New Sony Patent Teases Perfect PlayStation Feature for Single-Player Games

Sony's latest patent could make it easier to revisit parts in PS5 games.

By Marc Deschamps

The very best single-player video games offer multiple points that stick with players; moments that people will want to revisit for years or even decades after. Unfortunately, it's not always easy to do that, as games usually require that a player spend hours getting back to that point if they want to replay one specific moment. Clearly, PlayStation has been thinking about that, and how the company can extend the replay value of its single-player games. A new patent filed by the company titled "Content Streaming With Gameplay Launch" would incorporate "trigger points" that can be launched by the player to revisit specific moments and cut scenes. 

It's unclear exactly how this would work in practice, but Sony's patent states that "each trigger point may be associated with a set of game data specific to a gameplay scene within an interactive title." Once that trigger point has been unlocked by the player, "gameplay may be launched by the user device based on the identified set of game data associated with the selected trigger point." Basically, it sounds like the game would be broken down into chapters like on a DVD or Blu-Ray, and unlocked trigger points could be revisited after the fact. 

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(Photo: PlayStation, U.S. Patent Office)

How Trigger Points Could Work

While this patent offers a compelling look at what could be added to future PlayStation games, it's unclear whether the option would also be added to existing ones. It's possible we could see this added to games like Marvel's Wolverine, but it's hard to say whether PlayStation would go back and add the feature to titles like Marvel's Spider-Man 2. Presumably, this would be exclusive to Sony's first-party games, but it's possible we could see it implemented in third-party games like Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth. At this time, there's simply no way of knowing for sure! 

PlayStation Patents

It's worth noting that, just because Sony has patented this potential feature, it does not necessarily mean that we'll see it incorporated into future games. The company has filed a lot of patents over the years that failed to reach audiences, including an option that would have allowed everyday items to be used in place of a PS5 controller. The example in that patent cited bananas being used in multiplayer games, which is obviously something that still hasn't been seen!

The reality is, companies like Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo are constantly looking at new ways of improving the experience for users. Sometimes these concepts make it to market, while many others do not. For now, PlayStation fans will just have to wait patiently to see if these trigger points are ever actually added to PlayStation's games!

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Would you like to be able to revisit certain points in a single-player game? Is this the type of feature you'd want to see implemented? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!

[H/T: Exputer]

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