PlayStation 5 could revive Xbox One’s canned Snap feature

PlayStation 5 could include a multitasking feature similar to Xbox One’s canned Snap mode.

That’s according to a new Sony Interactive Entertainment patent published this week, spotted by TheGamePost, which describes a feature that allows users to display a sub-screen of content alongside a different type of main content.

The feature described in the patent would allow players to simultaneously play a game, whilst displaying a video in a separate picture-in-picture element.

It would also allow players to share gameplay clips or change music tracks without being pulled out of the game they’re playing.

According to the patent, users would be able to change the layout of the sub-screen to something reminiscent of Xbox One’s former Snap mode bar, and switch between controlling each screen by pressing the PlayStation button.

Microsoft included Snap mode with Xbox One launch consoles as a method for users to watch TV or run an app side-by-side with a game (or vice versa).

The feature was eventually removed in 2017 to help improve OS speed, but also coincided with Xbox’s steer away from positioning the console as a multimedia device.

Although a glimpse of the PS5’s boot sequence was teased during this month’s PS5 reveal event, most of what is known about the console’s menu system has come from interview comments and patents.

In October 2019 PS5 system architect Mark Cerny claimed PS5 would feature a “completely revamped” interface which would allow players to boot directly into multiplayer games and display joinable online activities in real-time.

Earlier this year Sony filed a patent for ‘Direct Gameplay’, a likely PS5 feature that will allow players to jump into specific parts of games straight from the console’s home menu.

The feature would allow users to launch directly into a multiplayer match, specific game chapter or mode directly from the operating system menu, instead of having to boot a game and then progress through a series of menus.

The patent suggested the feature could display dynamic content such as a Trophy the player is trying to unlock or a friend’s game activity, and boot them directly to relevant content.

Another patent uncovered this month suggested PS5 could use machine learning to provide not just dynamic menu options, but game hints based on players’ actual gameplay.

The patent describes a system which may determine that the user has been repeatedly attempting to overcome a challenge within a particular portion of a game, and decide to provide hints for the current gameplay on the system menu.

The system menu described will also provide statistics and a video clip based on the user’s previous gameplay session.

Further reading

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