PlayStation’s new patent outlines an all-new method of producing real-time guides for players stuck on particular game sections by leveraging the know-how of experienced players. The proposed system would rely on a vast library of pre-established “expert” game guides that can quickly give stuck players an idea of how to progress forward.
Though it’s fairly commonplace for large gaming companies likePlayStationand Xbox to submit all manner of patent listings both to use in the future and to prevent others from using them, it’s not particularly rare for these patents to see actual real-world use in the end. Sony, in particular, appears interested in leveraging several different kinds of helper systems, for example, at some point in the future.
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FollowingSony’s “Video Game Inventory Coach” patent, the company is now also interested in setting up a huge array of gaming help sessions with the help of “expert” gamers. Players who get stuck on particular boss fights or puzzles could ping the feature with an assistance query, which would then hook them up with a pre-recorded help session. If that doesn’t pan out, Sony’s patent also outlines a helpdesk sort of interface where stuck players could talk to the guides' creators themselves, getting them to help out if push truly comes to shove. The most important, however, is the fact that the patent suggests expert players could earn money this way.
The functionality demonstrated in the featured patent diagram would presumably tie in withSony’s previous gaming pair-up functionality, which suggested a way for mentors to connect with stuck players so that they can teach some of the game’s ins and outs and perhaps help out with combat, puzzles, and other potentially problematic sequences. Nothing’s come of this patent just yet, it’s worth pointing out.
Sony’s gaming assistance patentsappear to be a genre unto themselves, as the company has patented a comprehensive list of possible helper features over the past couple of years. Sadly, most of them have ended up going nowhere in the short run, but Sony may end up sitting on them for years to come, only potentially drawing upon them if there’s a real need to do so. In theory, this could all mesh together quite well if PlayStation is ever to have a dedicated helper program at the players' beck and call, but there’s no such thing at this time.
Naturally, Sony isn’t the only company interested in helping gamers play their games in peace.EA patented a game difficulty analyzerback in 2021, for example, and though there’s been no official word on whether the feature’s been fully developed, it’s possible that it’s only going to end up being used for the publisher’s own purposes.
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