IbizaPocholo
NeoGAFs Kent Brockman
Sony Patents Gamer Clothing With Flexible Displays
A recently published patent reveals that Sony is developing a range of updatable clothing for gamers, complete with flexible displays and DLC designs.
gamerant.com
According to the patent, the new line of garments being developed by Sony will feature detachable components, such as collars, cuffs, and hoods. However, the most unusual and exciting elements of the clothing are its flexible displays. These are baked right into the fabric and will provide wearers with near-limitless customization options.
The patent details multiple methods for updating the designs that are shown on the displays, which is all done wirelessly and controlled via an app of some kind. Users will be able to unlock new designs by playing games on their PlayStations or purchase them through a digital storefront like they would with traditional DLC. In addition to this, there's also mention of new designs being distributed at special events, such as esports competitions.
As well as being able to change the designs on their clothing with the push of a button or a swipe of their finger, wearers will also be able to specify certain conditions when it comes to what exactly is shown on the displays. For example, the patent suggests that users could have the display on the back of their sweater change depending on whether the hood is attached or whether or not it is up or down.
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Sony Patents New Matchmaking System that Separates Players into Skill-Based 'Houses,' Neighborhoods,' and 'Villages'
Sony's new patented matchmaking feature would create unique skill-based player units, leveraging a special 'competition server' to do the job.
gamerant.com
Given just how invested Sony is in the gaming industry at large, it's not particularly strange or surprising to see that it would attempt to come up with an exciting new way of matching players of a similar skill level together, and the newly proposed Cross Skill Competition patent has a few interesting ideas as to how this might work. Whether it pans out is a wholly different matter, naturally.
As neat as Sony's recent voice communication patent may be, the company's "Cross Skill Competition" patent could have some seriously far-reaching consequences over a long period of time. Namely, the listing explains that the system's proposed competition server would keep track of players' skill profiles and then, in some cases, send them invites to specific "houses." These houses would connect players of an equal skill level, with multiple houses forming "neighborhoods" and, at a large enough scale, even "villages." In multiplayer games, the server would pair together players of similar skill levels using their houses as a reference of how proficient they are, even going so far as to have them compete together in large-scale tournaments.
