Home Gaming A new PS5 patent reveals how the next PlayStation will shorten load times

A new PS5 patent reveals how the next PlayStation will shorten load times

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There’s a whole new generation of console hardware on the way, and already I can see how the future is going to fold out: My bank account being more broken than a day one version of Batman: Arkham Knight on PC. ANYHOO, what should a new console provide? Sharper visuals are a must, access to kickass sound systems so that you can jam some Green Day during a Rocket League match is an obvious inclusion and the ability to capture gameplay in crystal-clear 4K resolution is now the standard.

Sony’s PlayStation 5 may just be the most millennial console ever, because in true fashion it looks like the biggest gun in its holster is the ability to give you games right now. Solid State Drives will drive the next generation forward, allowing for more complex and resource-heavy games to load quicker than the signal your butt sends to your butt when you realise that that fart you just let rip wasn’t gaseous in nature.

How though? What’s the secret behind Sony’s new tech that’ll make the PS4 look even more obsolete when you see loading screens giving the boot? According to a new PS5 patent that popped up (Cheers, GamesRadar), that massive upgrade will use a variety of technology that heckin’ bamboozles my mind because I have no idea what the description for “system and method for dynamically loading game software for smooth play” even means. But I can copy and paste it below, for keener minds to dissect:

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 another game environment are loaded into a memory when the character crosses the load boundary, such that game play is not interrupted.

What that means (according to my pilfering of reddit gaming’s vastly superior intellect) is that the PS5 will cast its gaze on pre-loading data, keeping an eye on your game character and loading areas that you’re headed to before you get there. So what that means, is that the game you’re playing operates in a modular manner, the machine loading in sections so that you can transition between them with minimal loading screen times between. It’s essentially the anti-Skyrim.

That new technology will make use of a very specialised SSD drive in the PS5, so be prepared to pay a lot for the benefit of not having to spend many seconds staring at filler text.

Last Updated: June 26, 2019

23 Comments

  1. Noice!

    Reply

  2. Pofadder

    June 26, 2019 at 09:30

    This is really cool, but there aren’t any load screens currently. I am not talking about fast travel and Anthem. But all the open world games I have played in recent memory, you can travel from one side of a map to the other without load screens, be it with cars, bikes planes or horses.

    Reply

    • Pariah

      June 26, 2019 at 10:05

      There are issues with pop-ins and the like currently. That however is solved simply by using an SSD instead of the current lot. It’s marketing speak for “SSD improves load times LOL”.

      Reply

  3. Pieter Kruger

    June 26, 2019 at 09:39

    I know the next gen consoles could use the SSD as RAM etc. but this specifically, aren’t open world games using it already today, or am I missing the point? Anyway, those demos they showed of Spiderman loading times and in game loading were something spectacular!

    Reply

  4. Lynley James

    June 26, 2019 at 09:39

    So some sort of cache drive then?

    Reply

    • Magoo

      June 26, 2019 at 10:24

      The way I understand it is more of a caching software that triggers when you cross certain boundaries, that scales depending on how demanding your current situation is.

      Reply

  5. Gr8_Balls_o_Fire

    June 26, 2019 at 09:39

    Isn’t that what SpeedTree does?

    Reply

  6. Guz

    June 26, 2019 at 09:46

    But were am I supposed to get my hints and tips now??

    Reply

    • Magoo

      June 26, 2019 at 10:24

      Pro tip: You can-
      Did you know: The-
      IF YOU USE YOUR-
      PRESS Y TO-
      SHIT MAN WHY DOES-
      I’M TRYING TO HELP-
      JUST SHOOT EVERYTHING.

      Reply

  7. Guz

    June 26, 2019 at 09:46

    Also I cant wait for current gen console prices to drop once these drop……..I will play you one day God of war xD

    Reply

  8. G8crasha

    June 26, 2019 at 10:39

    I am a proud member of the Master Race, but I will definitely be getting a PS5 most probably. With my PC being down the last month or so due to my PSU telling me to f_off, I’ve resorted to using my PS4, and I see value in a console in a living room environment. If I get bored watching Youtube or Netflix, I can simply close them down and start a game within a minute, all from the comfort of my couch. Yes, you can do the same thing with a PC, but that’s primarily sitting at a desk in an office chair.

    I feel dirty now…………

    Reply

    • Yahtzee

      June 26, 2019 at 10:39

      How do you watch a stream while playing a game then?

      Reply

      • G8crasha

        June 26, 2019 at 10:46

        You don’t do both at the same time. I as referring to how effortless it is to close down Netflix and start up a game with a console. There are times when I am sitting staring at a blank screen, not knowing what I want to do – watch series/movies or play games. With a console I have quick access to all from a comfortable couch. Yes, you can do the same with a PC, but sitting at a desk, and entertaining oneself, and sitting on a couch in front of a console & TV are very different experiences.

        Reply

        • Pariah

          June 26, 2019 at 11:05

          2 monitors. I always do both at the same time.

          Reply

          • Magoo

            June 26, 2019 at 12:09

            Se hom!

  9. Yahtzee

    June 26, 2019 at 09:46

    It’s called an SSD, you cant patent whats already out there for years now. It’s not new, it’s not innovating. Get with the times.

    Using silly mumbo jumbo about how you will use the SSD as RAM is already a red flag about cost saving instead of using… I dont know…REAL RAM

    Reply

    • Magoo

      June 26, 2019 at 10:24

      You fool. You can download RAM much faster with an SSD.

      Reply

      • Yahtzee

        June 26, 2019 at 10:31

        NANI!?!

        Reply

  10. Kikmi

    June 27, 2019 at 13:33

    Whats super confusing about this patent is they seem to be mentioning memory but the description leads more to speculative computing (thats where your CPU assumes a number of imminent/possible calculations it might be expected to do and processes those instruction sets in a premeditated fashion)
    Now sure those instructions can be stored in memory but actually that kind of stuff is more stored in the cpu cache, that, truth be told does get fed by RAM and in turn by the storage device. So its all very confusing unless they have alternate speculative data handling or something but it seems massively convoluted to explain it this way around.

    But hey I aint no engineer.

    Reply

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