Sony patents a digital assistant for consoles

Sony has ideas for its own digital assistant. In a patent application, Sony describes the ‘PlayStation Assistant’, which should be able to be used by players to request information about games.

The patent application, filed by Sony in March, appeared online this week. In the text are some details about a method by which players can request information about their games via voice commands. The images accompanying the patent application show the games Horizon: Zero Dawn and Skyrim as examples. For example, while playing Skyrim, players can ask how to defeat certain enemies, complete certain quests and puzzles, or how to get a steel sword.

Sony’s vision is that there will also be a mobile app for PlayStation Assist. Through this app, players can ask when they started playing and how much playing time they have in a game. In addition, an image of the app with a real-time minimap is shown. The mobile application must also be able to communicate with a linked console. For example, players can place a waypoint on their in-game map with a voice command via their phone.

In the application, Sony states that video games have become more complex and elaborate over the years. This makes it increasingly difficult for some players to navigate successfully through a game, according to the company. This can be frustrating, causing some gamers to stop playing, Sony reports. The alleged digital assistant is supposed to make games more accessible for players.

The fact that this feature has been patented does not mean that this feature will actually be applied in a next PlayStation console or that Sony is even working on it. The publication of this patent comes at the same time as the news that Microsoft is coming with a beta version of Google Assistant for the Xbox One.