Sony Patents Single Screen Two Player?
You'll need a new TV, though.Published: 1:00, 20/07/2010 by Peter [Colossalblue].
19Do you remember the days when a racing game was nothing without a two-player split screen mode? Perhaps you yearn for the split screen in your modern FPS games, much like they had in TimeSplitters and GoldenEye 64?
Well maybe, just maybe, Sony are working on a little something to bring back those glory days of elbows flying on the sofa to distract your opponent.
A couple of patents filed last year but published recently have been unearthed by an amusingly titled blog called “Broke my Controller” and picked up on by Kotaku. It seems that there might be another use for that stereoscopic technology that is being pushed so hard by Sony recently.
The patents, viewable in PDF form here and here, clearly describe a method of shuttering alternating images to display one image to one player (or one set of glasses) and another image to another player. Thus having split-screen two-player without splitting the screen.
Each set of glasses is also shown with their own audio supply. The drawback, if these ever make it out of the Research and Development department, is that you need one of those gorgeous but prohibitively expensive 3D televisions. Very cool technology though.
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20/07/2010 at 01:08
Member since: Forever
If it worked, it could be the new direction in gaming. It already seems inevitable the 3D will be in every TV sold in a few years. 5 years down the line, I think 3D will be standard in many homes.
20/07/2010 at 10:47
Member since: Jul 2009
It does work. I can guarantee.
And you don’t need glasses either.
20/07/2010 at 01:14
Member since: Sep 2008
Or we could all just buy really big tellies and developers could “develop’ us a little split-screen in our games. Sounds cheaper, no?
20/07/2010 at 08:59
Member since: Jul 2009
Defo, I agree.
20/07/2010 at 10:39
Member since: Sep 2009
But that is not always practical in some games – think of how much more fun it would be playing a competitive FPS game without actually knowing where the person in the room is camped out.
Plus in general I find split screen annoying for everything other than racing games, and even then given the choice I would prefer to have the screen to myself…
When 3D for gaming was first touted I always said split picture was a great potential feature, I think an early example was being able to watch the football while your other half watched her soaps – on the same TV.
I didn’t realise Sony had patented it though, I think this has the potential to be a big selling point for 3D, the ability to watch 1 image in 3D or 2 images in 2D. When the next gen of consoles come out no doubt 3D will be standard so it could mean that almost every game could have 2D Split Screen built into it by rending separate images rather than rendering 2 perspectives of the same image, and presumably it would be exclusive to the the PS4…
20/07/2010 at 11:42
Member since: Jul 2009
Agreed. It’s the first selling point that actually has me interested.
21/07/2010 at 14:51
Member since: Aug 2008
there’s nothing worse than having a big screen, only to have half of it taken up by someone else’s view, vertical split-screen is the worst example, you need more left/right view then above/below.
20/07/2010 at 11:37
Member since: May 2010
but that would suck…….we need the whole screen.
also you cant play online split screen……maybe using this technology 2 players can play together against other people online using the full screen.
20/07/2010 at 01:22
Member since: Aug 2009
Thats a brilliant idea, I really believe 3D will be affordable in two/three years so thats okay unless a new type of TV is revealed D:
20/07/2010 at 01:54
Member since: Dec 2009
That’s a neat secondary use of the technology although anyone else in the room without glasses might get an epileptic fit..
20/07/2010 at 07:44
Member since: Jan 2010
We’ll have to wait for the day when everyone is taking his active shutter everywhere. =P
20/07/2010 at 01:56
Member since: Forever
It wouldn’t be bringing back the days of waving elbows about though, as you’d only be covering your own screen.
20/07/2010 at 02:11
Member since: Jun 2010
This would be an amazing step forward.
20/07/2010 at 02:14
Member since: May 2009
I remember Sony said in the earlier days of 3D that this was possible, but they didn’t talk about it for gaming instead they described it as a futuristic version of picture in picture. That 2 people could watch 2 different TV shows at the same time on the same TV. It sounded cool then and still sounds cool today.
20/07/2010 at 02:33
Member since: Oct 2009
yeah sounds mental great technology.
20/07/2010 at 07:25
Member since: Feb 2009
Thats fantastic , Men would never have to watch soap operas , Glee or Britains got Talent ever again . I could be watching Top Gear , Band of Brothers or Scrapyard Challenge , even better perhaps i could be on the PS3 (or PS4) whilst she watches all that reality crap .
You know what they’d still find a way to moan , they hate us having fun !
21/07/2010 at 14:52
Member since: Aug 2008
You have to watch Britain’s got talent and X Factor, you can’t afford to miss those auditions, American ones are purely the best though.
20/07/2010 at 03:03
Member since: Mar 2010
so a crack addict can watch hardcore german scat and a 90 year old widow can watch songs of praise at the same time on the same tv without disturbing each other hmm interesting
20/07/2010 at 05:48
Member since: Mar 2009
I’m intrigued to know why these two would be watching the same TV at the same time. Must… Use… Imagination…
20/07/2010 at 10:04
Member since: Jul 2009
There’s hope for me and my Gran, yet.
20/07/2010 at 07:19
Member since: Nov 2009
A mate at work told me about this last week and I thought he was joking…evidently not :|
Sounds all kinds of awesome tho :D
Hope 3D tv’s drop/plummet in price though!!
20/07/2010 at 07:31
Member since: Feb 2010
Lol i had this idea and was going to put it on playstation blog share, but it seems sony already have the idea being developed :)
Hope they will be introducing it, i love multiplayer when your friends are actually with you, but i never liked the small screens, or cheating