Sony has reportedly filed a patent to allow adverts to be displayed within the PSVR headset. The news comes from IGN [via SegmentNext], who spotted a new patent listing dated June 25, 2020.
The patent shows illustrations which give an idea of just how the advertisements would work, and it appears that the adverts would show in your periphery while wearing the VR headset. This could either be in the top corners of the display, or splashed right across the middle. Check out the patent image below, courtesy of the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
The patent goes on to describe the advertisements as “additional content” for “promoting recognition of a given thing or service,” with their position depending on how the user is wearing the VR set at the time.
From the sounds of things, this could be targeted ads way worse than anything we’ve seen before, as the patent says the tech would be able to: “detect on which performer the user is focusing his or her attention and then change the advertisement in accordance with the performer of interest.”
Yikes.
Of course, a patent doesn’t really mean that this is going to happen, it just means that it’s something the company wants to lock down legally, just in case it does.
Tech giant Razer explained the phenomenon of patents perfectly last year, when the company was questioned over a handheld gaming device they’d filed a patent for.
Razer said at the time: “As one of the world’s most forward-looking companies, Razer regularly applies for new patents for innovative concepts and designs.
“With more than 3,000 applications, Razer recently won prizes from the World Intellectual Property Organization for its innovations. At the start of 2013 we invented the first gaming tablet with removable controllers – the Razer Edge – years before devices like the Nintendo Switch were launched. Our patents may or may not be marketed and we do not comment on unannounced products.”
Let’s hope that the PSVR adverts are going to be a hypothetical bit of tech, and not something we’re going to be seeing anytime soon.
Featured Image Credit: Sony