https://insider-gaming.com/sony-patent-game-difficulty/
Sony has published a patent that talks of amending in-game difficulty levels in real time as a player perhaps struggles or succeeds with certain elements
Yeah, but now we get to be robbed of a feature, like we were when Namco patented playing mini-games on loading screens. We needn't have suffered as much during the worst years of loading.
Sometimes, just sometimes a company also patents it so no one else can use the terrible idea, not even them. Sony has done it a few times in the past. They patented yelling at ads to do something iirc.
It's kinda like the dinosaur on Chrome when your internet goes out. It's plays a little minigame until it comes back online.
Only if no one challenges it, which is a big problem.
Patents are supposed to be given for new ideas, and also a certain degree of non-obviousness.
In the event that something has been done before by others, it should be open and shut to challenge the patent, but it still costs money. So it's often easier not to, and the patent doesn't get challenged.