A new PS5 patent has been discovered online revealing us how Sony plans to eliminate loading times with its next-generation console. It’s not a secret anymore that Sony wants to make loading screens a thing of the past with PlayStation 5.
This patent by Sony regarding PS5 loading time was granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office recently.
The patent reveals how PS5 will be able to dynamically load game segments to pave way for smooth loading transitions without the need for any pause (loading screens).
In short, if the purposed feature is applied to PS5 then the players will not have to encounter loading screens or sit back while the game loads into a different part or area of the game.
Keeping the patent in mind, Sony’s new system will split the game areas into sections. Whenever a player steps into one of the areas, the adjoined areas will load automatically in the background to allow smoother gameplay experience.
Here’s an overview of the patent:
A system and method are disclosed for dynamically loading game software for smooth game play. A load boundary associated with a game environment is identified. A position of a character in the game environment is then monitored. Instructions corresponding to a next game environment are loaded into a memory when the character crosses the load boundary, such that game play is not interrupted.
Interestingly, Sony’s dynamic loading technology has been in works for some time and we have seen similar loading features in recent games like Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption 2. Red Dead Redemption 2 players will know that there aren’t any loading screens in the game. That’s because the joined areas of RDR 2 are loaded automatically in the background as the player travels in the Wild West.
In order to eliminate loading times, PS5’s custom SSD and increased RAM will play a big role. Sony has confirmed that PlayStation 5 will make use of GDDR6 RAM as compared to GDDR5 RAM which is found in current-gen consoles like PS4 and Microsft’s Xbox One. GDDR6 RAM will result in faster reading, writing and editing information on PlayStation 5. This GDDR6 RAM will help the system load video game areas faster.
Sony’s Mark Cerny has already confirmed that PlayStation 5 can load Spider-Man 15 times faster than the PS4 Pro. PlayStation 5’s new loading technology will also help the developers to create bigger environments without the fear of long loading times.
Sony's official video comparing performance of PS4 Pro vs next-gen PlayStation pic.twitter.com/2eUROxKFLq
— Takashi Mochizuki (@mochi_wsj) May 21, 2019
There are a lot of big expectations from Sony’s next-generation console. One of the most requested features by the fans in the upcoming console is backward compatibility. Recently, another Sony patent was discovered which revealed how PlayStation 5 backwards compatibility will work.
We can expect Sony to talk about PS5 loading time technology at PlayStation Experience 2019. PlayStation 5 is expected to release sometime in 2019 with launch titles like The Last of Us 2, Death Stranding and more. According to the rumors, PlayStation 5 is more powerful than Microsoft’s Xbox Scarlett.
