Sony has a new patent that looks suspiciously like blockchain technology – the same technology that underpins cryptocurrency and NFTs.
WIPO patent US20220358450, Tracking unique in-game digital assets using tokens on a distributed ledger (kudos to you, Reddit), was granted by the World Patent Office on November 10, 2022. It describes a “system and method for tracking digital assets associated with video games.” This system will track digital assets using a “distributed ledger” and create a “unique token for the digital asset” that includes “a unique identifier and metadata identifying the properties of the digital asset. Changes in the properties of the digital asset, such as ownership, visual appearance or metadata, can be identified in a request to update the history. A new block can be generated for, and added to, the distributed ledger identifying the changes in the history of the digital asset.”
The distributed ledger, the unique tokens, the “blocks” that are generated every time someone wants to update the ledger with new ownership – all of this sounds exactly like blockchain technology, the same thing that powers cryptocurrencies and NFTs. All Sony’s patent does is apply it specifically to video game digital assets.
Although gaming companies from around the world have invested millions in blockchain and crypto technologies, there have been very few success stories. However, Sony’s patent could show a valid use for blockchain in the context of video games. Currently, digital assets can already be managed perfectly with server-side databases, but the blockchain will allow the storage of digital asset data to be pushed to users’ (i.e. players’) hardware. The reason it’s not done for most MMOs or multiplayer games today is that storing data on the client side makes it easy for malicious players to hack, but a distributed ledger would make it far more difficult for unauthorized tampering. This will eliminate Sony’s need to run servers to keep part of its gaming infrastructure running.
The patent includes everything from player data, characters and items, to recorded things like videos and screenshots. Of course, a patent doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll see a product right away, and given crypto’s bad reputation, blockchain technology may never be adopted by anyone. But at least it’s encouraging to see an application that seems useful on the surface.
