New Sony Patent will Revolutionize Gaming

Sony Interactive Entertainment has recently published a patent for a new system that would allow esports fans to participate in matches by positively or negatively influencing them from home. The patent is titled “Triggering Virtual Help or Hindrance Based on Audience Participation Tiers” and would allow fans to participate in different “engagement activities” to affect the match with different effects by meeting different engagement goals.

Apparently the patent demonstrates a theoretical example of this system in which more drastic effects take place with each engagement level met. For instance, if 100 spectators press a button 10 times, then a cheer effect would play, potentially affecting the opposing team’s audio. If 1,000 spectators share the stream with a certain hashtag, then the players receive a boost. But if 10,000 of them were to scan a QR code that pops up on stream corresponding to their “most hated team,” then that team would lose a life.

The concept of “fan-control” is not a new one

While it may be a new concept to esports, it’s not new to traditional sports competition. The Fan Controlled Football League ran for two seasons in 2021 and 2022 before postponing the 2023 season due to capital funding issues, but it gave fans the option to call in various “power-ups” like a fifth down or a power play.

However, there are concerns regarding the implementation of such a system in high-stakes environments like a championship match. Additionally, a system like this could easily be sieged by bots.

Although the language and ideas in the official documentation are very vague and generic and don’t apply to any specific esport, this patent paints an interesting potential future of esports viewership and fan engagement. If something like this possibly made its way to an official esports broadcast, it would definitely shake things up!

Strict regulations and rules will be mandatory nonetheless

Sony’s patent allows viewers to place bets on matches in real-time using virtual or real money. Additionally, viewers can select their preferred viewpoint during the match, which can help them focus on a particular player or team. Fans can also create mini-games based on the legacy game, which can increase the replayability aspect of the game.

Sony has not yet released any information on the measures in place to prevent abuse of their patent in trolling esports events. However, it is expected that Sony will implement strict rules and regulations to ensure fair play and prevent any malicious activities during the matches.

Esports organizations and players can adapt to the changes introduced by Sony’s new patent by embracing the new technology and incorporating it into their gameplay.