Gaikai: Will Serve Ads, Have a Recommendation Engine, Put “Console-Quality Games on any Device”

Running a cloud service isn’t cheap – you need to have a ton of consoles all set up waiting for people to play them at any given time. Then you need to power them, have crazy fast internet and fight off hackers and bugs. Sony is set to face all of these problems when they launch their PlayStation cloud service, currently titled Gaikai. To help cover the costs, it looks like they’re going to include some ads.
-PSLS

[doctorstrange]

Any device?
Challenge accepted

[TrendyGamers]

The beyond intrigues me.

[knifefight]

I look forward to playing Assassin's Creed IV on my toaster.

[dbjj12088]

And then when you leave you'll be able to play it on your shoe. Just take your shoe off on the train and hold it up to your head to connect. The space ship satellites will catch the Gaikai signal and beam it down through your lace antenas.

[Mounce]

I look forward to recording your AC4 gameplay videos with my potato.

[SuperShyGuy]

Apparently it's supposed to work in internet browsers.

How are they going to lockout Wii U and 720? Wait 3DS has a browser too!

[FriedGoat]

the same way flash doesn't run on hardly any devices, Plugins.

[Rivitur]

Well it runs fine on browsers as long as the internet is fast crysis 2 ran great on a crappy 2000 dell at my school.

[Heartnet]

Question is would they want to lock out those devices :O

Moneyz on all consoleS!

[harrisk954]

@SuperShyGuy
"How are they going to lockout Wii U and 720? Wait 3DS has a browser too!"

The same way that you can't use Netflix, Amazon Prime or Hulu plus, or any one of the other dozens of companies streaming services without having a subscription...

[cgoodno]

What does it matter if it runs on a competitor's device if you still have to pay Sony money to utilize it and the games?

[MaxXAttaxX]

Might require some sort of software that will run on multiple devices except for Xbox and Nintendo.

[shutUpAndTakeMyMoney]

pc station 4?

This will be one of the biggest things sony ever attempted.
"Sony selling convertible bonds worth $1.9 billion to help fund Gaikai acquisition"
http://www.vg247.com/2012/1...

I already know the future will not depend on platform kinda like netflix. But how far away will that be?

Will there be cloud service fanboys?

Anyway psn 2 will be awsome I bet.

[doogiebear]

Ads dont bother me if I know it helps sony cover the cost. Small potatoes when u can play ps1-ps4 on any devoce

[sikbeta]

In a perfect world, it'd be great to play legacy games on any device, think of PS1/PS2/PSP games on TV->Smartphone ->tablet ->PC while current games (PS3/ Next-gen PS4) being "exclusive" to the respective HW

[ATi_Elite]

Any Device?????
Looks at smart Refrigerator and grabs Texas Instruments calculator!

according to SOny they are NOW gaming devices!

[ABizzel1]

AS LONG AS IT HAS A WEB BROWSER AND AT LEAST 5MB INTERNET CONNECTION.

Read the fine print, it's at the bottom of the article, but you'll need a x200,000 zoom to see it.

:D

[showtimefolks]

this is a huge card for sony when it comes to ps4 so hopefully they will use it in a way where it benefits them and their fans

[Jaybronee]

Answer me one question...how the heck to you pronounce Gaikai?

[bunfighterii]

I don't care about ads- I just don't think my broadband ad home network works seamlessly enough for this model. Whether its the occasional errors with my wifi network or router solved by turning the router off/on or spotty service where broadband speeds are inexplicably slowed down by my ISP I can see this sort of thing becoming a frustration for me.

[kingPoS]

I feel you on that, I've seen a 20mb connection crawl down to 3mb over at a friends place. Bad s**t happens!

[Tru_Blu]

Same here, my connection can be great one night and a laggy mess the next. Until FIoS comes to my neck of the woods not sold on cloud gaming yet.

[aquamala]

Consoles? Gaikai runs on remote servers.

[rainslacker]

I lol'd at that. The particular point is true, though not technically accurate. It does cost money to run the cloud. How they recoup that money is pure speculation though. It can't be denied that MS makes quite a bit off their ads on Xbox, so Sony would definitely be looking at that in their own implementation.

[aquamala]

This writer must think Gaikai has a network of PS3s waiting for people to log in to play lol, no they run on much more powerful servers

[Pillsbury1]

I'm still waiting for true remote play. Playing battlefield 4 on my vita? Please!

[FriedGoat]

Where can I play this battlefield 4?

[Pillsbury1]

It's awesome you just need a time machine, you can get them cheap on eBay.

[sikbeta]

Someone did it with L4D on Vita via PSMobile SDK

[SAE]

Thats what sony promised us when they add remote controle in vita , im not gonna pay to use it in vita , it is a rip off if you have the game in ps3 and a vita , if they do it i will hack my vita without even thinking , online in vita is useless for me since i cant use my own account so no friends to chat or play with , i also cant see a online game in vita that worth playing , so hacking it will give me what i deserve ....

This service in vita will be more negative then positive for us that have the ps3/vita and the game , or at least for me , but i welcome it in other devices ( hardwares ) , especially in pc ^^

[SAE]

Explain the disagree please , i wanna know whats wrong with my thinking , i just want the feature for free just what they promised us , they show us mgs 4 footage in vita then do nothing with it after it released , what made me hyped for vita is the remote , whats the use of the app then ?. just show off that it can do it ?.

[air1]

I agree.. I thought i would be able to play my ps3 games on my vita via remote too..

The fucking sad part is that i seen hackers play the games just fine so why the hell cant sony make it happen like they said they would. Sony half assed it again, what a shame..

[Tired]

'hacking it will give me what i deserve...'

Geohot and Sony lawyers say hi.

[Ck1x]

Sony may not be trying to lock out Microsoft or Nintendo at all. Maybe they are trying to create the equivalent of Netflix streaming for video-games as a subscription based service open to all platforms.

[iamnsuperman]

That would essentially cut out the need for anyone to buy their console. I am not sure how they are going to lock it down but they need to to stop people not buying their next system. What would you buy and PS4 that can't play Xbox/Wii U games or a Wii U/Xbox that can pay PS4 games at a price.

[rainslacker]

Because there is more money to be made off games than off hardware. It doesn't mean that Sony can't still offer a console though. Media capability integration seems to be the biggest trend in tech right now, and having a subscription based service to promote their brand could trump console sales in the long run.

[joeorc]

@iamnsuperman
"That would essentially cut out the need for anyone to buy their console. I am not sure how they are going to lock it down but they need to to stop people not buying their next system. What would you buy and PS4 that can't play Xbox/Wii U games or a Wii U/Xbox that can pay PS4 games at a price."

Netflix does not offer every up to date seasons on TV shows for example, season 3 for the Walking Dead not even a single ep.

So imagine exclusives only being on Sony's Console, less worry about 3rd parties making an exclusive or not, 3RD party would be able to reach MORE SUBSCRIPTIONS BECAUSE ITS ON MULTIPLE PLATFORMS ANYWAY and only have to worry about pitching to one publisher for their game!

While 1st party in house Sony developers Exclusives are only found on Playstation systems anyway. Sony's 1st party has full Exclusive Support for Promotion, while 3rd parties get the exposure for their Software on as many platforms as they can. Its a win win.

[Panthers]

Look at Apple. Do you have to have an iMac to use iTunes? No. If Sony plays their cards right, they can allow this to work on any machine, and still sell consoles by make the experience more enjoyable on their own machine. Apple products all work very well together, as does their software. This could be the same for Sony.

[iamnsuperman]

@panthers the itunes example you gave is a bad analogy. Apple are forced to do that otherwise they wouldn't sell ipods or iphones (so Apple can make money on those products). Sony need to keep its exclusives on its own console otherwise what's the point of getting that console if I can play those same games on the next xbox (essentially getting out the console business and becoming a online service like onlive.)

[Liefx]

You mean like OnLive?

[nevin1]

I thought people hate ads on Xbox live but this is acceptable?

[SilentNegotiator]

How nice that you can assume the reaction of all gamers based on 15 or so comments made before you. That insight must be nice.

[Godchild1020]

The people that hate Ads on Xbox Live are some of the members that pay to be an Xbox Live Gold member. If this gets Ad support, it won't be a problem to an extent because you will pay for the game and the Ads will pay for server support. Similar to the Free PSN and Playstation Plus or Steam.

[CrustifiedDibbs]

Lol. There is always a loophole for Sony products. The people that bitch about ads on this site are mostly non live users and you know it. N4g is Sony central. i cant believe people even try to deny it. Anything ms = bad. Anything Sony= good.

[SilentNegotiator]

@crusted

Gaikai = getting ads, not paying for service

XBL = getting ads, paying for it

See the difference?

[CrustifiedDibbs]

@silent

%95 of the ads on live are for content on live. not sure where the problem is? ads dont pop up when im playing halo.

i want to know why its such a big deal either way? people on this site only make live ads a big deal as a way to bash ms. you know it, and i know it.

if the cloud is going to cost as much as you seem to think, how will they be able to have just ads and not fee for the service? wouldnt that mean ads will just be all over the place?

[SilentNegotiator]

And half of them aren't game related. Don't forget that factoid.

"if the cloud is going to cost as much as you seem to think, how will they be able to have just ads and not fee for the service? wouldnt that mean ads will just be all over the place? "
-
Who knows? I'm just debating the principles and facts. I've personally never thought that streaming was a good business model for games; especially since Onlive showed us all that gamers didn't want subscription costs (they were originally going to have them until they received reactions) to stream games....Onlive was going to tank until returning investors caught it.

A successful game streaming service should be like Netflix; unlimited streaming of (mostly) older games for a modest price. The creators make a little profit from games they otherwise wouldn't make much on and (in this case) less power consumption is needed because the games are mostly older and demand less.

[CrustifiedDibbs]

"And half of them aren't game related. Don't forget that factoid."

SO WHAT!!!!! its still content on live. how does that change the way you play games?

you are giving me everything i expected. im out of bubbles, this is boring, and is going nowhere. thank you and have a good one.

[doctorstrange]

Costs of cloud are far higher, ads may be necessary rather than an insult

[SilentNegotiator]

And before someone tries to retort with "XBL servers costs are too!".....multiplayer servers don't even begin to touch the required power (and thus expense) of rendering games for thousands of people.

[doogiebear]

Yeah. So quit crying.

[nevin1]

Who me nope. Just laughing.

[crossunitedfate]

I don't know, there is a difference here.
If Gaikai won't have any cost to be used, then I can see the ads being acceptable.

If however, they pull what Xbox Live does and make even their Gold members have to deal with ads, then yes it's a problem.

[miDnIghtEr20C_SfF]

@nevin.... exactly man... exactly. Ad's on Xbox Live that are small and in the bottom corners are a horrible thing to have.

But this... no no no no no way man. This is great! This is Sony!

[crossunitedfate]

You guys need to stop making it a fanboy issue and look at the reality
Last I remember, even before Sony purchased Gaikai, it was a subscription free service. And to my knowledge, it still is.

So if Gaikai does have ads, it's not a big issue BECAUSE they aren't making you pay any fee to use the service in the first place.

Xbox Live Gold however is making people pay to use the service AS WELL AS giving you advertising.

Don't even tell me you can't see what's wrong there. Because if you don't, it's because you chose not to.

[garos82]

you compare xbox live ads to this? you seriously need to educate yourself. you pay to access online gaming and dont even get dedicated servers for most of the games that you have to pay extra to have access to.

you see there is a reason they will have ads on gakai to help pay off expensive dedicated servers to keep things running.
how about you educate yourself before you make yourself look like a fool.

OT: im not sold on this cloud gaming concept. i believe there is definately a profitable and relatively smooth gaming experience in the future with it but at the moment (with my experience on onlive) it seems like it has a long way to go.

[MrBeatdown]

I love when people act like others are fanboys based on some supposed hypocrisy, but in order to do so, have to make massive, illogical, and broad assumptions and throw the finer points of anyone's opinion out the window to do it. It's a great way to separate the logical fans from the fanboys who just get upset when someone isn't as in love with their console of choice as they are.

I don't mind ads on webpages. I sure as hell would mind if I had ads right on my desktop. So would any normal person. There's a difference between my territory, and the service provider's territory. My desktop is my virtual space. It shouldn't have a single advertisement. I shouldn't have to see ads just to get to a game I own on my hard drive. But I have to on 360, because Microsoft has chosen to turn the entire Xbox interface into one giant storefront.

Maybe if Gaikai means people get ads for tacos in the corner of our XMB, and none of us take issue with it, then some of you Xbox defenders might have point when you cry hypocrisy.

[dbjj12088]

We'll see. All this posturing for next-gen and not a single confirmation or announcement yet.

[doctorstrange]

E3 baby

[mochachino]

I live in Canada, with our Internet bandwidth caps and high data prices 5 hrs of gaming will cost 20 bucks in overage.

Netflix is right, Canada's Internet service is like a 3rd world countries.

[nunley33]

That internet does suck, i have comcast in my area and it's real fast but i've heard of faster elsewhere. I have a supposed cap at 250gb that i routinely go over every month but i don't get overages, they will throttle you though. I for one would a PS4/ PS Omni for PS Home day one for that alone, which would be good if the launch lineup isn't too good but that's unlikely. It would be easy to block Wiiu & 720 browsers but that wouldn't deter someone though, they will just go to their browser in the tv or tablet.

[Lvl_up_gamer]

Very True. I live in Toronto and am on Roger's. I'm on their 2nd fastest connection with a 95gb cap. Now here is the kicker...if I wanted to get the fastest, they would actually reduce the cap to around 60 gb...

WTF?

So basically, any kind of video game streaming for me is out of the question. GaiKai is useless for me. I hope Sony's next platform isn't primarily GaiKai.

[DivineAssault]

ads really suck but if they can be skipped or just in a little corner while using the OS, i wouldnt mind.. Just better not be popping up during game sessions

[Dlacy13g]

There is a certain amount of irony coming from many comments in this thread. Who would have thought ads were cool and acceptable in the "right" situation?

[crossunitedfate]

What irony?
Gaikai is a service with no subscription fee. Live on the other hand makes Gold members pay as well as serve ads.

HUGE difference there.

And I'm not excusing ads by any means. But I will say that I'd rather that than being forced into paying a fee. And I damn sure wouldn't want to have BOTH be forced on me like Live does.

[garos82]

nobody said ads are "cool" there sunshine. It is however a necassary "evil" to provide a FREE service to the public.
Now tell me again how you dont mind paying for xbox live and receiving ads and then calling me a cheap ass gamer if i cant afford 5$ a month for such an "amazing" experience which is xbox live

[Buenoblue83]

Can't believe people are even hyped for this. It won't even work properly just
Iike onlive. Plus this won't be free, Sony are gonna charge you to play those ps1 and ps2 games on ps4, after you bought them originally, then again on ps3. Suckers. Lol

[kingPoS]

I'll just to wait and see the new Gaikai in action before I have an honest opinion of the service.

[taquito]

“Console-Quality Games" means nothing, in fact, it is an insult, we have been playing “Console-Quality Games" for 8 years now, they look like crap, I want “PC-Quality Games" on a console

“Console-Quality Games" is a huge downgrade from every AAA game on pc from the last 5 years, everything on console looks low res, covered in jaggies, screen tear, terrible performance

when i hear “Console-Quality Games", i hear, awful graphics, poor performance and low resolutions!