Patent Seemingly Details What Changes With PS5 Game Invite System

Patent describes an interesting game invite system that sounds like it could be for the PS5. The complexity of the system is only possible with powerful hardware. The patent also mentions multiple processes and picture in picture.

[Nitrowolf2]

Looks like they're allowing us to run more than one game at a time based off this info as invited launch that game while an other app is running

[rainslacker]

Probably part of the suspend game features that's been rumored or shown through patents. Basics of it are it's a save state of your current game, not unlike you do sleep mode on the systems now, where it just dumps the memory to start it back up at the same point. Allows for faster transitions and booting.

I assume this feature would have an opt out option, as well as require you to confirm you want to enter a game in the first place, but it saves a couple steps in the matchmaking process which is pretty cool.

[Christopher]

1. This isn't complex. They already do similar by installing games remotely or just invites to games. It's part of the base OS as it is to suspend one app when you open another.

2. This isn't necessarily going to happen. I really really wish "journalists" would stop writing these things as "will happen" when it's all just potential. A patent filing doesn't mean that's what they will do, it just means it's a potential concept.

3. I think the only real news here is that Sony will possibly be doing what MS is doing with their next console, which is having multiple games in suspend mode while you play another. Outside of this, XBO already does this exactly and PS4 just doesn't automate one part of it. It's really not a big leap here.

[Silly gameAr]

They do number 2 on your list A LOT.

[ilikestuff]

I’m doing number 2 as I read these comments

[indysurfn]

@siilly gamerAR Was that pund on purpose? LOL

[Elwenil]

"I really really wish "journalists" would stop writing these things as "will happen" when it's all just potential."

I agree. I also wish there was some sort of system to allow us to curb the submissions of certain "clickbait" and/or poor quality "journalism" articles and/or the people who constantly submit and or approve these awful articles. Right now it's the Wild West of excessive clicking articles, random nonsense claiming to be news and whatever sensationalist garbage some of these sites manufacture to generate clicks. We need some way to separate the wheat from the chaff.

Just a thought.

[rainslacker]

It does fit in with the patent to suspend multiple games at once though. It's a nice feature really, so long as you can opt out. It would save some steps once a player agrees to enter a game invite, and speed up the process in general on both ends.

[porkChop]

Personally I really don't like the idea of random games launching in the background every time someone sends me an invite. If this even ends up happening, there would need to be an option to disable that.

[Christopher]

It would be something you would have to accept, so it wouldn't happen automatically, and likely would have an option to disable overall or only allow from certain types of friends (close, all friends, anyone, no one, etc.).

[nucky64]

did you read the story? it sure sounds automatic :
The invitee console would then trigger the game’s launch in the background if that player is in the middle of another game or simply watching a film etc.

An invite triggering the launch of a title on your console seems annoying but surely there has to be an option to opt-out of the automatic launching of games, otherwise, it’s just annoying.

How exactly does this work remains to be seen. What we do know for sure is that there is picture-in-picture if you choose to bring up the background process to run alongside whatever you are currently doing. Here are some key points from the full document.

Launching occurs without user intervention at the invitee computer device
Invitee console will show a gaming session launch window associated with the launching, based on the invitation
Invitee console will display the window as a picture-in-picture if other game processes or apps are running
The game will launch as a background process
Launching is occurring automatically with one or more applications are running in the foreground on invitee computing device

[Christopher]

***did you read the story? it sure sounds automatic :***

You're speaking to concept versus UI design.

From a technical standpoint, their layout works perfectly fine. From a user design, they will obviously give the user an option to accept or decline the invitation. The patent isn't going to cover the accept/decline portion as it's irrelevant to the concept of the technology utilized, it's just additive and external to the premise.

[KillBill]

@Christopher "The patent isn't going to cover the accept/decline portion as it's irrelevant to the concept of the technology utilized, it's just additive and external to the premise." - how is it irrelevant? If a step is present that allows for cancelling of the operation by invited than that would be surely germane to the process. As written it specifically excludes a process to cancel the operation up to the point of final invitation. It reads directly as a function that will not be preventable by invited and purely as an operation that will be completely automatic up until that point.

[Christopher]

***how is it irrelevant? If a step is present that allows for cancelling of the operation by invited than that would be surely germane to the process.***

Patents of this sort outline a technical process. Specifically on this one it's the automation of inviting and launching games automatically. This is made by software engineers, not UI designers. So, these patents aren't covering what Sony will do to make it better for the user, they're just covering the specific technical aspects of how things will interact and any technical specifications on how things will interact.

[rainslacker]

It's probably done as a system task, with processor, or co-processor power reserved at all times for it. Memory will still be alocated to the system and not given all to games like it is now, and even now, some processing power is reserved for the OS. I'm also pretty confident it would be done through a hyper-visor so it can be switch to really quickly. Opting out would likely be an option, as it is now an option to not opt into game invites. I'm sure to start the game, you would eventually have to agree. This just gets everything prepared ahead of time so if you agree, there is not as much wait to start up the game, get into the game and it's MP mode, and connect to the other player.

Basically, just because the game launches, it doesn't mean it will start up and overtake your system. That would be unacceptable, and make it too easy to screw with other users.

[porkChop]

I know that it wouldn't automatically switch to the game. But I still don't want games loading in the background if I'm not playing them. It's unlikely that Sony wouldn't let us disable it, but I hope it isn't on by default to begin with.

[KillBill]

People imagine a game launching as a relatively harmless and low tasked operation. When that is farthest from the truth. The reasons games take so long to load up is because they are demanding of resources and processing. Have to simply turn on your PC and start running apps and check your task manager to see the effects it has on your system. And if you are running an already high stacked process than starting another can deep end it quickly. So imagine this process has limiting factors to software being developed for the system. Surely not going to be able to make the most out of a systems specs if resources are being pulled for things like this. Sony talked about dedicated resourcing and this could be one of those things.

[rainslacker]

@Kill

which is why resources would probably be reserved for it. However, that pre-loading doesn't have to be done at full speed, and while there could be some debate over if they should take away resources for the devs on the game itself for what I'd call a marginal feature, the games will still get made within the limits that already exist. On PC, opening new programs will use all available system resources, giving priority to applications based on however it's set up to give priority to them. That priority can be controlled by either the system, the user, and on occasion the software. The problem on PC is that what may be available when that process starts with a new application may not be what it has when another demanding application needs those resources, which is why you have slowdown. On a console, this shouldn't be an issue, because certain things should be given all available resources, and would never have access to other resources that may handle this process.

It's really no different than Sony and MS both reserving memory and operating resources to do video capture, which one may not use at all, and even less use it in the way they promoted it on social media. With Sony on the PS4, they do have a dedicated co-processor for that, but it can still take up hard drive resources to flush the video into memory, and it will take up some reserved part of memory that could be used for games themselves. Not sure what Sony dedicates to that process, even if you don't use it, but I know that about 2.5 GB of the total system memory is used up for system purposes, with part of it being made available to games for system related tasks. PS5 is going to be the same way.

[jznrpg]

I don’t play a lot of multiplayer so I doubt I’ll get a lot of invites. But I’m sure if this is how it works they will allow you to opt in or out or have it friend only or public or specified friends . Full information will be revealed sooner than later , but I wouldn’t worry about this one bit .

[Mr_Writer85]

I'd imagine there would be a disable option.

The window idea sounds interesting. Say I'm playing GOW 2... My friend comes on, wants to play Overwatch 2.

He gets me into the party, asks if I wanna play, I say yes.

He boots up the game, sends the invite, gets the party set up, searches for a game. All this, whilst I still play GOW2.

Then a match starts, I suspend GOW2 and play.

When we're done playing, I go back to GOW2.

[nucky64]

when i get my ps5, if this is true, i'll disable it immediately unless not allowed - but i can't believe we won't be able to opt out of something like this.

[Harkins1721]

And this is a rumor from a site. Im sure ull be able to just accept it or decline.

[nucky64]

agreed. it's easy to join a party now - i don't see the need for something like this. i'd be surprised if this feature is included in the final product.

[ps5fanboy]

oh and the ssd is 50% faster than conventiona;l pc tech and xbox x

[SegaSaturn669]

The main thing I care about is stability updates: they have to be frequent.

[jznrpg]

A lot of guesswork . We will find out for sure what’s going on with PS5 soon. If you have good info we want to know. But guesswork is annoying .