Over the past few years, eSports has seen a steady rise to remarkable heights, providing skilled players with the opportunity to build professional gaming careers through dedication and hard work. Similarly, as eSports has solidified its presence in the gaming and entertainment sector, its fanbase has seen substantial growth.
Just like traditional professional sports that take place in stadiums and are watched at home, eSports tournaments have become a constant presence across various games like Call of Duty, Counter-Strike 2, DOTA, League of Legends, and more.
However, despite the considerable growth of eSports and the dedicated fanbase it has built, if you haven’t watched much competitive gaming before, it can still be difficult to get into and understand.
It appears that Sony wants to fix that problem through a patent named ‘Esports Spectator Onboarding,’ which was filed earlier this year on May 5th, 2023, and only just published.
The patent aims to introduce interactive real-time features in eSports broadcasts, to educate spectators about various aspects of the ongoing game and match they are watching, and should be be entirely personalized for each player according to their preferences and interests.
Rather than diving too deep into the technical details of the entire system, let’s break down the working operation in a more straightforward manner, providing examples from the filed patent for a clearer understanding.
The system, illustrated in Figure 1, aims to enhance the viewer experience of eSports events (110) by capturing real-time gameplay and audience interactions at live events. This data is then stored and processed through gaming servers (140) to dynamically create personalized data streams. These streams, tailored for your individual preferences, are then distributed through a public network (150) to spectators’ devices (200). The devices can be anything, such as a PlayStation 5, a PC, a mobile phone, a TV, or other system capable of viewing the live broadcast.
Sony’s objective is to offer an immersive viewing experience, complete with customized tutorials, mini-games, and varied perspectives, bridging the gap between eSports and casual spectators. The system offers spectators diverse perspectives not typically available in conventional broadcasts with limited viewpoints.
Unlike traditional eSports broadcasts, where Producers (150) control what viewers see, restricting visibility to players, this system will allow spectators to choose their preferred perspectives. By storing assets in the Gaming Server (140), the technology can recreate varied viewpoints based on spectator requests, addressing the limitation of conventional broadcasts and providing viewers with a more interactive and personalized experience.
Producers (140) can not only allow individuals to view varied perspectives, but they will be able to actively shape and manage the distribution, building customized experiences for viewers and eliminating the need for redundant storage thanks to the unique identification system in the metadata database.
The event metadata database (190) plays an important role in storing metadata associated with each eSports event (200). Whenever event data (170) is utilized in a stream, the metadata for various views can be retrieved from the event metadata database (190) via the gaming server (140). Metadata refers to the descriptive information about the event such as titles, scores, player names, etc.
Since it is completely customized for each spectator, the system checks what games you’ve played before and how you’ve used your device (step 402). If you, as a viewer, want some help or information during an eSports event, you can ask for it by pressing relevant buttons on your controller or even by showing confusion in your reactions (step 404). The system can also automatically sense if you’re struggling and need help.
The system employs sensors to track hardware-related data and software-related input, like user reactions (repeated button pressing, shaking controller, etc) or expressions captured by a camera. For instance, if a player fails to complete an in-game activity and is recorded looking frustrated, the system interprets this as a cue for education. This is where machine learning modules come into play.
Machine learning modules analyze this data to identify confusion and frustration, overriding user preferences to offer more detailed education and assistance using on-screen instructions and relevant prompts.
When you ask for help, the system (step 406) can provide tutorials or mini-games related to the game you’re watching. These activities can range from basic game overviews to specific details about characters, weapons, or game environments. If you’re new to the game, it might give you comprehensive tutorials, and if you’re experienced, it can focus on more advanced strategies. The system can even adjust based on your reactions during the event.
The onboarding activities, such as tutorials and mini-games, can be presented in different ways, including but not limited to pop-up explanations, trivia games, or playable scenarios from the game. You might get rewards for participating, like in-game items for future gaming.
The system keeps track of what you’ve learned in your user profile, updating it to provide better assistance in the future (step 410). The whole process can be repeated each time you watch an eSports event, making sure you always get the help you need.
Sony’s ‘Esports Spectator Onboarding’ patent has the potential to revolutionize the viewing experience for casual fans and help introduce competitive gaming to more mainstream audiences. By creating personalized and interactive broadcasts tailored to each individual’s knowledge level and preferences, the proposed system aims to make eSports more immersive, enjoyable, and educational for spectators.
The capabilities outlined in the filing represent an ambitious technological vision for the future of eSports viewership. From detecting user confusion in real-time to offering customized tutorials, mini-games, and perspective options on demand, the system would enable fans to tailor streams to their own needs.
If successfully implemented, features like seamless viewpoint changes, context explanations prompted by user reactions, and rewards for participation could make eSports broadcasts feel less disconnected and more welcoming to those without much gaming literacy. Sony stands ready to narrow the accessibility gap that still places eSports on the fringes for casual viewers.
Of course, effectively executing all elements smoothly will pose immense technological challenges. How limitations in areas like privacy, machine learning accuracy, content breadth etc. are navigated will prove pivotal to realizing Sony’s lofty aspirations. But by actively targeting barriers to mainstream comfort with competitive gaming, their innovative patent holds exciting promise for connecting eSports with an even wider audience in the years ahead.
