iPhone owners could soon be using Near Field Communications (NFC) enabled games controllers to get their game on, a new patent filing reveals.
Uncovered by gaming Bible IGN, the filing from Apple is for a technology that uses NFC to pair a controller to the handset, so that users’ frantic waggling and button presses are transferred wirelessly for controlling the game remotely.
Assuming the patent, which features what looks a lot like a PS2 Dual Shock controller, advances beyond the drawing-board stage, it could clear the way for a new generation of more immersive iPhone games that offer a very different experience to casual phenoms such as Angry Birds.
The discovery of the filing comes amid widespread speculation that NFC will be one of the key features of the next iPhone. Until now, Apple has shunned the tech and seems content to sit on the sidelines until a universal standard emerges.
As well as allowing gadgets to be paired together, NFC enables phone users to pay for low-ticket items by swiping their phone over a reader and swap files, say songs or photos, by touching their handset with another NFC-enabled smartie.
