The ultimate prize

Put those grand career plans on hold, because your life as a Trophy addict could be about to get a whole lot more complicated. NeoGAF has uncovered an intriguing patent which appears to hint at the possibility of adding Trophies to older games. The technology works by creating potential Trophy triggers based on disc access, meaning that the original source code would not need to be modified.

For example, if you were to reach a particular cut-scene in a game, the system would recognise that and award you a Trophy based on your progress. Furthermore, considering the simplicity of the solution, it would allow Sony to essentially add trinkets to every game in its catalogue – including PSone, PS2, and PSP titles.

However, as we’ve learned over the years, patents are rarely indicative of actual products. This sounds like a rather idealistic solution, and while it seems plausible, we can’t imagine the headaches that would be involved in creating a balanced and consistent algorithm that works across potentially thousands of games. Still, if it ever does get implemented, you can kiss goodbye to your spare time.

[source freepatentsonline.com, via neogaf.com]