Sony has patented an application that interrupts game playing to display an advertisement.

The patent, spotted by a user on NeoGAF, was filed in July 2011 by Sony Computer Entertainment America. It's called "Advertisement Scheme for use with interactive content".

Here's how it works: interactive content is suspended, an advertisement is displayed, then interactive content is resumed. Sony's patent images go into better detail, and are below.

First, game playing gradually slows down. You then get a warning that the game is about to stop. You then get the ad. Sony's example is: "BEST BRAND SODA. You've got to try it!" You then get a warning that the game is about to resume. The game resumes. There's mention of rewinding the game after the ad has run its course, too.

This latest patent is actually a continuation of a patent filed back in 2006, which shows Sony is at least still interested in the tech. But, as with all these patents, it remains to be seen whether ads interrupting gameplay will ever come to fruition.
Source