Sony patents a system that allows esports viewers to control the broadcast camera. Also, another Sony patent could improve accessibility thanks to Artificial Intelligence.
The world of video games is constantly evolving and developing, and major companies continue to invest in innovation to improve the medium. The rise of esports has made many companies think about how these events could be made even bigger. Now, a patent from Sony raises how to improve esports broadcasts.
Sony has filed a new patent to put a spin on esports broadcasts. As you know, normally these live broadcasts work like any other sport: there is an official image and signal that all viewers see, and commentators talk about what they are seeing. In big events there is a production team; in small events, it is the commentators who change the image.
Sony wants viewers to have greater control of the broadcast, so they do not get bored and do not lose interest in the retransmission. The Japanese company proposes that viewers can control what they are watching on screen through commands. Sony believes that in this way interest will increase and users will have a better viewing experience.
This, for example, could make us focus on a player we like, or on an area of the map we want to see to find out how the situation is there. The application could be varied, but for example, it seems difficult to be able to use it in the EVO, one of the most important fighting game championships in the world, and that PlayStation recently bought in a piece of surprising news.
Improve accessibility with AI
Sony has filed another patent that has to do with accessibility in video games. Luckily, the industry has come a long way in recent years so that anyone, regardless of their physical or mental condition, can enjoy games. PS5 for example has some accessibility features.
This other patent refers to a technology that would help to implement some accessibility features thanks to Artificial Intelligence, with time and cost savings. According to the patent, some accessibility features “that are common in other media, such as subtitles or descriptive audio, are more difficult to implement in video games as a result of player influence.”
There are games where the player’s decision causes the gameplay to be different, so it costs more to implement such features. According to Sony, the use of AI for descriptive audio, subtitle generation, or even the application of different filters to adjust the color profile would save a lot of costs and speed up the development process.
