The PS3 motion controller is still scheduled for release next year. Meantime Sony has just registered a US patent application for a brand new and hitherto completely unknown gaming peripheral. There’s just no stopping ‘em, is there…

The new device is described, unhelpfully, as a “hand held game controller”. As far as we can make out from the concept sketches supplied it’s a plain cylinder with a slanted top that houses just four buttons. We’d be tempted to guess that it’s some kind of previously unannounced Nunchuk-style counterpart to the motion controller. However the latter is designed to partner with the PS3 Eye Camera, and seemed to work fine without the need for any further assistance at Sony’s E3 showcase.

Others have speculated that the ergonomic design and button layout would be useful for quiz games. That may be so, although Buzz! Quiz TV – the PS3’s only gameshow worth bothering about – already comes equipped with four perfectly serviceable and entirely wireless buzzers. So maybe not.

In short, we haven’t a clue what it’s for, but we’re surely intrigued. Maybe it’s just a placeholder to stop Nintendo and Microsoft from registering similar devices? Dunno, but we’ll keep our ears to the ground and let you know if/when any more information emerges.