Sony's latest PSVR patent wants to put an avatar of you in your friends' games

Sony has filed two new VR patents: one to permit PSVR users to spectate live events, and another for inserting avatars of your pals into your games.

Siliconera noticed (thanks, VG24/7) the two patents, filed in 2017 and 2018 respectively, when they were published last week. The first is to allow people to join a live event, such as one at a sports arenas, "anchoring" them "to a physical location in the venue" to virtually spectate and feel as though they're really there, complete with a surrounding crowd.

The second details plans to turn your friends list into NPC crowds so they can spectate you as you play your game. Stating "generic spectators" don't match the realism of the other elements we've come to expect in current-gen gaming, Sony wants to populate NPC crowds with your pals instead for "a more entertaining and engaging experience". The patent goes on to explain that the avatars can be anything from "life-like representations" to an avatar your pal chooses to represent them, and it will be able to spectate you in real-time via VR, or through "pre-programmed clips".

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