Content Streaming With Gameplay Launch: How Sony’s Latest Patent Will Affect Your Gaming Experience

Content Streaming With Gameplay Launch is the latest gameplay feature Sony has patented, and here is why you should care as a gamer

A recent patent filing by Sony has unveiled the company's strategic initiative to introduce a feature enabling users to meticulously select and replay precise gameplay segments within a game environment. How will this new feature, which Sony calls the “Content Streaming With Gameplay Launch,” change your gaming experience? Here’s everything you need to know about it.

What Is Content Streaming With Gameplay Launch?

The patent, titled “Content Streaming With Gameplay Launch,” was formally filed on the 11th of July 2023 and was publicly disclosed on November 2nd via the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), as brought to light by Exputer.

HUGE: New Sony patents suggests a feature that allows players to replay a game from exact moments🚀

✅As you play, info regarding ‘media content’ will be stored, with trigger points being associated with ‘specific data sets’

✅Players will be able to stream media content over… pic.twitter.com/er7kOj4CfE

— Rino (@RinoTheBouncer) November 12, 2023

It has been evidenced that Somy plans to compartmentalize gameplay sequences into subchapters, each embedded with ‘trigger points,' enabling players to promptly select and immerse themselves in the precise scenes they wish to replay.

How Will It Work?

During gameplay, data related to ‘media content' will be recorded, associating trigger points with specific sets of information. Users will have the option to utilize a communication network to stream media content to their devices. As the player streams media and reviews gameplay, they will have the option to select these ‘trigger points' at their convenience.

Photo Credit: Bluepoint Games

The system will spot the ‘game data' linked with those trigger points. Leveraging the game data linked to the trigger points, the system will launch the interactive title for gameplay on the user's device, using the identified set of game data connected to the chosen trigger point.

Content Streaming With Gameplay Launch: The Changes It Could Bring

Right now, if you want to replay a specific scene, here's the deal: you'd have to start the game, play through until you hit that scene, or, if you have the option, use a chapter select with a save file.

The patent's objective is to revolutionize the gaming experience by enabling players to effortlessly stream specific instances within a game, ranging from pivotal cutscenes and stages to intense boss fights and more. This innovation seeks to liberate users from the necessity of playing through or even launching the game at all. It aims to provide direct access to these targeted moments instead, offering a seamless and direct pathway to relive and experience key elements of the game without the traditional gameplay requirements.

As mentioned above, games developed for PlayStation will have trigger points, which will serve as entry points for players to initiate streaming directly from these predetermined locations.

Game developers or PlayStation might provide these trigger points as choices, allowing players to pick one directly from the console's interface. Choosing one of these trigger points would launch the game at that specific moment, enabling players to start from that point.

How The New Sony Feature Is Different From Save Points?

In certain games, missions or chapters already allow players to replay specific parts. Sony's new patent proposes a universal implementation of these elements in every game. This means you could easily revisit your favorite moments or explore alternate decisions in games with different paths without the need for a save point. As a result, Alan Wake 2 players, for example, can revisit certain parts of the game just like Starfield players.

Save points primarily save progress and continue gameplay from a designated point, ensuring players don't lose progress. In contrast, trigger points, as described in the patent, are designed to offer selective streaming access, enhancing user engagement by facilitating quick and targeted sharing or reliving of specific gameplay segments.

The Pros and Cons

This feature is a game-changer for content creators. If you're planning to create a video showcasing strategies for defeating a boss, this functionality enables direct access to that battle without the need to customize a save or spend multiple hours progressing through the game. Making videos like the one below will become much simpler.

Everyone cherishes certain game moments, such as a favorite mission or a thrilling boss battle. Having the ability to replay those parts hassle-free sounds fantastic. Ideally, you wouldn't have to begin an entirely new playthrough to relive those standout moments.

There is a small caveat, however. Trigger points are markers at specific game moments that developers have to identify manually. Put simply, this replay capability won't allow immediate backtracking to any point in the game. It’s still an improvement over save points, but perhaps not as groundbreaking as it initially appears.

At present, this remains a conceptual plan yet to materialize. The actual implementation of this idea poses significant challenges owing to its intricate technical requirements. These assertions strongly suggest Sony's intent to centralize the user data of each individual gamer. If this plan is to materialize, it would entail accumulating a vast repository of tens of millions of playthroughs from a diverse array of thousands of games. The feasibility of such an endeavor, therefore, is notably challenging to envision.

It's premature to draw a definitive conclusion at this point, as a substantial amount of information remains uncertain. The notion of Content Streaming With Gameplay Launch is intriguing; however, it remains to be seen how Sony brings this gameplay feature to life.