Apparently, Sony’s plan for the next generation of gaming isn’t the Playstation 4, more realistic graphics, or even virtual reality – it’s an integrated pop-up ad delivery service. While we users of the internet have been waging a constant war against pop-up ads since the start of the World Wide Web, Sony Computer Entertainment America is filing patents that aim only to set us back from any advancements we have made in the perilous fight.
Spotted by a member of the NeoGAF forums was a patent filed by Sony in July of 2011 for a concept that would allow for pop-up advertisements to interrupt gameplay. The mechanics of this concept have it so that gameplay would slow down briefly before pausing completely for the advertisement to play. Anybody that went through their youth as a gamer youth knows the unnerving frustrations of having to pause every time mom thought the garbage smelled bad enough to need to be removed from the house. If implemented, hopefully these advertisements will have the sense that mother did not and will avoid interrupting hour long boss fights right when you get used to the flow of the battle.
According to the specifics filed with the patent, anyone that feels they would be immune from the random stoppage by playing on-line multiplayer would be horribly wrong. The year old patent hints that the program would be set up to interrupt all network-based games, gradually slowing down and pausing each individual’s screen simultaneously. On the bright side, once gameplay continues, all involved parties of the match will have something else to bicker about besides “your mother” and the size of their genitals.
Though it may seem like nothing but horrible backlash would come from the implementation of this patent, there could actually be a few benefits that stem from it. For one, with revenue coming in from advertising, Sony could continue offering a free on-line service when the next generation of systems finally launch. With an added source of income, there is also the slight possibility that Sony could offer lower prices on its downloadable content, putting it a step ahead of the competition.
Of course, this is all beyond speculation. Since the July 22nd, 2011 filing of the patent, Sony has been tight lipped about the concept, having spent the bulk of its time dispelling rumors of a PS4 and amping up marketing for the PS Vita. Is it a concept they actually plan on implementing; or are they just covering all basis, ensuring that if anyone were to jump onto the in-game advertising bandwagon they would receive a cut for owning the rights to the concept?
With E3 2012 right around the corner, this discovery will probably have gamers at the edge of their seats during Sony’s press conference at the trade show. Chances are, though, if the company has yet to let anything slip about the patent in the year after filing it, there will be little to no mention of it amongst the excitement of God of War IV: Ascension and PS Vita’s All-Stasr Battle Royal.
Good to hear that somebody’s paying attention to this stuff. Wish more people did.