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Sony has submitted a patent describing sensors on the PlayStation 5 controller that would track biofeedback and change the experiences based on this (via VGC).
RespawnFirst got its mitts on the patent, and it shows that these sensors would be placed on the grips of the DualShock 5. Electrodermal activity (that’s sweat) and heart-rate would be monitored in real-time, and the processing device would use this data to alter the gaming experience. For example, if the player seems stressed with a high heart-rate and sweaty palms, the difficulty could be lowered so that they get the best experience from the game.
In the past, biofeedback has been utilised to intensify the emotional response triggered by a game. Flying Mollusk’s Nevermind is a horror title that puts the player into the minds of trauma patients. It checks the player’s heart-rate throughout the level, and if it increases, the difficulty increases. But, if the player calms themselves down, the difficulty decreases to reflect this. On the other end of the spectrum, there is Champions of the Shengha. It is a card game somewhat similar to Hearthstone, but between each round, the players must practice a relaxing breathing technique: “the more successfully they control their breathing, the more gems they win to spend on weapons and spells to defeat their opponents.”
Sony has stressed that the PlayStation 5 will change a lot of what we’ve come to expect. The DualShock 5 boasts adaptive triggers that feel different depending on what is happening in the game, like the feeling of pulling a bow string back compared to squeezing a shotgun trigger. An improved controller speaker will offer new opportunities for developers’ to use sound to their advantage, and the haptic feedback will be intensified for immersion.
Of course, this is only a patent, and we aren’t able to say for sure that it will make it into the final product. Sony will reveal more and more about its next-generation project at the “hundreds of consumer events” it intends to attend, though it won’t be present at PAX East 2020 or GDC 2020.
The PlayStation 5 will launch in late 2020.
