Sony patents a dedicated rewind button to save us when we suck at gaming

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This feature may appear on a future PlayStation console or controller revision

Sony PlayStation 5 controllers
Sony PlayStation 5 controllers (Image credit: Shutterstock)

Save state functionality has been part of the emulation scene for many years but it seems that it may make the move to consoles. A recent patent made by Sony outlines a future version of the PlayStation controller with a dedicated Save State button, per a legal document spotted on PatentScope by the folks at Tech4Gamers. An exact quote from the document states, "The user is able to enter the rewind mode from the live game play using one or more controller inputs to view recent game play (e.g. rewinding, fast-forwarding, playing, etc.) and returning to live game play afterwards." Keep in mind that not all patents become real products.

To users of various emulators, this descriptor of a "rewind mode" recalls the save and load state functionality common to those applications. Even Nintendo Switch Online's retro games support save states and brief rewind windows, these days. Instead of setting this functionality to a key bind like on PC emulators or a custom button combination like on Switch, though, Sony is looking to implement a dedicated button for this specific functionality, likely within immediate proximity to the D-Pad.

Sony's "Gameplay Rewind With User Triggered Bookmarks" patent graphic.

Sony's "Gameplay Rewind With User Triggered Bookmarks" patent graphic, highlighting the button which will pull up a control overlay, save states, etc. (Image credit: Sony via Patentscope)

Outside of official and unofficial emulators, there are some other uses of save states in gaming— and not just regular old save files. One of the most interesting examples of this has to be Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, a 2003 action adventure game originally released for PlayStation 2, Xbox, and Nintendo GameCube in November 2003. That game's titular sands of time mechanic allowed players to reverse time to undo unfortunate deaths to the game's many enemies and environmental hazards, quite similar to how system-level save state functionality often allows users to rewind death or other mistakes in emulators.

Of course, it's worth noting that such a button like this, even implemented system-level, simply will not work with all games. For example, multiplayer titles that rely on synchronizing game states between players, servers, or both won't allow for functionality like this. A dedicated button like this would only be usable in single-player games, and some fans may even argue it would taint those experiences— particularly Soulsborne fans and their devotion to a static difficulty.

Christopher Harper
Christopher Harper
Contributing Writer

Christopher Harper has been a successful freelance tech writer specializing in PC hardware and gaming since 2015, and ghostwrote for various B2B clients in High School before that. Outside of work, Christopher is best known to friends and rivals as an active competitive player in various eSports (particularly fighting games and arena shooters) and a purveyor of music ranging from Jimi Hendrix to Killer Mike to the Sonic Adventure 2 soundtrack.

7 Comments Comment from the forums
  • ottonis
    "For example, multiplayer titles that rely on synchronizing game states between players, servers, or both won't allow for functionality like this. "
    Not necessarily: As part of a dedicated "God mode" one or more players might be granted rights to go "back in time" and let a scene repeat, while other players would be forced to play these rewinded scenes again.
    Such functions might even be part of the regular gameplay and could add another dimensional layer to the gaming experience, especially when used only in certain situations or levels.
    Just imagine a FPS where you can collect "time capsules" that allow you to get back in time.
    Reply
  • Konomi
    While neat in theory, games generally need more difficulty, not less. Unfortunately, many don't want to put the effort into anything they do and would rather take the easy route. That goes for real life too - people don't want to work, yet expect to be given money.
    Reply
  • hushnecampus
    You shouldn't be able to patent something like this. The software side of it isn't a new idea, and just creating a dedicated button for a software feature is not an invention.
    Reply
  • Nikolay Mihaylov
    hushnecampus said:
    You shouldn't be able to patent something like this. The software side of it isn't a new idea, and just creating a dedicated button for a software feature is not an invention.
    The USPTO: "Hold my beer!"
    Reply
  • snemarch
    hushnecampus said:
    You shouldn't be able to patent something like this. The software side of it isn't a new idea, and just creating a dedicated button for a software feature is not an invention.
    If they've found a way to do it at system level, without per-game support, there might be some merit to a patent, though?

    One thing is doing it in an emulator, but being able to do it on a non-emulated system seems... tricky :)
    Reply
  • Giroro
    "The user is able to enter the rewind mode from the live game play using one or more controller inputs to view recent game play (e.g. rewinding, fast-forwarding, playing, etc.) and returning to live game play afterwards."

    "One or more inputs" describes all existing save state features, not just a dedicated button. So maybe Sony will run into some trouble with that part of the patent being valid. Most of the rest of the description reads almost exactly like Nintendo's implementation on even the NES mini.
    Areas where this patent would be novel to Sony could be
    Their method is probably uploading all the save states to PSN in real time. Probably very important since Offline Single-Player games are extinct
    When you jump back, it automatically creates a new save state where you were at and puts it on a timeline, so you can dynamically return. They reference going back to recall information an NPC said before continuing. I'm not sure if it's so easy to jump forward in other implementationsI would much rather have a save state button than a useless share/screenshot button that I keep accidently hitting. I don't thin it matters much though. Modern games, even campaign focused games, are always-online multiplayer microtransaction cheat-busting games-as-a-service f2p ripoff nightmares. If they implemented this feature at a system level, I doubt many devs would actually support it. It will be like when Playstation implemented streaming at a system level, so devs marked the entire game as a story cutscene to limit streaming.
    Reply
  • thisisaname
    They applied for it or it was granted, that makes all the difference!
    Reply