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- A new patent published by Sony wants to add an advanced game rewind feature with a new universal controller button.
- The rewind system would let you create bookmarks at any moment during gameplay to revisit that part for a while.
- The player could seamlessly transition between gameplay and bookmarks at any point by using the button.
Innovation in the gaming scene has certainly slowed in the past decade. However, that has not stopped studios from trying the most absurd concepts—via patents—to rival each other. Sony is one of the biggest players in this regard, and its new patent could shake the industry as we know it. The company wants to add an advanced rewind feature in its games with a new universal controller button.
We have stumbled upon a new legal document that wants to make it possible for players to rewind back to any point during the gameplay for a limited time. Sony’s proposed system can allow players to use the rewind feature by pressing a new universal button(s) on the controller, which would let them pick any previously saved moment.
“The user is able to enter the rewind mode from the live game play using one or more controller inputs to view recent game play (e.g. rewinding, fast-forwarding, playing, etc.), and returning to live game play afterwards.”
Why it matters: Sony securing a patent to add the rewind feature to its games could completely change how we enjoy them. Allowing players to rewind to any manual or automatically saved bookmarks with a new button could prove to be a highly popular feature.
The patent, ‘GAMEPLAY REWIND WITH USER TRIGGERED BOOKMARKS, ‘ describes letting players manually bookmark any moment during gameplay so they can revisit it. The system can also automatically bookmark progress as players play a title to make the rewind process more intuitive.
Sony argues that players might not always remember gameplay and story details when they were revealed in the story. Additionally, some may want to revisit certain parts of the game for sentimental reasons. This notion is currently impossible without external intervention, such as file editing. So, Sony wants to make it easier for players to rewind to any point during the gameplay.
“Accessing recent game play while the player is playing a video game is difficult, and requires hacking an existing service to view the portion of the game play of interest.”
It’s worth noting that a rudimentary form of rewind feature already exists in some titles, such as Forza Horizon 5. However, they are usually marred by limitations—like, you can only reverse back to a certain immediate point. Sony could go leagues beyond what is possible with this new patent, but take it with a pinch of salt.
The giant conglomerate has also secured other eccentric ideas in the past, such as automatically creating variations of existing sound effects in titles and another one to add a real-time sign language translator in its games.
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Orlando Ray
great mechanism if implemented correctly
Shameer Sarfaraz has previously worked for eXputer as a Senior News Writer for several years. Now with Tech4Gamers, he loves to devoutly keep up with the latest gaming and entertainment industries. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science and years of experience reporting on games. Besides his passion for breaking news stories, Shahmeer loves spending his leisure time farming away in Stardew Valley. VGC, IGN, GameSpot, Game Rant, TheGamer, GamingBolt, The Verge, NME, Metro, Dot Esports, GameByte, Kotaku Australia, PC Gamer, and more have cited his articles.
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