Sony files patent for possible cloud distribution – awarding trophies based on disk access

While we once reported on Sony’s patent for anti-piracy, a new patent has emerged that could promote trophies for games that do not even natively have them. That’s right – PS1 and PS2 trophies are a possibility as the system plans to distribute through Sony’s cloud system.

Originally filed last September, the patent mentions that “[a] method and apparatus for adding trophy support games that do not have trophies without modifying the original game” is its original intent. It’s described as a “Method and Apparatus,” a common phrase for patents whose technical details are still being finalized.

Here is a breakdown of the system:

• A method for assigning one or more trophies to a user, comprising: accessing media content; defining one or more trophies; defining a trigger associated with the media content; detecting the trigger during media content access; and assigning the one or more trophies to a user account that is associated with the user in response to the detected trigger.

After this initial step, it’s an easy process from there as the below image indicates:

The patent also mentions a curious usage of Sony’s new technology based on the cloud to distribute said new trophies:

• Indeed, the present invention may be implemented in a distributed or “cloud” computing environment in which shared resources, software and information are provided to computers and other devices over a network, which may be, for example, the Internet, “Cloud computing” typically involves delivering hosted services over the Internet. A cloud service typically has three distinct characteristics that differentiate it from traditional hosting. One characteristic is that it is sold on demand, typically by the minute or the hour; secondly, it is elastic—a user can have as much or as little of a service as they want at any given time; and thirdly, the service is usually fully managed by the provider (the consumer needs nothing but a personal computer and Internet access).
• Significant innovations in virtualization and distributed computing, as well as improved access to high-speed Internet have accelerated use of cloud computing. The cloud can be private or public. A public cloud typically sells services to anyone on the Internet. (Currently, Amazon Web Services™ is the largest public cloud provider.) A private cloud is a proprietary network or a data center that supplies hosted services to a limited number of people. When a service provider uses public cloud resources to create their private cloud, the result is called a virtual private cloud. Private or public, the goal of cloud computing is to provide easy, scalable access to computing.

The suggestion that “the present invention may be implemented in a distributed or “cloud” computing environment in which shared resources, software and information are provided to computers and other devices over a network” is quite thrilling, actually. It provides a reason for gamers to keep games from past systems in hopes that Sony may patch or create trophies for them, essentially making every game a current-gen title.

Pretty amazing stuff. For more information, read the full patent linked in the first paragraph and here.

Thanks, NeoGaf.