In March 2021, the long-running esports tournament EVO announced that it was being purchased in a joint agreement between Sony and RTS. While EVO doesn’t run the highest money games (instead focusing on the very dedicated, but smaller fighting game community), it makes up for this in its longevity and a fairly large viewership built up over the years. However, what might Sony bring to the table?
Sony is the largest patent owner in the esports sector, with over 60 patent assets just in the past 3 years. Like other major companies in the space, they have patents focusing on improved streaming capabilities, such as adjusting compression of video or audio depending on the viewer. However, Sony has a broader focus than just streaming. Most notably, Sony is by far the largest investor in virtual attendance at tournaments. In its patents, Sony describes transmitting real-time video feed to viewer VR headsets, so that the viewers can really feel like they are in attendance. Not only that, but it also describes including GUI overlays over the video feed for an enhanced viewing experience. Sony also is one of the few large, non-gambling companies to have invested in betting capabilities for esports.
It’s not a guarantee that all of the technology described in Sony’s patents will make it into EVO, but patent activity precedes market activity, so we would expect some big changes to be coming to the tournament in 2022 and beyond. For more on changes in eSports technology, follow the eSports Patent Forecast®!
