Here’s a new thing. Sony Interactive Entertainment has filed a patent application for a system that allows spectators to vote to “bench” players in a video game for various reasons. But wait, there’s more. Spectators can “pay” to have a player removed and barred from rejoining the game session.
As spotted by folks over at SegmentNext, the application was originally filed in January 2020 and was made public last week on July 15th. It lists various “game-playing attributes” as reasons for spectators wanting to kick a player, including toxic behavior and griefing. The benched player can then be substituted.
The system would work by allowing spectators to cast their votes to remove a player. The votes have to meet a certain threshold for the player to be booted. Those who are removed will not be able to rejoin the session.
Part of the application reads:
In one embodiment, the interface to enable providing of feedback to the cloud gaming system enables a spectator to pay in full a fixed price to have a player removed from playing the video game, and the removal of the player is performed by the cloud gaming system when payment in full of the fixed price is received from the spectator. In another embodiment, the interface to enable providing of feedback to the cloud gaming system enables a plurality of spectators to pay a part of a fixed price to have a player removed from playing the video game, and the removal of the player is performed by the cloud gaming system when combined payment in full of the fixed price is received from the plurality of spectators each of whom paid a part of the fixed price to have the player removed from playing the video game.
Looks like Sony is taking esports and multiplayer tournaments seriously.
[Source: USPTO via SegmentNext]
