430°

Sony is "playing catch up" to Microsoft with Gaikai acquisition - UKIE chairman

"Microsoft has already got its ball," says Mastertronic boss. [OXM UK]

GribbleGrunger4314d ago (Edited 4314d ago )

LOL

'If anything, Sony has been playing catch up. It's just that Microsoft hasn't told everybody necessarily what they're doing with their streaming service'

They were first but they forgot to tell anyone about it... classic MS

Fishy Fingers4314d ago (Edited 4314d ago )

You cant blame them I suppose, up until 2 days ago 99% of people seemed to be against cloud services like Gaikai or OnLive. Suddenly it seems, a lot of those people have had a change of heart... Strange I know.

Remember, we've read PLENTY of times on this site, the infrastructure, the ISP caps, the latency, the blah blah blah, so surely there's been no need to show what you've been working on yet? As it was a fad/pipe dream just 2 days ago. lol the irony is clearly lost on many here.

GribbleGrunger4314d ago

It was always inevitable. I used to argue with a friend of mine (and I've been having this argument with him before Onlive was announced) that streaming was the future of gaming. He just couldn't see it happening. why? and I quote: 'It's not good for the gamer.'

bless his little naive cotton socks. I'm excited for it myself, although I go into it with trepidation, but to think that the gamer is integral to this venture is silly. Yes we will benefit from it, but the biggest reason this is happening is because it makes financial sense for everyone in the industry... and of course it cuts out piracy

Interesting times ahead

LightofDarkness4314d ago

I know Fishy, once a certain name becomes attached, it becomes messianic and innovative. I wonder if we'll see half as many "I'll stop gaming when it becomes cloud-based" comments on here after this...

shutUpAndTakeMyMoney4314d ago (Edited 4314d ago )

How do you make that comment and not get flamed? I got disagreed to death.

This how it works.. ps3 fanboys like sony brand, xbox fanboys love Microsoft brand, pc fanboys love game devs.

sikbeta4314d ago (Edited 4314d ago )

@Fishy Fingers

Dude, that s#*t is the future, I don't like it and anyone with a lame @ss IC like it, but you read news about Nvidia making GPUs designed specially for streaming games and stuff like that, Samsung making deals with Gaikai (pre-Sony) to stream gaming in their big @ss TVs and so on, it's not perfect now, but in 10 years maybe even your Apple I-toaster™ will stream s#**y IOS time wasters...

@nukeitall

It'll take off, it's a matter of time, think about HD, it'll be the same all over again, difference is Nvidia is pushing for it and every gadget manufacturer will want to have their own s#/ty stream service for games and other s#*t...

Dms20124314d ago

The irony is not lost on me,it is stunning how quickly attitudes changed once this was announced.

Anon19744314d ago (Edited 4314d ago )

Fishy said "up until 2 days ago 99% of people seemed to be against cloud services like Gaikai or OnLive. Suddenly it seems, a lot of those people have had a change of heart... Strange I know."

What I find fishy is where all these people are who've had the change of heart. You act like suddenly everyone is singing cloud gaming praises just because "Sony" is involved. I'm not seeing it. Most of the Gaikai articles hardly have any comments at all, and the original article as it broke on this site, with 750 degrees seems pretty mixed. There's only a handful of people who seem to think it's Sony's doing something grand here and the vast majority of posters still appear sceptical.

You make it sound like the site is filled with nothing but Sony supporters who mindlessly cheer anything Sony related. Looking at past comments, it's plainly not the case. Have a look. What, maybe 10% of comments on the first page are pro-cloud or outright pro-Sony?
http://n4g.com/news/1028283...

clrlite4314d ago (Edited 4314d ago )

To go strictly "cloud" gaming anywhere in the near future would be foolish. It is likely going to be gradually incorporated into their services(and to remain an OPTION for a while).

Personally, I prefer having my games on my harddrive or have the physical copy and literally millions of people feel the same way. Until they can be reprogrammed to think otherwise, they will be catered to as they have been.

Also, the thought of only being able to play certain games while connected to the internet is abhorrent to my sensibilities. Imagine your service goes down and you can't play any of YOUR games because they are on a server owned by someone else in a far away place.

raytraceme4314d ago

talking about caps, in the u.s. only comcast has caps. TWC and verizon (two of the nation's biggest) don't have caps.

jadenkorri4314d ago

why is it every damn article Sony catching up to MS, when its really MS always catching up to Sony. Everything MS has done, Sony has done, whether fully successful or flat out failed, Sony has introduced to the console first.

Ser4314d ago

I'm STILL against it. Sony or not.

SilentNegotiator4314d ago

That's because no one expects it to be used for FULL GAMES right now, but for demos.

Stop trying to find hypocrisy that isn't there.

tokugawa4314d ago

@ darkride "You make it sound like the site is filled with nothing but Sony supporters who mindlessly cheer anything Sony related"

that is exactly what n4g is! everyone knows that you are a self confessed "sony nut", but that was an obvious play to try and get your bubbles back.

fishy fingers is 100% correct with his comment. that attitude has changed all of a sudden.... now its the future lol

sony could announce "dog poop scoop" a game where you pick up dog shit, and n4g would go giddy with excitement..

pixelsword4314d ago (Edited 4314d ago )

"You cant blame them I suppose, up until 2 days ago 99% of people seemed to be against cloud services like Gaikai or OnLive. Suddenly it seems, a lot of those people have had a change of heart... Strange I know."

NO, PC people are against Onlive Gaikai, etc.; because those are PC services. They tried and FAILED on the PC, so PC people obviously have spoken about those services.

Those weren't on consoles.

IF consoles were to remove software out of the hands of the purchaser, then I'd be opposed, just like I have never bought a downloadable game, other than that, I have no opinion about the service until I find out what they are going to do with it.

Roccetarius4313d ago (Edited 4313d ago )

Well, the PS fans seems to change opinion like we change underwear. It's evident on the site. I'm not a fan of the cloud on either side, especially not if it becomes dominant in the future.

Thing is though, the majority of people would not support a dominant cloud system. The power of a physical item should not be underestimated.

Dasteru4313d ago

Not sure about others but i have never been "against" cloud gaming. So long as it doesn't take over local media entirely. I think the idea is a good one, being able to play games that otherwise would be too much for a console to handle. Just have it as a side function to disk capable consoles rather than a complete replacement. If it were to replace physical disks entirely, then i would have a problem with it. Sony's aquisition of Gaikai doesn't change my opinion on this in any way.

miyamoto4313d ago (Edited 4313d ago )

I wish my strongly-positioned balls had a streaming component."

ROFLMAO!!!

First " Consoles are TV parasites."

Then this!

This made my day!

OT: Microsoft maybe a technology or software company but GAIKAI is first & foremost an experienced gaming company courtesy of David Perry of shiny Entertainment.

That makes all the difference IMHO.

insomnium24313d ago

@ rocce

"Well, the PS fans seems to change opinion like we change underwear."

Prove it or gtfo.

raymantalk14313d ago

cloud based gaming is not the future it is what the games makers want us to believe as they will have full control what you get for your money very little expense for them pay through the nose for the gamer and if and when the net starts to run slow and it will your gaming will be affected i for one do not want this type of thing to be the future of gaming fine for downloading games but not for streaming games atleast not for fast moving action games.

i hope everyone will boycott this type of gaming so we can all carry on with lag free gaming and the user at the controls instead of the publisher/producer.

+ Show (15) more repliesLast reply 4313d ago
nukeitall4314d ago (Edited 4314d ago )

LOL!

Ever heard of Azure? Hypervisor? These are technologies to combat Amazon EC2 and VMware.

MS is huge within cloud! They don't need to buy anything, they already have a cloud service.

Sony on the other hand still can't upgrade their network without taking it down. It's constantly "under maintenance" so yeah, they need it!

I don't think Gaikai is worth the cost, but I'm glad at least Sony see the value of cloud. I just question the approach.

I hate to say it, but I told you so!

http://n4g.com/comments/red...

I actually don't think Cloud will take off like people think. First of all, you got all the network issues and the ISPs are actively blocking this bandwidth hogging experience. This will be reserved for people that don't want to buy a console.

Reality is that, the technology requirement will hit a ceiling due to the standardization of 1080p. Cloud is wonderful now, because current hardware cannot handle the higher resolution.

Once we hit that ceiling with a *cheap* console, which we will with next generation it is about intelligent delivering of game asset so a game can immediately start while there is background loading of the rest of the assets for later missions instead of streaming.

Cloud gaming is not the future! It is a "somewhat" low quality solution to a current problem. The only reason it will take off, is because publishers will want to combat piracy i.e. a business issue not technology.

If you think I'm wrong, I *would* love to hear why and have a great meaningful discussion.

mcstorm4314d ago

I am up for cloud gaming but only if it has a Offline mode too. Could you image xbox live or PSN being down for 2 weeks due to an issue and you are not even able to play a SP game.

I do think Cloud gaming will be the next step for home consoles but just like ChromeOS biggest fault of not having an offline mode I see cloud gaming having the same problem too.

bobshi4313d ago

Spot on.

Azure is the connectivity they need. They have that ball.

Not so sure on the graphical fire-power compared to Gaikai, but more easily resolved compared to not having the connectivity in place.

hesido4313d ago

@mcstorm: How do you think an offline mode would be possible for a realtime game video feed cloud service? If the cloud service is about feeding game video feed, an offline mode would not be possible, unless the end-user has enough hardware to actually run the game on their end. Than, feeding the game video through the internet is entirely pointless.

If cloud is used to feed the game data, that will be a whole different story.

ShinMaster4313d ago

Except that has nothing to do with games, which is what Sony is doing.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 4313d ago
killerhog4314d ago (Edited 4314d ago )

I don't know how Sony is playing catch-up when Sony was the first to implement cloud storage onto its hardware. Sony has been looking into the cloud for years.

Besides who cares cloud gaming will cause me to stop playing games. I want to own not license. If i do buy digital i want the product i buy in a harddrive or for me to able to save it elsewhere. Onlive is crap, it's all license agreements and nothing gets saved to a hard drive nor can you, yourself if you tried.

Dont believe go game on Idevices you'll see how fishy these "license agreements" can get and what the dev can do if they wish.

OC_MurphysLaw4314d ago

yes because cloud storage on the PS3 was the first device to ever use cloud storage... /s

And why does everyone jump to the conclusion cloud gaming has to focus on just having your games in the cloud? Could it not take the form of a better delivery system from the cloud to your system allowing you to play instantly while you still download the game?

Sevir4313d ago

They also had a cloud music and video service on the ps3, so i'm pretty sure he's spot on! Sony has been putting its chip on cloud services that they have invested in! Ever heard of Qiriocity with Music and videozone and video unlimited! Cloud based services that came to the PS3 early on in its life cycle so them aquiring gaikai was something in the works that people have been saying would happen.

Whats left to be seen is what they do with the aquisition and how they implement it! We'll see till then I've got reserved judgement!

Right now, Music, and movies and music videos work well for cloud streaming on consoles and tablets and phones, we'll see how it works for games on consoles with the current graphics and assest of todays and future gen of games!

MysticStrummer4314d ago

Reminds me of the french knight in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, telling King Arthur that they already had a Holy Grail. "Oh yes, it's very nice!"

Clarence4314d ago (Edited 4314d ago )

Hilarious. " It's just that Microsoft hasn't told everybody necessarily what they're doing with their streaming service." The truth is the M$ does not have a answer to what Sony has just done. If they did it would be on the front page right now.

Also cloud is nice but I still prefer physical media. It's nice to have both on hand though.

@majiebeast
Don't forget blu-ray, Internet integration, facebook, YouTube.

GrandTheftZamboni4313d ago

It's kind of how MS words their lack of portable gaming device:

"Smart glass ... connects all devices."

Muffins12234314d ago

This is off topic but sense you have a ps3 and for your profile pic you have anonymous profile pic lol,kinda ironic.

geddesmond4314d ago

Lol whats funny to me is the comments just scream "We are worried" If they weren't they wouldn't make comments like that. Ah well I think people should wait and see what Sony do with this asset before getting over excited or worried.

For all we know it could be 5 years before we see something good from this deal.

TheLyonKing4313d ago

Right now gaikai will be used for vita and there failing telly business however next gen it will play a significant role in gaming but for now it's all about TV

ALLWRONG4314d ago

MS has supported cloud from the start, Sony just started.

Mounce4314d ago

I still laugh at comments that Sony's PR do to counter Microsofts' stupidity.

They show Kinect and Microsoft acts like they're fucking the Bauss, Sony meanwhile just laugh and say they were there a decade ago with the Eyetoy. Makes a minor-fanboy side of myself giggle at how Sony can Boast sometimes and mean it while Microsoft tries to flex their arrogance idly.

Sony isn't playing catchup, even if Microsoft were in talks with OnLive, Gaikai is supremely better than it

Roccetarius4313d ago

How the hell are we going to benefit from bending over? That's exactly what the point of this is in the future.

Neither Sony nor MS fanatics should praise this.

4313d ago
orange-skittle4313d ago

Everyone knows that Xbox 8 will be superior to the PS4. Microsoft has been trying to make Xbox a multimedia device sine the inception and have continued to make greater advancements in online interface than Sony has.

+ Show (9) more repliesLast reply 4313d ago
majiebeast4314d ago

Just like sony was playing catchup with.
Wifi
3D
HDMI

No wait that was microsoft.

shoddy4314d ago

MS will catch up to bluray nextgen and ditch disk tray.

Megaton4314d ago

Microsoft's entire business model centers around playing catchup. They just also bankroll the biggest ad budget of any of the people they're catching up to, in which they claim they're the real innovators.

smashcrashbash4314d ago

Don't forget Bluray. In Microsoft's business they are ALWAYS playing catch up with someone. Everything Microsoft has ever made has been over shadowed or surpassed by everything else.Even now they are STILL playing catch up with the Wii and Nintendo already has their new console out. With the Xbox they were playing catch up with the PS2.They are trying to play catch up with Apple and Motorolla. Playing catch up with Google and Yahoo. So despite people trying to kiss Microsoft's @$$ all the time I suggest watch who you are accusing of playing catch up.

Roccetarius4313d ago

3D is nothing but a gimmick, so they should just have dropped that.

kickerz4313d ago (Edited 4313d ago )

To be honest we could say they all were catching up to Sega http://au.ign.com/articles/...
But in the games industry company's copy company's..just the way it is..
Sony is not the first to do everything..neither is microsoft

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 4313d ago
Fishy Fingers4314d ago

Cloud based services are going to be the future, be that games, media, operating systems etc You'd be a fool to think the worlds largest software company isnt preparing.

sjaakiejj4314d ago

They're both playing catch-up to my highly advanced console that's able to run games in hyper realism. I just haven't revealed it yet. Regardless, they're playing catch up. Trust me.

Show all comments (123)
90°

Sony Patents To Prevent You From In-Game Harassment By Reading Your Emotions

A new patent recently published by Sony wants to gather biometric data of gamers to track whether one is being harassed using AI tools.

Profchaos8h ago(Edited 8h ago)

I hope this is one of those patents that never comes to fruition.

I already dislike the fact you can pay a significant amount for a online service buy associated games and content on said service and get banned from that service over potentially a misunderstanding the bans are already handed out for flimsy reasons

I'd rather see money invested in a ban that simply removes the offensive players ability to communicate with unknown players allow them to continue party chats with friends but not with Joe blow on cod.

exputers4h ago

Agreed. Blizzard recently banned a college Overwatch 2 player who's dependent for saying "shit." Pretty harsh.

z2g1h ago

Take my social security and bank account numbers too! Here’s a picture of my wife and our address.

phoenixwing28m ago

Cmon where's the pictures of your children. Don't hold out on them.

H953m ago

At this rate I feel Sony will eventually sell a room to play games in it where they can monitor your every breath

270°

Microsoft Seemingly Closes Bethesda France

As part of its plans to cut 1,900 jobs, Microsoft has reportedly shut down operations at Bethesda France, letting go roughly 15 people

Read Full Story >>
insider-gaming.com
Hereandthere15h ago

Microsoft should have left them stay 3rd party

GamerRN13h ago

If they are let go, they can be whatever they want. They ARE 3rd party now... 🤦

Barlos10h ago

Yeah, they're also jobless.

GamerRN3h ago

They can form a company if they want, they are just as jobless as if "Microsoft had left them as 3rd party".

peppeaccardo5h ago

"MIcrosoft leaves Bethesda do what they know how to do best" ... close! Oh the irony ....
(Citation from a week old article)

ChasterMies1h ago

I think Microsoft and other game publishers are letting people go because they think ai will replace them. Doesn’t matter how much profit they make. They were always going to be let go.

PassNextquestion15h ago(Edited 15h ago)

Bethesda France was made up of roughly 15 people... they couldn't of being doing much

Bethesda France mainly did publishing and marketing within the region

blacktiger13h ago

that's a shame for you to say that, i'm sure Elite loves hearing what you just said.

Profchaos15h ago(Edited 15h ago)

Bethesda France focused on publishing and marketing in the region. And 15 people lost their jobs as part of the closure.

I wonder if this is part of Microsoft's strategy to abandoned physical media or possibly gamepass advertising makes their roles redundant you don't need to market a game as hard when the majority of players get the game as part of a sub which already promoted upcoming games

Tacoboto15h ago

It's France too, there's a high likelihood only 1-2 people on the team even had an Xbox.

Profchaos14h ago

Possibly guven all the leaks we know the Xbox brand is really struggling in the region.

Yi-Long11h ago

Well, if your consoles and games are barely found in any stores any more, of course you're gonna struggle finding consumers ...

XiNatsuDragnel14h ago

Tbh Microsoft I think Bethesda being 3rd party same with Activision would probably more competitive than thus scenario imo

Profchaos12h ago(Edited 12h ago)

I think it would have been better for all parties really especially gamers

TheColbertinator13h ago

The recently purchased Activision French offices might take over all the licensing and marketing for Microsoft in France from now on.

Show all comments (18)
130°

Sony Could Increase Your Game's Difficulty If It Sees You Complain About It

Sony has recently published a new patent that wants to dynamically handle the games' difficulty and gameplay based on the player's emotions.

jznrpg16h ago

This is something I might use. Sometimes I play some good games but they don’t have difficulty option and are a little too easy.

Profchaos16h ago

Souls games will be like that players struggling make it harder

PassNextquestion15h ago(Edited 15h ago)

I think if used correctly it could work well

jambola11h ago

cool idea
cool idea for horror games especially
the way it's explained here sounds like it could never be forced hopefully, so that's ok with me

Show all comments (8)