New Sony patent details a method to interrupt games with ads

A new patent filed by Sony Computer Entertainment America details software designed to interrupt the gameplay sessions of users with advertisements.

Spotted by an eagle-eyed user on NeoGAF, the patent was filed back in July 2011 by SCEA and is given the catchy title "Advertisement Scheme for use with interactive content."

What the patent does in a nutshell is warn the player that the game is about to be interrupted and then introduces the advert. Once the advert is over - the example Sony puts forward is an ad for a brand of soda - there's a momentary pause before gameplay begins again.

The patent also mentions a method of potentially rewinding the game once the advert is over, presumably in case the warning that the ad was incoming distracted you from a vital segment. That's probably wise as I for one I can't imagine surviving the intense rush of anger after losing all my souls in Dark Souls thanks to such a message distracting me without a feature to undo the damage.

Eurogamer points out that the patent is an expansion on a one based around similar ideas filed in 2006. Only time will tell if anything real will come of this.