That experience could be set to become more stressful on the PlayStation 5, if Sony implements its latest patent for an idea that lets spectators vote to bench players who are underperforming.
What Is Sony’s “Vote to Bench Players” Patent?
In January 2020, Sony filed a patent titled “Spectators Vote to Bench Players in a Video Game” with the US Patent and Trademark Office. On October 19, 2021, that patent was granted.
The patent explains a system where spectators can vote on the performance of players within a game. Proposed outcomes from the vote include “remove player from game”, “warn player to improve”, and “keep in game”.
The player on the receiving end of this vote would see a message informing them of the outcome, which is decided once a certain vote threshold is met.
The patent explains that the spectator’s votes would be weighted based upon their skill level. For example, the longer they’ve played the game or the more points they’ve earned, the more weight their vote will carry.
Why Sony’s New Patent Is Bad for Players
The concept of voting on players isn’t a new thing. Many online games, especially those with a competitive angle, have long given players the ability to vote to mute and kick teammates. It’s a great way to combat spammers or hackers.
However, Sony’s patent takes things to the next level. The idea that people can tune in to the game, even if they aren’t partaking, vote on your performance and potentially get you removed, is worrying. It turns everything into a hyper-competitive situation, when you might just want to play a few quick casual games and not be fearing judgement.
Plus, just because a player is higher skilled or has logged lots of playtime doesn’t mean they won’t abuse the vote.
This new system might also make developers even less inclined to police their platforms and rely on player moderation. It took Call of Duty: Warzone, an incredibly popular battle royale, over a year and a half to implement a real anti-cheat solution at system level, despite the community constantly crying out for it since launch.
Could Sony’s voting system have alleviated the problems in that game? Or would it have caused the developers to be even more lackadaisical in addressing the game’s cheating problems?
The “Vote to Bench Players” May Never Happen
Although the patent has been approved, this system may never see the light of day. Large companies like Sony submit patents all the time for ideas that they may or may not pursue.
Alternatively, it might not be used in traditional online games like first-person shooters, but rather quiz or talent shows where crowd voting is more traditional.
