Sony's 'universal' rewind button is probably just a glorified video capture feature

HardwareSony’s ‘universal’ rewind button is probably just a glorified video capture featureWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

(Image credit: Sony)

PS5 controller

Update November 8, 2024:Closer inspection of Sony’s patent application suggests that the rewind button’s functionality may be limited to viewing recorded gameplay as opposed to actually going back and fully replaying sections of the game.

There are passages of the patent text that seem to imply “replaying” rather than just viewing recordings. But on balance, the rewind button looks likely to just be a glorified video capture feature.

As per the patent filing, “during live game play of a video game, a player may wish to review recently played portions the game play. For example, the player may have been given some important information to perform a quest, such as when a non-player character (NPC) provides details on capturing an object (e.g. weapon) with additional instructions to bring that object to a particular location. At some point during the live game play, the player may have forgotten portions of or all of the information, and may wish to revisit their recent game play. This may occur when the player decides to perform the quest later, and has forgotten certain details of the quest when the player ultimately tries to complete the quest.”

That would likely make it easier to implement and compatible across most games, where an actual universal replay feature would be much more challenging to achieve.

Well, it could for single player gaming. Sony’s patent says, “the user is able to enter the rewind mode from the live game play using one or more controller inputs to view recent game play (e.g. rewinding, fast-forwarding, playing, etc.) and returning to live game play afterwards.”

The patent also says, “advantages of the methods and systems configured to implement a system implemented rewind mode to revisit recent game play that is accessible via a universal button on a game controller during live game play include a seamless experience in replaying the recent game play.”

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals

This “universal” notion is repeated numerous times throughout the patent, implying that the button is designed to work with all games. Of course, it can’t actually be all games. You won’t be able to rewind a multiplayer online shooter for fairly obvious reasons.

The question is, will you be able to rewind all single-player games? That certainly seems to be the implication. And if you can, how do you feel about that? For some games, it could be a godsend.

Where once you might have spent 20 minutes carefully plotting a treacherous route between specific and limited way points that allowed you to save progress, a universal rewind button would mean that you could make any kind of error at literally any moment, and all without consequences.

Of course, should such a feature be implemented, you wouldn’t have to use it. But for many, its mere existence and the knowledge that follows, in other words the knowledge that rewinding at any moment is possible, could undermine certain aspects of the experience.

Still, it’s certainly possible that support for the button could be implemented on a per-game basis, leaving all these weighty decisions to the philosophical preferences of individual game developers.

Your next machine(Image credit: Future)Best gaming PC: The top pre-built machines.Best gaming laptop: Great devices for mobile gaming.

Your next machine

(Image credit: Future)Best gaming PC: The top pre-built machines.Best gaming laptop: Great devices for mobile gaming.

(Image credit: Future)

Gaming PC group shot

Best gaming PC: The top pre-built machines.Best gaming laptop: Great devices for mobile gaming.

Speaking of which some games already implement various spins on the notion of a rewind button or feature, including Forza Horizon 5 or perhaps more pertinently the 2003 cross-platform console game Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, for which the time reversal feature was an integral element of gameplay. So, the basic idea isn’t novel.

Actually, that lack of thorough novelty rather begs the question of how, well, patentable this kind of feature is. For now, our understanding of the technology is that it is in “patent pending” status. The patent app has been submitted and published, but it has yet to be granted.

There’s also no indication if, when or how the rewind button might be implemented. For instance, maybe it will be tied to a new future console. Or perhaps Sony will add it to a controller for an existing console. Ironically for a technology that all about rolling back time, that’s all in the future.

TOPICSHardware

TOPICS

More about hardwareIf you’re trying to convince me your ‘companionship’ robot is ‘lifelike’, maybe don’t rip her face off in the demo videoIs the new RTX 5070 really as fast as Nvidia’s previous flagship RTX 4090 GPU? Turns out the answer is yes. Kinda.LatestToday’s Wordle answer for Monday, January 13See more latest►

More about hardware

If you’re trying to convince me your ‘companionship’ robot is ‘lifelike’, maybe don’t rip her face off in the demo videoIs the new RTX 5070 really as fast as Nvidia’s previous flagship RTX 4090 GPU? Turns out the answer is yes. Kinda.

A robot having its face pulled off

If you’re trying to convince me your ‘companionship’ robot is ‘lifelike’, maybe don’t rip her face off in the demo video

Nvidia RTX 5070 graphics card

Is the new RTX 5070 really as fast as Nvidia’s previous flagship RTX 4090 GPU? Turns out the answer is yes. Kinda.

LatestToday’s Wordle answer for Monday, January 13See more latest►

Latest

Today’s Wordle answer for Monday, January 13

Wordle today being played on a phone

Today’s Wordle answer for Monday, January 13

See more latest►

Most Popular

Today’s Wordle answer for Sunday, January 12

Watching an all-romances speedrun of the legendarily janky Fallout: New Vegas is a delight

Activision will send you alarmingly detailed data for every single Call of Duty match you’ve played in the last 4 years if you ask, and players are using it to figure out their mysterious SBMM rankings

Here’s a game about being a depressed, lonely maintenance robot on a long-haul space colony ship

Civilization 7 has been Steam Deck Verified ahead of its launch next month

23-year-old D&D RPG Neverwinter Nights just got a new update thanks to the ‘unpaid software engineers’ of its unkillable community

My Summer Car, the absurdly detailed Finnish life sim about vehicle maintenance and drinking in your underpants, smashes into 1.0 after nearly a decade in Steam early access

Assassin’s Creed Shadows takes a run at improving parkour, as Ubisoft strives to make the system less ‘like a gas pedal’

Today’s Wordle answer for Saturday, January 11

The Last of Us season 2 trailer is a brief look at a story you should probably just play yourself in April

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review4Ikea Utespelare desk review5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

A bunch of the best Steam Deck accessories on a blue background.

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

Thank Goodness You’re Here review

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback

Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback

3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

4Ikea Utespelare desk review

Ikea Utespelare desk review

5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals#

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals