Microtransactions are the bane of every gamer and it is rumored that Sony is going to implement a new type of microtransaction in the PlayStation 5. The next-generation consoles are already hyped up to have ridiculous power compared to the current generational consoles.
Sony was granted a patent by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) which shows an AI assistant being introduced to the new system. What this patent shows is that Sony wants its users to ask the AI questions when they are stuck in the game.
But as good as this sounds, Sony intends to charge its users for using the AI. This is where the entire patent looks shady, though it isn’t certain if Sony will implement as patents are filed almost every day and most of them do not even make it.
On the other hand, it brings up the question as to how far the gaming industry will take microtransactions and if this is true for Sony how many players would want to buy the console knowing it will charge you for almost every time you ask it for something.
This all makes the inclusion of AI seem unnecessary but Sony might have other things in mind, there isn’t much known about the PlayStation 5 except for the fact that it is scheduled to be released during the Holidays period of 2020.
You can check out the patent right below and how it will affect the gaming industry.
The patent says, “In some embodiments, selection of various resources may require a form of payment, for example by using virtual currency or real money. In some embodiments, the selection of various resources may be in the form known as a ‘micro-transaction,’ which deals with relatively small sums of real money.”
“There may be an in-game resource of the game environment that could aid the user in accomplishing the objective with the character. The in-game resource may be downloadable content (DLC), add-ons, upgrades, items, tips, strategy, communal data, etc. However, the user is not necessarily aware that such a resource exists.”
It remains to be seen how this affects and if Sony will actually implement this feature in PlayStation 5 or will it just be a patent that they filed for the future.
