8 replies to this topic

[godslabrat]

Very sketchy info right now, but I'm noticing that this rumor is coming close enough to the announcement of the PS4 that it might be of significance:

http://ht.ly/1k6Fmu

...Basically, it means Sony is trying to up their game on non-physical media.  Not sure how this would pan out, but I could easily see the PS4 having a "Steam" or "OnLive" type mode, where the console was basically a window to the internet (or at least a buffer for a game stored elsewhere).

[Mord]

godslabrat, on Thu May 31, 2012 11:44 AM, said:

Very sketchy info right now, but I'm noticing that this rumor is coming close enough to the announcement of the PS4 that it might be of significance:

http://ht.ly/1k6Fmu

...Basically, it means Sony is trying to up their game on non-physical media.  Not sure how this would pan out, but I could easily see the PS4 having a "Steam" or "OnLive" type mode, where the console was basically a window to the internet (or at least a buffer for a game stored elsewhere).

So we have two rumours going around about Sony.  One about streaming/onlive style gaming where the game is residing on a remote host and you're just sending controller input and seeing the results.  And one about them interrupting your gameplay to show you ads.  If you were to put those two together, you've got interactive cable TV.

[HatefulGravey]

Mord, on Thu May 31, 2012 12:37 PM, said:

So we have two rumours going around about Sony.  One about streaming/onlive style gaming where the game is residing on a remote host and you're just sending controller input and seeing the results.  And one about them interrupting your gameplay to show you ads.  If you were to put those two together, you've got interactive cable TV.

You also have something I have no interest in purchasing. This seems a likely move. All the major companies are pushing for no used games market and this would certainly kill that. It cuts the cost to produce games, and I'm sure the cost to purchase wont be cut to match so the profit goes up. Oh, and if you have to be online to play they can always stream you up to date ads so they increase the money they make from that by adjusting ads on the fly is the companies advertising want it or raising the price on ads should that game get super popular all of the sudden. Its going to be lame, but it all makes perfect since too.

[Reaperman]

I can't read the article, but I've heard the rumors.

If Sony is really evil, and not just greedy, they'd distribute locally-executed clients for games (via download or disc), but keep all of the level data in cloud storage, forcing you to agree to their frequently-updated terms without the expense of providing the actual power to run the games in the cloud.  It'd allow them to cash in on used sales (selling level data), remove most of the controller lag, and allow them to control their hardware without having to actually 'own' it.  We'd still have to buy an expensive console.  

The alternative being the onlive fully-streamed model, with the benefits of extremely low end-user hardware costs, maintaining total control over systems, and the ability to connect from anything powerful enough to run the client.  So if Sony's not fully evil, and there's a drop of humanity left deep inside of them, they'd go that route.  However, cloud gaming does have serious issues, and while I'm a minor fan of Onlive, I can't imagine that style of gaming being my only option.

Edited by Reaperman, Fri Jun 1, 2012 7:48 AM.

[Metal Jesus]

At this point, I have zero faith Sony can pull off something this big when it comes to servers and internet connectivity. Their spotty record with PSN last year needs to be further from my mind.

[HammR25]

Sounds like they'd first test it with PSOne and PS2 games.

http://www.gamesindu...ith-gaikai-deal

[DaytonaUSA]

This wouldn't be a realistic plan, and they know it. Onlive can do cloud gaming. They're a small company, and they can survive by only catering to a small group of people. However, even in modern day America, most people don't have access to high speed internet. If you were streaming the game via cloud, Sony would literally be cutting off half their user base from playing.

Furthermore, there's a reason why I don't have Onlive. When the service goes down, all that money you spent goes down the tubes. PLUS the money you spend a month just to play the games. I don't see the advantage, honestly. And considering how early online support was killed last gen, I wouldn't trust Sony OR Microsoft to keep a service running well into the following generation.

This is like taking the DLC problem we're having, where we have no way to access old DLC on the original XBL servers and multiplying it by a billion. While this may sound enticing at first, in the long run this is only going to piss people off. Something Sony can't afford to do much more of I'm afraid.

Though if it's true, I at least know why they are going to do it, and I don't think it's cause of used game sales.The Vita represents why this would happen. Great hardware not selling purely because of price. Customers, unfortunately, have shown Sony that they don't want to pay a premium for good hardware. They want things as cheap as possible, even if it's not as good of an experience. What better way to avoid the $600 price point issue the PS3 had than to release $99 hardware similar to Onlive, and rake in the cash. At least, this their minds this is how it would play out...

Edited by DaytonaUSA, Fri Jun 1, 2012 10:37 AM.

[Mord]

DaytonaUSA, on Fri Jun 1, 2012 10:37 AM, said:

The Vita represents why this would happen. Great hardware not selling purely because of price. Customers, unfortunately, have shown Sony that they don't want to pay a premium for good hardware. They want things as cheap as possible, even if it's not as good of an experience. What better way to avoid the $600 price point issue the PS3 had than to release $99 hardware similar to Onlive, and rake in the cash. At least, this their minds this is how it would play out...

The Vita isn't selling to me personally because of a variety of  reasons, with price low on that list.  But regarding price, it's not really that they don't want to pay in many cases I'm sure rather than most simply can't afford to pay it.  Consider the PS2 launch when people were gladly paying 500+. But since then Sony has done a lot of things that have soured relations with a lot of customers and we're still living in recession. They'll have to get use to the fact that they don't have as many people willing to toss paychecks at them.

[xg4bx]

HammR25, on Fri Jun 1, 2012 10:22 AM, said:

Sounds like they'd first test it with PSOne and PS2 games.

http://www.gamesindu...ith-gaikai-deal

sweet! i get to rebuy my old games and not even own them! plus i'll probably need to pay for ps+ to even access the feature! thats much better than just buying a used ps2 and playing the games i already own. /s

now we see why bc was ripped out of the ps3.