PlayStation 2

Sony Patents Way for Playstation to Trade Digital Gaming Content

Sony recently came under criticism when it was revealed that Gamestop would no longer sell digital codes of PS4 games under the command of the PlayStation company. Today Gaming Bolt shared a patent that may answer why such a strange decision was made.

According to the official patent, Sony has filled a claim for a method of having a physical object associated to a digital game. That physical object could very well be a digital game code. This explains why Sony is eager to get rid of GameStop’s control of digital gift giving. Sony themselves are working towards that themselves.

The patent goes on to reveal that not only is Sony looking to associate a physical object to a digital game. The digital game can then be tradeable to other players. What’s more interesting is how they describe the value of a digital game.

We all know how trading games goes in the real world. You trade in a bunch of games and usually receive some credit to buy a new game. In the provided patent Sony claims that the value of your game is based on the changes and modifications to the game. The value of the trade in game is determined with whether or not you buy in game currency, DLC, have an altered online MP profile like a high rank, and more. It seems as though if you trade the game, you also trade all the progress that came with the game and in game currency and items you originally payed for. The direct claim in that patent is quoted below if you would like to exam it.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the in-game or third-party resources include experience, in-game currency, monetary purchases, or promotional codes.

Overall the tradeable patent is sounding like Blockchain technology which is the ability to track a an item and its history. The patent states that the previous owner of the game will be associated with the game forever along with any new owners creating a timeline and history complete with account info and even a players location.

Could this patent be related to physical collectibles like Amiibos?

It’s still a bit confusing as to how this will work with Sony’s patent description claiming that the physical object associated with the game could very well be a physical toy like object. One example the patent brings up is Amiibos and Skylander figures. Could Sony be thinking about launching it’s own figures but also looking to make them shareable or tradeable? Below is another quote that further describes the tech.

A system for a tradable physical collectible object is claimed….The game network or network game can assign ownership of the digital copy to the user. Ownership of the digital copy can be transferred from one user to another.

We will have to wait and see how Sony plans to use this tech because right now it is looking pretty broad in terms of use.

Source: USPTO

Via: Gaming Bolt

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