Sony is apparently patenting a way to add trophies to its older games that didn’t have them at launch. While we have no way of knowing if Sony’s actually going to use this to bring some of its older games forward to new consoles — with trophies — but one can always hope.
The patent was spotted by a Redditor and posted to the GamingLeaksAndRumours sub. It describes “a system and method of awarding trophies in previously released or sold video games, without modifying the original game.” Trophies began with the PS3, so there are quite a few classic PlayStation titles that never had trophies. According to the patent, this tech would award trophies to emulated titles once they meet checks indicating they’ve fulfilled the requirements.
The patent describes the purpose of trophies thus: “Generally, trophies are an important part of modem gaming. However, often, older games do not have the capability to award trophies to [the] player. In order to enhance the gaming experience, it would be desirable to be able to award trophies to users playing older games that were not introduced with the trophy feature.” It also adds something about how gamers will be able to unlock physical rewards, “such as a T-shirt, accessory or other physical merchandise,” which is new.
It’s not just the idea of adding trophies to older games that’s intriguing. It’s the idea that Sony might soon be bringing a bunch of older games forward to the new generation — so many that they require something other than an ad hoc bespoke solution for adding trophies to said older games. I don’t want to speculate too wildly, but this gives me hope that some of the games that’ll be cut off from the market when the PS3, PSP, and PS Vita stores will be cut off.
Source: PatentScope
