Sony is seeking to patent a game-changing controller function that might enable PlayStation customers to rewind their progress at any level.
We’ve all had these moments the place you go down the flawed path or make a hasty resolution you rapidly remorse. Equally, generally you simply mess up in moment-to-moment gameplay, maybe setting off an explosion a bit of too shut for consolation or falling off a map in embarrassing vogue. It occurs.
Nicely, poor choices or errors like these may quickly turn out to be non-factors. Slightly than dwelling with the results of your actions and studying to enhance, Sony is seeking to patent a brand new rewind function to present gamers extra freedom in backtracking.
As first noticed by Tech4Gamers, Sony utilized for a brand new function design patent all the best way again in April 2023, with the doc solely simply being publicized in October, 2024. This patent outlines plans for a ‘sport play rewind’ operate with “person triggered bookmarks.”
SonyThe patent seems to put the brand new rewind enter over the present share button on present DualSense controllers.
The patent showcases numerous diagrams detailing how Sony plans so as to add a brand new button to future PlayStation controllers. On the contact of mentioned button, gamers would be capable of rewind again to sure factors of their gameplay.
When enjoying by means of any given little bit of software program on PlayStation {hardware}, customers would be capable of place ‘bookmarks’ – consider it as a special phrase for ‘saves.’ The system would additionally mechanically place bookmarks too – assume ‘autosaves.’
Urgent the brand new enter button on the controller would enable customers to immediately backtrack to any given bookmark, although it’s unclear simply how far again these will be positioned. There’s no telling if bookmarks will be dropped and stay in place for a number of hours, or if the window is far tighter.
It’s additionally unclear how builders might interact with the function, if Sony does certainly land the patent rights and observe by means of with its improvement. Rewinding key choices may essentially damage the expertise of many narrative-driven video games, so numerous studios might want to place restrictions on the function’s use.
One far much less impactful instance talked about within the submitting particulars how “whereas enjoying a quest of a online game, the person might periodically flip again to a bookmark to interchange captured picture frames that present particulars of the search.”
Evidently, Sony believes there’s a use case for such a function, and has invested time submitting this patent. Although it’s price protecting in thoughts, sport firms search to patent a variety of untamed improvements, lots of which by no means truly find yourself seeing the sunshine of day, so there’s no assure the following PlayStation console will embody a rewind button on the controller.