Sony has filed a patent that could revolutionize the way we play video games. The patent, which was filed in August 2023 and made public last week, describes a technology that would allow players to start playing a game before it has finished downloading.

Playstation Portal

Sony’s Innovative Approach to Seamless Game Access and Reduced Wait Times

The core idea of this patent revolves around a technology that optimizes the startup speed of games. Traditionally, players often have to wait for the entire game to download before they can start playing. However, Sony’s new method proposes a significant change to this process. It involves a comparison between the time it takes for a player to complete a specific part of a game and the overall time required to download the entire game. If the game’s download time is longer, Sony’s technology prioritizes the installation of that specific game part first. This enables players to begin experiencing portions of the game while the rest of it continues to download.

The patent describes a method to speed up application startup times by utilizing what are referred to as ‘application chunks.’ These chunks are essentially discrete parts of a game. The system associates these chunks with game time information, which estimates how long it takes a user to reach a certain point or milestone within the game.

Source: Patent Public Search

To optimize the download process, the system predicts how long it will take to download these chunks based on the chunk information and the user’s network data. It then compares this predicted download time with the previously recorded time it takes to play through these chunks. If the download time is shorter than the gameplay time, the system proceeds to install that chunk of the game first.

It’s not clear yet when or if Sony will implement this technology in its products. However, if the company does, it could have a significant impact on the way we play video games. It would allow players to jump into their favorite games more quickly than ever before.

Sony is also actively developing technology to enhance mobile gaming controls, focusing on precision and smoother gameplay. They are also exploring lifelike NPC reactions to improve gaming immersion.

These patents suggest that Sony is committed to making gaming loading times as fast as possible. And with the company’s focus on cloud gaming, we may see even more advancements in this area in the years to come.

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