Another day, another next generation patent unveiled.
As reported by Respawn First, a new Sony patent has revealed that the PlayStation 5 controller (presumably named the DualShock 5) will feature sensors that can gather feedback such as heart-rate or level of sweat secretion.
The patent suggests that the biofeedback gathered via the controller will then be able to make adjustments to the player’s gaming experience, however there are no examples given as to what these changes may be.
The patent does however mention using images of the user, which could mean that it may depend on the PlayStation Camera. Further reading seems to indicate that these features will be used to provide more immersion to future PlayStation VR experiences, but it remains unknown at this point whether or not the features could find their way into more traditional gaming experiences.
The concept of a game utilising heart-rate and sweat secretion levels albeit gimmicky is novel to say the least, and I can’t help but think of countless ways it could be implemented, especially in horror games.
The collection of personal data is always a touchy subject however, as there is the possibility of Sony sharing of selling this biofeedback information to third-parties.
Regardless of that though, I’m intrigued to see how these features make their way in to games, so long as Sony don’t tell anybody how sweaty my damn hands get.
