Many of the consoles in the last few years have been aiming at stepping up their game by introducing accessories to heighten the video gaming experience. The Xbox 360 introduced Kinect, the Switch thus far has had Nintendo Labo and the Pokéball Plus, even the NES had the Duck Hunt gun accessories. In the upcoming generation of consoles, Sony may yet take the cake for the strangest console accessory.
According to Sony’s latest registered patent, they aim to provide an actual robotic companion to accompany the PS5 that will sit next to the player and react to movies and games that are on the screen that the PS5 is attached to. The robot is visualized by Sony to look like a cloud-like creature with eyes, arms, and legs, described as a “human-type, pet-type thing.”
“A user places a robot nearby and views contents together, while the robot communicates with the user by outputting a reaction to empathize with the user or outputting a reaction against the user conversely, on the basis of a deduced user’s feeling,” the patent explains.
Instead of a physical companion, the robot could also utilize VR. “In the embodiment, in the virtual space constructed when the user wears an HMD, a mechanism is proposed in which the content is reproduced in front of the user, and when the user turns sideways, the user may see how the virtual character is viewing the content together with the user,” the patent said. “Similarly to the robot, the virtual character also communicates with the user by outputting the reaction to empathize with the user or outputting the reaction against the user conversely.”
Essentially, Sony would utilize already present technology, such as cameras and sensors, as well as audio inputs to gauge how someone is feeling and tell the robot how to react. The robot will act as Sony’s “Clippy”, with the intent behind it to encourage people to game. Such a device would seem unsettling, even creepy to some people, but Sony is relying on the pack-bonding mentality that humans experience in order to potentially promote the need for this device.
“It is expected that the user’s affinity with the robot is increased and motivation for playing a game is enhanced by the robot viewing the gameplay next to the user and being pleased or sad together with the user,” the patent added. It’s hard to guess exactly what the reactions will be to this bizarre companion, but rest assured Sony is attempting to set themselves apart as the next generation of console gaming nears.
