PlayStation Wants To Help You Suck Less At Games

Among the various PS5 features that set it apart from the consoles of prior generations are a number of ways to mitigate high levels of difficulty. For example, the PS5's solid-state hard drive lessens load times, allowing players to jump back into the fray against a difficult enemy considerably quicker than in the past. Now it seems Sony has plans for at least one additional feature intended to assist players with tough games, as detailed in a patent recently filed by the company.

The title of the patent briefly describes just what Sony is hoping to do, summarizing its contents as "use of machine learning to increase or decrease level of difficulty in beating video game opponent." In essence, a game using this technology would be able to assess players' strategies or patterns when facing in-game enemies. The game would then adapt its AI's behavior to either accommodate a struggling player or counter a skilled player the next time they encountered that same enemy or enemies.

In practice, this would mean that against an opponent deemed to be too difficult, the degree of precision required by players might ultimately be lowered, for example. Sony specifically outlines the ability to ease joystick maneuverability or decrease the number of button presses required. Joystick maneuverability and trigger feedback are now modifiable thanks to the design of the PS5's DualSense controller. Of course, these could be changed to make an enemy harder as well.

Sony further details how it might intend to implement this technology in a series of accompanying drawings. One of these outlines how the technology could be used to modify only specific enemies or sets of enemies, be they bosses or standard encounters. Furthermore, it might not necessarily be a built-in feature. Instead, this function could be something that triggers upon starting a new game, updating the game, or other such conditional scenarios.

The patent also outlines the genres in which Sony hope to make use of the technology as specifically FPS, RPG, simulation and esports-related games. While the first two are codified genres, the latter two labels could be applied to a wide variety of titles, giving Sony some leeway as to the releases in which the company might ultimately implement the feature.

Given that this technology is only in an initial patent form, none of these scenarios are definite. Sony also filed a recent patent for a sort of "PS5 Pro" that likewise may or may not ultimately see the light of day.