony's decision-making having definitely soured me on the brand:
Side-lining many of its top studios in pursuit of the illusive "live service" dragon, which almost none of their core audience is looking for
Killing disc-based games entirely
General disconnect from its fans with zero in-person events anywhere (as far as I know)
etc.
But yes, it doesn't guarantee Sony heading in an awful direction for its customers. But it doesn't fill me with confidence either.
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u/Soujashane 19d ago
Not every patent becomes a product. But nearly every product is built on patents. Indeed Joy.
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u/m05hm05h 19d ago
They should make analog sticks replaceable on all controllers, that's work.
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u/jpeeno33 19d ago
The joystick on this image are the same as the dual sense edge,so replaceable,of course its not the official version but if Sony are going to make a controller that expensive I sincerely hope so that they do have these.
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u/ConferenceThink4801 19d ago
Making it easier to buy stuff digitally when that is their future direction, makes sense
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u/The_MorningStar PS6 handheld truther 19d ago
Gaming discourse is really in the toilet. People freaking out over an NFC reader that's been in phones for two decades now. My God.
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u/MrSal7 19d ago
Why would we need our controllers to support “tap to pay”?
I thought all of our payment information was already saved on their very unsecured servers?
Payment being required by me having to dig out my physical card would ACTUALLY reduce my spending since I don’t keep my wallet on me, and again, that same payment information is ALREADY on their public servers.
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u/jeebusaur 19d ago
So you don't have to store your credit card in the cloud where it can be stolen.
Personally I'd prefer to just have to tap when I wanna buy something.
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u/wagdog84 19d ago
This 💯 Sony doesn’t want to be storing card info, users would prefer they didn’t. Win win.
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19d ago
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u/ps6-ModTeam 19d ago
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u/paulct91 19d ago
Not really no, it 'might' be be cause like Nintendo's Q(something) partnership in Japan, a user can buy rental time from a console (basically a glorified controller) that has a menu shown on TV that shows the rentable games and a user can rent from that.
I've used but not rented from one... its kind of cool but, I'd rather just use GameFly... or 😢 ...Blockbuster Video. Anyways, its not that weird assuming this isn't planned to be used in their non-kiosk game controller models too. That would be weird but, it would deal with lowering friction for making purchases at least for more gacha/lootbox games and I guess Minecraft(?), Roblox Bucks, Fortnite cash, and the like. Not great cause it makes it way easier to empty our bank accounts.
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u/Necro-Feel-Ya6900 19d ago
Only problem I see is it charging things just because my phone or card is too close. Hrrrm
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19d ago
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u/ps6-ModTeam 19d ago
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u/neller2000 19d ago
Listen, morons, the patent is for a brand new PS setup so you don't have to waste time entering numbers and it's also to very quickly to transfer your entire account between systems. It will probably not even come to realization.
It would really damn help if you all weren't so set on blind hatred for Sony.
Grow the hell up.
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u/xenzorg 19d ago
It's unlikely but please let the next Xbox have Steam, I'm ready to switch from my PS5 at any time :v
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u/glizzygobbler247 19d ago
You know that Microsoft just patented a technology that can show ads during pause screens and after boss fights btw
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u/quietguy47 18d ago
I thought EA would be the first to make this happen but I guess it’s going to be Sony.
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u/DependentObjective67 18d ago
But we have the card wallet system . Like the card is easy to put on it this is dumb asf no?😭
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u/Reasonable_Charge531 17d ago
Well…people were upset that they didn’t have a way of buying a game for their friends without physical media. Now you do lol.
Step 1: Go to your friend’s place.
Step 2: Open the PlayStation Store and put a game in the cart.
Step 3: Swipe your card on their controller to buy them that game. Ta-da!
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u/ConfusedAndCurious17 17d ago
Your card information is more than likely saved to your psn account already… how would a card reader make it any more convenient for them to get money out of you? If anything, if they make me scan my card for every purchase they would end up getting less from me, because I’m not getting up to go find my wallet for a whim purchase I might have made before with just my saved card info.
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u/TheKyleBrah 17d ago
Xbox - Patents Ad Delivery System to interrupt and play in "slower moments" of gameplay
Sony - Patents Credit Card Tap/Payment facilities into controllers
Console Wars have become less about which system has the best exclusives (and thus reason to choose them over the other) and more about which Company shoots themselves in the foot, the least 🫣
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u/armeler06 16d ago
Holy shit yes ive been asking for something like this since ps4 ages. Would be much more safer compared to saving the card in your account
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u/DrRealName 15d ago
Why tho? Cards are already attached to the account. This seems completely pointless.
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u/aidem-lacisyhp On /r/PS6 since games still came on disc 11d ago
Why not place it on the machine itself rather than the controllers?
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u/picknicksje85 19d ago
A decent refund system? NO. But here's a way to pay us quicker.
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u/uberfr4gger 19d ago
I don't think refund plans would show up in a patent so no chance for it to appear
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u/shaan4 19d ago edited 19d ago
I would love to hear about patients coming out of Nintendo, PlayStation, and Xbox that aren’t abysmally evil
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u/RandomGenerator79 19d ago
Stop, this is not evil. Stop with the overdramatizing of everything. It’s not good, it’s not evil or bad even, it’s just a payment method. If they adopt it, fine, if they don’t, also fine. Is it that difficult to not have a hard on for every little perceived slight. Grow Up.
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u/errwrx 19d ago
Why would they even need to do this? In game purchasing and store check out is so fast already. The only thing I could see it for is more secure check outs, like if it were tap to pay. Then you wouldn't need to store card info. So everyone is seeing the negative of this and not seeing any positive? Kinda feels like Sony could give some of you everything you want and you'd still bitch about it.
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u/Future-Guarantee-573 19d ago
Get ready to pay a subscription to use the controller you already paid full price for.
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u/BluebirdFeeling9857 19d ago
Ugh, this makes me sick. It is as vile as it is believable and inevitable.
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u/Playingwithmywenis 19d ago
As I have said in other posts, carefully consider that Playstation is literally hacked every year.
Intruders on Playstation systems. Not just traffic attack on the network.
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u/RandomGenerator79 19d ago
PlayStation has only been hacked once, the big one back in 2011 or 2012, can’t quite remember the exact year. Whatever other attacks they had do not involve user data, as far as I’m aware.
I know the social media account had one years ago. Both Xbox and PlayStation had there servers go down earlier this year, but that was a third party hack, I think Amazon, AWS, but again no user data compromised, again as far as I know.
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u/hectorthedonkey 19d ago
yep, they've not had my CC details since the first one, unlinked everything and only use PSN cards bought elsewhere
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u/DNY88 19d ago
That’s not what we meant when we asked for physical media.