New Sony Patent Fills Virtual Concerts with Fake Fans

Sony’s new patent fills in empty seats at virtual concerts with computer-controlled spectators to give the illusion of a full audience.

Sony Interactive Entertainment has filed a patent application for technology that fills empty seats with computer-controlled virtual spectators (called non-player characters or NPCs in the filing, a term familiar to video game fans). These virtual spectators resemble regular fans and, most importantly, also move like them. Sony aims to create a vibrant atmosphere that attracts more viewers while ensuring that the virtual fans blend seamlessly with the real ones.

The system runs on a metaverse server, a central computer that tracks everything happening in a shared virtual world. When a virtual concert begins, it places users’ avatars on stage and in seats, while a separate piece of software fills extra seats with NPCs—characters the system controls automatically instead of being controlled by a person.

To make them feel seamless, each NPC copies someone real. The server reads “skeleton data,” described as a “stick-figure map of an avatar’s joints,” from a performer or audience avatar and replays the same movements. These can include things like raising a hand, clapping, jumping, or swaying to the music. One version of the system has an NPC copy the movements of whichever real avatar is within a set distance, while another copies the most common movements among the real avatars around it.

In order to keep the crowd from looking like clones and to avoid other uncanny pitfalls, the patent lists NPCs being split into groups. One group mirrors the performers’ avatars; another mirrors nearby audience avatars; and a third group moves to the music, based on an analysis of rhythm and tempo.

Sony says its goal is believability. If you’ve ever joined a virtual concert such as those hosted on Roblox, you might have encountered a half-empty arena and felt like the attendance to such an event just wasn’t on par with a real physical concert.

The patent aims to address this problem, creating a crowd that cheers, sways, and jumps around to make an event feel lively and worth attending. The fake figures are designed to mimic real fans, ideally so that the NPC in the seat next to you doesn’t stand out as a “bot” and helps keep you immersed in the experience.

Specifically, the filing centers on a concert with a headset and game console setup but explains that the same idea could be applied to other events across virtual worlds. Since this concept is outlined in a patent application, the filing does not mention any forthcoming product.