Tournaments are one of the biggest parts of competitive video game playing, and Sony appears to want to capitalize on this with with the Playstation 5. A recently published PS5 online tournament system patent will apparently streamline the tournament-creating system for both developers and normal players, along with third-party organizers.
The patent description for the system describes it as a way for a tournament to be hosted on a single platform, with real-time tracking and even streaming capabilities. The tournament can even be extended to multiple different games with a custom set of rules and large numbers of participants, at least according to the patent.
The system would definitely help to make many tournaments, both official and otherwise, to be much more streamlined and hassle free, provided that this system actually runs the way it should. Online tournaments have been held before, however, so if this is true it might mark a new start in eSports.
The PS5 online tournament system is especially handy in this time of the coronavirus pandemic, when many large gaming events have had to be cancelled or held virtually over the past year due to how contagious the virus is and the desire to avoid infection.
The ability to do better tournaments also means that another Sony patent that was revealed to exist back in May can also go forward. The patent creates an eSports betting system where players can bet on things happening in the tournament, calculating odds based on the past performance of the objects of the betting.
For instance, someone can bet that Person A will get hit in the first minute of the game, and possibly win money (or some other form of betting currency) on said bet if it goes through.
You can look at the patent for yourself by following this link.