AI-Powered Gaming: Sony Unveils New Controller Concept

Sony's new patent hints at a potential game-changer for future PlayStation consoles: AI-powered latency reduction. The patent, WO2025010132, focuses on optimizing "timed release of user commands" by predicting player inputs.

Sony's current PlayStation 5 Pro, featuring the PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR) upscaler, highlights the challenges of balancing enhanced visuals (like frame generation) with minimal latency. Competitors AMD and Nvidia address this with Radeon Anti-Lag and Nvidia Reflex, respectively. Sony's proposed solution appears to leverage similar technology.

The patent details a system incorporating a machine-learning AI model to anticipate user inputs. This prediction is aided by an external sensor, potentially a camera observing controller button presses, or even the controller buttons themselves acting as sensors. The patent suggests using camera input to feed the AI model, identifying the player's intended command.

While this specific implementation might not directly translate to the PlayStation 6, the patent clearly demonstrates Sony's commitment to minimizing latency without sacrificing responsiveness. This is particularly relevant given the rising popularity of frame generation technologies like FSR 3 and DLSS 3, which often introduce additional latency.

The technology's benefits would be most apparent in fast-paced games demanding both high frame rates and low latency, such as twitch shooters. However, the future application of this patent in actual hardware remains uncertain.