PlayStation Working On Automatic Digital Wish List Item Purchase

Rundown:

• PlayStation Studios may potentially be working on a system for automatically purchasing digital media and assets from the PlayStation Store based on desired preferences and established parameters, such as discounts and maximum prices.
• The system would include asking players for a pre-determined list of products, generating a recommended list of additional products using machine learning, adding the recommended list to the pre-determined list to create an augmented interest list, and asking the player to establish parameters for automatic purchases based on the augmented interest list.
• The system also includes additional features, such as sending reminders to review the augmented interest list, highlighting price differences, suggesting prices to purchase bundles, offering discounts based on purchase history, and recommending products based on the player’s location, demographics, and social network activity.
• The system would allow players to easily purchase products on their wish list without constantly monitoring the store for sales or discounts, ensuring that players never miss out on limited-time deals and discounts on the storefront.

PlayStation Studios is a subsidiary of Sony Interactive Entertainment for the production and development of first-party video games for the PlayStation family of consoles. PlayStation Studios comprises the company’s internal development studios, such as Santa Monica Studio and Naughty Dog, that primarily develop video game franchises exclusive to the PlayStation platform, like God of War and The Last of Us. With various genres and styles to offer within its video game franchises, PlayStation Studios has become widely recognised as one of the major players in the video game industry.

With the attention that video game franchises from PlayStation Studios receive from the video game community, there are always innovative features that the company is working on to improve their player experience even further, and these improvements are not restricted to gameplay experiences only. Earlier this month, we found a recently published patent from Sony Interactive Entertainment that discusses a system to dynamically generate additional information (play data) about objects depicted in video game media, such as live-streams, which can be displayed alongside the media in real time, which has the potential to greatly enhance the viewing and live-streaming experience for both viewers and content creators. Likewise, it seems like the company may have another system currently in development that uses machine learning for automatically purchasing digital media and assets from the PlayStation Store based on desired preferences and established parameters, such as discounts and maximum prices.

Earlier today, we came across a recently published patent from PlayStation Studios titled “AUTOMATIC PURCHASE OF DIGITAL WISH LISTS CONTENT BASED ON USER SET THRESHOLDS,” which was filed in July 2021 under the name of SONY INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT LLC. The patent, which was published earlier this month, describes a method that would allow players to automatically purchase items from the PlayStation Store based on a pre-determined wish list. The method includes asking players to provide a pre-determined list of products, generating a recommended list of additional products using machine learning, adding the recommended list to the pre-determined list to create an augmented interest list, and asking the player to establish parameters, such as discounts and maximum prices, for automatic purchases based on the augmented interest list. The system then automatically purchases products that meet the established parameters, thereby allowing a stress-free shopping experience.

“A method is provided for automatic purchase of digital media and digital assets. The method may include asking at least one user to provide a preselected list of products. The method may also include generating a recommended list of additional products using a machine-learning algorithm, where the machine-learning algorithm includes one of collaborative filtering algorithm, content-based filtering, desirable content model, personalized video game ranker, or knowledge based recommendation systems,” reads the abstract for the patent. “The method may also include adding the recommended list of additional products to the preselected list of the at least one user to provide an augmented interest list to the at least one user. The method may also include asking the at least one user to establish parameters for automatic purchases based upon the augmented interest list. The method may further include automatically purchasing one or more products based upon the prices of the one or more products meeting the parameters.”

With the PlayStation 5 reaching more than 30 million units sold worldwide, PlayStation Store is one of the biggest video game storefronts in the video game industry, which means that it regularly offers discounts and promotions across its products. As a result, many players anxiously await forthcoming sales and video game releases that they will likely add to their wish lists for products they want to purchase. However, it’s not always certain when a product on the PlayStation Store may release or sell at a discount, or, often, it’s not possible for players to access the storefront and purchase their desired products. In this case, it seems like the company wants to streamline the process of purchasing digital products across the storefront from the player’s wish list by having an automated system automatically do it for them.

Also confirmed today: December was the biggest month ever for PS5 console sales, bringing the total to more than 30 million units sold worldwide.

Thanks for playing, everyone – 2023’s gonna be a great year!

— PlayStation (@PlayStation) January 5, 2023

According to the claims made by the patent, the player would provide a list of products they like from the storefront; an algorithm would suggest additional products that match the player’s preferences, and the system would automatically purchase products that meet certain criteria, such as price and discounts. The additional product recommendations may also be based on the player’s location, demographics, and social network activity. Additionally, the system may automatically send reminders to the player to review the list of products and suggested prices to purchase bundles of products periodically. Likewise, the system may offer product discounts based on the player’s purchase history and highlight the price difference between products on the wish list.

In the context of the desired preferences and established parameters that the player could specify for the automated system to determine which products satisfy the criteria, the established parameters may comprise “discount rates and maximum prices for the one or more products on the augmented interest list,” wherein the augmented interest list may contain “a list of games, digital media, and associated components with the games or digital media.” Hence, the system may not only be able to purchase video games from the storefront automatically but also any other products related to them, such as expansions, cosmetics, media assets, and other associated components. Likewise, the same products may also be added to the additional product recommendations.

It is important to note that a patent application does not necessarily mean that the method will be implemented or available for consumer use. However, this patent provides insight into Sony Interactive Entertainment’s ongoing research and development efforts in digital media and assets. It is not clear yet when or if this system will be implemented, if it will be available for all or some regions, or if it will be implemented in other platforms from PlayStation Studios. However, it would be a convenient addition to the PlayStation ecosystem, as it would allow players to easily purchase products on their wish list without constantly monitoring the store for sales or discounts. This would ensure that players never miss out on limited-time deals and discounts on video games, digital assets, and other products they want to purchase.

What do you think about this? Do tell us your opinions in the comments below!

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Huzaifa Khan

Started out penning short stories in my room, then stumbled upon my real passion for video game and technology journalism. Now, I’m all about playing and writing about them. With experience from VeryAliGaming, eXputer.com, and TheNerdMag, I’m currently dishing out news on Gamesual from my place.