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Sony files patent for game demos that lose features over time
A patent dug up by Siliconera details a new system conceived by Sony for limiting the content found in game demos. "Degradable" game demos, as described in a patent filed by SCEA, would initially include either a full game or a large amount of content, but that content would gradually disappear over playtime, to unlock again once the full game is purchased. Examples in the patent document include a weapon that becomes less effective over time, and race tracks that become unavailable one at a time. Essentially, it's the DIVX rental system, but downloadable and for games. You know, DIVX, the system in which you "bought" a cheap disc that would only work for a short time unless you paid a fee to "unlock" it. That lasted less than a year because it was too popular, right?
Sony wants to patent 'feature erosion' in game demos, illustrates the idea vividly
Want more evidence of the patent degradation of modern society? Well, here's Sony with its latest idea for selling games. The feature-eroding demo concept gives the user the full game to start off with, but then grows increasingly more limited the more you play it. In racing games, that means the number of tracks you can race on gradually dwindles, whereas in classically themed smack-em-ups like God of War your sword, erm... well, it also dwindles. We're kind of on the fence about this -- on the one hand, it's hilariously insulting to the user as it perpetually nags him about what a cheapskate he is for not purchasing the entire game, and yet on the other it does at least let you taste the full breadth of the game, albeit for a limited time. However you may feel, this is still at the application stage, but given the patent office's recent track record, there's no reason why Sony should be denied the rights over this supposed innovation.
