Live-streaming video games is a very popular form of online entertainment with many sub-communities continually popping up around different streamers and genres of games. Big streaming platforms like Twitch and YouTube Gaming did see a drop in hours viewed recently, though this was likely due to the winding down of the COVID-19 pandemic which had inflated the number of users across many online media platforms. But what separates streaming from all other forms of media is the relationship between the streamer and the audience.
For gaming streamers, the game itself is usually the main point of focus for both the streamer and the viewer. There will also usually be a chat window open a for viewers to chime in with their thoughts, and so the streamer and the chat can have a constant back and forth. The most successful streamers on Twitch have built their audiences on a process of “come for the game, but stay for the personality.”
Sony has now patented a new system which could see this streamer and audience interaction become even more intertwined through the game itself. The patent specifies a system that would allow the audience of a live-stream to have their verbal responses appear as text in the streamer’s game. Sony's patent seems to suggest this system would be best applied to a game that already has a virtual crowd, such as Madden NFL or MLB The Show. The live-stream chat would then be cast as members of the virtual crowd with their comments appearing scattered around the stadium, but without drowning out what the streamer is saying.
This is a system that could work but would be difficult to implement into a game without it being completely chaotic and distracting. Chat windows for popular streamers move quite quickly most of the time, and when something exciting or unexpected happens to the streamer, the chat window can quickly become a wall of emojis and all-cap reactions. The patent also describes the intensity of the speech being accounted for, so the bigger the reaction the bigger the text will appear on-screen.
A Twitch chat can sometimes be used for specific purposes, but mostly it will just react to the game or to the streamer. Viewers that wish to contribute to the virtual crowd would be required to speak their comment into a microphone, so this may slightly taper the free-for-all that most text-based chats would become if they knew they’d be appearing in-game. Sony's patent would still require a vigilant censoring system, as inappropriate comments that appear in a chat window can be deleted, but having the chat appear in the game itself means it will be a permanent part of the stream's video playback.
This patent seems like it would be best used for making virtual audiences in VR feel more interactive. Sony has already invested in helping Epic Games develop a metaverse, and so perhaps that is where this technology is destined for in the long-term, rather than being used in any PlayStation titles.