Sony Patent Will Stop Game to Play Advertisement

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NeoGAF user onQ13 has spotted a patent filed by Sony describing a method to halt a video game to play an advertisement. The patent is called "Advertisement Scheme for use with interactive content," and is geared towards Sony's PlayStation games, maybe more.

Up until now, gamers have dealt with advertisements as in-game banners, or as actual placements within the virtual real-estate such as billboards, virtual storefronts, virtual products and more. Advertisement supposedly helps keep publishing and development costs low, as production costs have gotten so hefty, it's absolutely necessary to have the extra income. Most free-to-play games depend on in-game advertisement to help offset the expense of hosting gamers who don't purchase virtual goods.

Gamers will argue that their $60 purchase shouldn't contain any kind of adverts at all. They have a good point -- after all, consumers aren't forced to sit through commercials after they've purchased an individual TV show or an entire season. Yet many gamers will also argue that in-game brand placement adds to the overall realism. If anything, Nintendo has been the most disruptive thus far, nagging gamers to take a break every now and then without even using a single ad.

But Sony looks to copy network TV by completely halting a game in progress to display full-screen advertisements. The patent describes a system that will slow down gameplay and display a warning to the end-user, stating that an advertisement is about to take place. The system then halts the game, plays the advertisement, and then warns that the game is about to resume. After that, it's business as usual. Rewinding to the state of pre-slowdown may even be an option.

Eurogamer points out that the patent is a continuation of a patent filed back in 2006. That said, Sony's plans to halt your gameplay may never see the light of day. Besides, the gaming community probably won't have any tolerance for such a system, lighting torches, gathering pitchforks and threatening retaliation if such a plan actually gets a green light. It's bad enough used games may be blocked on future hardware.

http://www.tomsguide.com/us/Patent-PlayStation-advertisement-in-game-NeoGAF,news-15373.html