PlayStation Has Patented Adding Trophies to Older, Emulated Games

One of the best things about playing games on the PlayStation is hunting down trophies for your favorite games. And recently, Sony patented the ability to add trophies to older games which may have come out before trophies were invented.

The patent in question dates back to March 18. We know about it now, though, thanks to Bartman013, who leaked the info on the GamingLeaksAndRumours subreddit. 

What does the actual patent say? It describes itself as a “Method and apparatus for awarding trophies” and details adding trophies to emulated games “by comparing a memory value of the emulated game to a predetermined value and assigning the one or more trophies to the user based on the detected trophy trigger.”

And the part that has retro gamers everywhere cheering is this: the patent discusses adding trophies to “previously released or sold video games, without modifying the original game.” This is likely to affect older games that might be sold via the PlayStation Store, though the patent also describes Cloud integration that would allow trophies to be added to older games you can play on the PlayStation Now service.

While the new trophies are likely to be mostly digital, the patent teases the ability to send players physical rewards for their accomplishments. Specifically, it says “This may be done by transmitting an electronic trophy or sending a notification that a physical award, such as a T-shirt, accessory or other physical merchandise, has been earned by the player.”

If you are a retro gamer, it has been a rollercoaster week of PlayStation news. While the ability to add trophies to older games may signify that Sony will be pushing retro titles more aggressively, this news comes amid strong rumors that the stores for the PS3, PSP, and PS Vita will be shutting down in the next few months.

Should that shutdown occur, we may not be able to legally play some of these older titles without tracking down the discs or buying them against through PlayStation Store re-releases. At least with the latter, we can look forward to trophies, though I’d be happy to hold out for a cool t-shirt.