The haptic feedback system originally sold as one of the largest selling points for Sony's PS5 console and its DualSense controllers that promised to give a unique experience compared to other peripherals. However, the impact of the haptic feedback in the DualSense is heavily dependent on whether or not a game developer designs any given title around this kinetic play experience.
A recent patent from Sony might indicate that the hardware developer is looking to introduce a way for the DualSense controllers to personalize haptic feedback for players beyond the input of game developers. This could make smaller indie titles and the massive library of backwards compatible PS4 titles more interactive on PS5 compared to playing across other systems.
The patent itself looks specifically at finding interactive tasks within a game and creating a haptic response based on what is happening and what the player is supposed to do. This new system will also determine the type of feedback based on information within the player profile, which could be something as simple as a player's PS5 settings for haptic feedback or as complex as their previous playing experiences. It also appears that the primary purpose of this software is to lead players towards interactive tasks or through sections of games through the haptic feedback.
If this system is able to procedurally build haptic responses based on both player gameplay and what is coming up in a game, then this could work towards improving the experience of all games on the PS5. The improvements could also go towards PS4 games that are backwards compatible on Sony's new console, such as those available through the PS Plus Collection and included monthly titles. It isn't clear if this software might be able to transfer with the DualSense to PC games played with the controller, but it does look like it could have a larger impact on older titles, cross system releases, and indie games without included haptic feedback.
Considering the filing date of this patent, this system likely won't be available in the next PS5 update, but it could still be coming in an update further into the future. Regardless, the implications of procedurally creating haptic responses could be huge for making one of the biggest selling points for the PS5 extend to even more titles. If the backwards compatible library of PS4 games can be retroactively given haptic feedback, then Sony could have tons of titles that best utilize the DualSense's biggest feature.
Source: WIPO