980°

Sony and Microsoft cant do much – DDoS attacks explained

The Eccentric Gamer writes: "Gamers should realize that both Sony and Microsoft cant do much to stop the DDoS attacks by Lizardsquad. Across the internet, countless people are complaining that Sony or Microsoft should do more to stop the DDoS attacks.

Clearly, people do not understand how DDoS attacks work. For the uninformed, here is a clear explanation as well as two videos that show just how a DDoS attack works."

Read Full Story >>
theeccentricgamer.co.za
Sillicur3401d ago

Still sad that these no-life hackers want to ruin xmas for everyone :(

CptEccentric3401d ago

Agreed, but people should not be blaming Sony or Microsoft for the issues at all like I see so many times.

DDoS attacks are near impossible to stop :(

TheLyonKing3401d ago

I am glad there is an article explaining these aren't hacks, they can't really be blocked and I hate how the media generalises it to hacks, pretty sure the bbc said they were hacks. This just builds up pointless noterity when they are basically just flooding servers.

I am not a huge online gamer, I am stuck in my ways of purely single player but I can understand the frustration, epically new gamers wanting to play on Christmas day.

Spartacus103400d ago

I'm not expert, but cant they just get people to register their IP/MAC addresses, and only those addresses/consoles/accounts can communicate with the PSN/XBL network?

Stoppokingme3400d ago

Let's hope the loser squad got carpal tunnel for Christmas.

donthate3400d ago (Edited 3400d ago )

DDoS attack is NOT near impossible to stop. MS has successfully defended it many times against Lizzard Squad.

The key to defending DDoS is detecting it early, have great network traffic analysis, migration and an awesome firewall.

Is it a difficult problem? Sure, but so is securing your network. Point being, don't give companies a free pass and don't hype it up to be some unsurmountable problem!

There is a reason why one network, PSN, goes down far longer than another, XBL:

http://static1.gamespot.com...

@Spartacus10:

Since a DDoS doesn't care about the the data, only the traffic it generates it is easy to spoof the MAC. The IP you can, but it is important to have the tools and expertise ready to analyze the traffic to determine which are targets and which are legitimate traffic.

A lot of times, during a DDoS the attacker is using infected zombie computers so it makes it harder to mitigate it.

Th3o3400d ago

@spartacus

Most ppl don't have a static IP, we have dynamically set ips which the lease gets revoked after a while.

It's extremely difficult to stop a DDOS, but it is possible.

Baka-akaB3400d ago (Edited 3400d ago )

XBL working better and being less time down is great , granted ... but ultimately both cant handle a real attack such like the XMAS one , on top of traffic .

Most DDoS either hit a port, the index.php (or similar file), or the web URL itself. But that's also exactly what every single legitimate internet user is also doing, so it's kinda hard to determine "this guy is looking at our main web page and he's legit, but THIS guy is looking at our main web page and is not legit".

The traffic itself is (usually) pretty innocent-looking. Even if you employ some sort of DDoS mitigation service, it can't filter out all the bad traffic.

Of course there are nuances and a few solutions , but not all of them are practical or easy to deploy on a large scale ... and few are DDoS fullproof

It's not use playing the "mine is better" game , both need to up the ante in all possible areas of security

bigbri6420003400d ago

What I blame Sony for is not having a way to play a digital game offline. It's a joke. I have Need For Speed, BF4, and Driveclub digital copies and have been locked out since early afternoon Tuesday. I can't even watch Netflix that I pay for. Everything has a lock on it. Message of, Can't connect to the server to verify the license. If this is how its gonna be I'll never buy a digital game again!

Mega243400d ago

@bigbri642000

If you activate your account on your PS4/PS3 you wouldn't have that problem. I could play all my friend's games but not my own since he has my account and I have his (game share). As for Netflix, idk how the apps work, I use my consoles for gaming.

DragonKnight3400d ago

@donthate: MS has done a great job of stop Lizard Squad this time haven't they?

Baka-akaB3400d ago (Edited 3400d ago )

@bigbri642000

Except there is a way . i've got digital version of the some of games you listed . And i'm played them fine .

It was just a matter of having licenses activated via making a console your primary . And to play offline you log out or unplug , otherwise the console will as expected try to check and connect to servers .

christian hour3400d ago

@mega24

I'm in the same boat. Unfortunately I'd played all my friends games to death and had just bought Dragon Age digitally to play while home for the holidays.

@bigbri642000

I'm confused by your statement. You CAN play your digitally purchased games without an internet connection. As long as your ps4 is set to be your primary one.

And netflix? I don't even need to sign in to use netflix or the web browser or youtube.

thekhurg3400d ago (Edited 3400d ago )

So why was xbox live only down for a few hours and PSN hasn't been worth shit since this crap began during the late hours December 24th?

Been trying to play Destiny for going on two days now and can't do a damn thing.

Blizzard stops them, Microsoft clearly understands how to minimize the impact of these lizard scrubs - but Sony? No. We sit and suffer through excessive downtime whenever people decide to be online pricks and attack the service.

@bigbri642000

I find it hard to believe you even own a PS4. I have Lords of the Fallen, Dragon Age, Diablo, The Last of Us and Destiny as digital games. I can play all of them except Destiny. I've watched Netflix several times as well.

indyman77773400d ago

DDOS is a catch 22 problem. It's not a matter of just upgrading your security software, or upgrading your servers.

Okay here is my simple explanation of an DDOS (Distributed Denial of Service).

Say you want to signon to a game service so does thousands of other people. 99.99% are legit attempts, even if the password is wrong a few times.

What happens if there are billions of signon attempts? No gateway can keep up with that. Now only one out of a million attempts to sign on are legit!

What if I block everybody? Guess what now your 100% down to everyone (including legit gaming signons) and you could be in the same boat once you unblock everyone.

So you must research all these addresses. Some IP addresses you know are legit if machines have not been assigned a new IP since the gameing service was last working well.
Some internet companies are constantly changing home ip's. Turning off your Router for 15 minutes will do it too. But during a big release,
what is Sony and Microsoft to do? Block every IP that is new? Many people buy systems for games for big release games like Second Son, or Halo. And Christmas demand MANY more legit NEW requests.

Here is another catch 22, because many internet companies reassign IP's some of the ones that was legit, are now assigned to a machine with the DDOS).

But eventually this is a good thing you can research and find out where most of the requests are coming from. Here is the other part of the catch 22. 99.999999999% of the request's are coming from innocent people that don't even know that they're machine is infected with an ddos! (hence the word DISTRIBUTED). So you must block many people from making a request (which also is slowing you down).

More bandwidth, and hardware does help some. But it is not the trump card.

I'm not a network Admin, but I'm a software developer. But I have this information from some good ones on that side of the fence.

I just want to help people that think, it is a simple problem and that these two companies are not trying to protect themselves. And thinking that chest pumping is going to scare people. History has shown that It will just attract MORE attackers, and scare none away, causing us to have more headaches with our off time. Microsoft, and Sony are not as stupid as some of us judge them as.

radler3400d ago (Edited 3400d ago )

DDoS attacks are not impossible to stop like the uninformed would have you believe. There are companies that are more than capable of handling DDoS attacks, but Sony and Microsoft didn't want to spend the cash to protect the PSN and XBL from the attacks so their customers had to suffer, plain and simple.

Anyone making excuses for Sony and Microsoft is a fool, especially since LizardSquad even made it perfectly clear in advance that they planned to do this. The fact that PSN/XBL went down just goes to show how horribly incompetent these companies are. If Sony or Microsoft had any sense they would have planned ahead and hired a company such as Cloudflare to protect their networks, and nobody would have seen any downtime at all. For reference, Cloudflare successfully protected against the largest recorded DDoS attack earlier this year.

You people need to stop making excuses for such crappy service because Sony and Microsoft are laughing while raking in subscriptions fees that are pure profit.

And where are we now on Dec 26th? Xbox Live seems to be back up for people while PSN remains down without a peep from Sony. Great job guys, well done. This entire DDoS attack could have easily been prevented but nope, can't go spending the cash to ensure the service is stable...

Anyone defending Sony or Microsoft is a mug, plain and simple.

BattleAxe3400d ago

Well, if these events keep happening, I can't see how either Sony or Microsoft will be able to continue to charge people for online gameplay, since they can't guarantee when player will be able to play online.

Baka-akaB3400d ago (Edited 3400d ago )

Of course it's not impossible , but it's not as easy as you guys claim .

DDoS is a global, fundamental issue with the very structure of the Internet. It's a real problem that can't always be solved just by throwing money or servers at it.

And mitigation doesnt necessarily work the way people believe or imply . Let's say the average size of a DDoS attack for the year is 10Gbps. Sony or MS then pays their mitigation partner up front for services that will be rendered during a 10Gbps attack. Their mitigation partner uses the funds to set up the eventual routing that will be required when the attack happens, have the manpower ready to respond, all the systems and programs, filters, etc - then a attack happens and it's 100Gbps. Now what?

Systems go down, the mitigation partner does their best, possibly handling at least a quarter of the attack well, but the end user is still affected.

Next year, Sony or Microsoft invests the money for 100Gbps protection. It's costing a lot, draining money from the companies . But hey, at least we're protected right?

a) An attack never happens, the money was wasted (but of course not the customer's problem)

b) An attack happens, it's 400Gbps now instead of 10. Dangit.

Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

Of course you guys will argue about companies that resists ... but forget how big of spectrum they cover right now for the internet , and their scope .

Paypal , visa , mastercard have all been strained or crashed too .

Google was not totally safe , it has been the actual launching pad for DDoS attacks in the past , and has of course been developing since forever they own mitigation or anti DDoS tools .

Some of those tools are not efficient for gaming FIY and could induce lag in some cases btw .

And Amazon has spent years creating and refining an "elastic"infrastruct ure, called EC2, designed to automatically scale to handle giant traffic spikes. The company has so much spare server capacity, in fact, that it runs a sideline business hosting other websites.

Like it or not , the "tiny' gaming operation from MS or Sony can't compare .

Of course you can request a better service for the money paid , that's fair imo . But you'll always find people to argue that they do offer you better servers , services and chatting functions , if not complete security .

PS : i'd love to get rid of mp mandatory subs personally for all of those consoles

christian hour3400d ago

@theKhurg

Just checked there, My friend still can't get on to xbl, keeps getting timed out. I'll keep you guys posted on his status though if that changes :)

ShinMaster3400d ago (Edited 3400d ago )

@ donthate

WRONG. You need to update your info. PSN is currently more secure than XBL apparently.

""The easier game network to take down was Microsoft’s Xbox Live. Sony had apparently upgraded its security recently, which took “a bit of time to work around,” but Microsoft had “almost nothing” in terms of security.""

http://www.businessinsider....

christian hour3400d ago

My friend just got on to me there, he's finally connected to XBL, still no PSN love on my end :(

+ Show (16) more repliesLast reply 3400d ago
3400d ago Replies(2)
dodo1013400d ago (Edited 3400d ago )

'Hackers' ddos attack is something everyone can do.

Muzikguy3400d ago

I wonder if these kinds of things were even thought about during the "always online" reveal of the X1. This is just another reason why that was a bad idea and I don't ever want to go down that road again. As it stands, whether it's Sony's fault or not, I'm mad at them and won't be paying for Plus come the end of January. These companies want us to be online, they want us to pay for online, but they can't keep a stable network during high frequency play times. I'm so frustrated. Yes I should probably direct my attention elsewhere but this is just ridiculous. If they need to work with the authorities then so be it. Something needs to be done!

bigbri6420003400d ago

Totally agree. Weather or not it's Sony's fault. I bought games from them( digital) and I pay for a service that I have not been able to use since the afternoon of December 23rd. Have not been able to play any digital game at all, they all have locks, even netflix. Shouldn't we be allowed a prorated membership? Heck if our cable goes out even Mediacom offers service for the days cable is out.

3400d ago
christian hour3400d ago

@birbri642000

Stop spreading nonsense, you can play your digitally purchased games offline, you can watch netflix without being connected to PSN. If you didn't set your ps4 as your primary one then it's you own fault you're not able to do anything with your console right now.

My PS4 isn't my primary either, but that's because I'm console sharing with a friend, so at least I have all his games to play still.

AceBlazer133400d ago

if it's one thing im greatful for these attacks for is that they helped me realize an always online/digital future is complete ass. Bought all my ps4 games so far digitally, now I'm at my friend's house for the holidays and i can't access my games from his console because psn can't verify that i own the licenses.

Back to physical for me.

bigbri6420003400d ago

I'm in the same boat. Cannot access digital games at all. Even netflix. BS.What about having our memberships prorated for the days we are unable to use?

Baka-akaB3400d ago (Edited 3400d ago )

You keep repeating this , but it isnt true . Digital games are accessible offline , if not , it's because of your settings . Or some bigger issue with those on your end .

For most people , those that would be unplayable are game that needs an online component to run , and those are only a few or 100% online centric .

once_a_jedi3400d ago

These guys aren't hackers,they should come back when they control the critical infrastructure of 16 countries, including the USA & Saudi Arabia! ;-) http://arstechnica.com/secu...

THC CELL3400d ago

So much for ms 300k servers.

3-4-53400d ago

* Solutuion:

Offer $1 million dollars PER PERSON, get a group of hackers and other tech specialists together to figure out how to stop DDOS attacks.

DON'T tell me " they can't be stopped"...

The solution exists....somebody just may not have discovered it yet.

Not just stop these, but trace them.

If something started somewhere IT HAS A SOURCE.....

No matter how small or minute......there is a source, and it can be found.

Somebody, somewhere, knows how to go about doing this in a way that benefits everyone.

* You guys still all aboard the "always online" hype train ! ???

I want the next consoles to GUARANTEE OFFLINE Single Player experiences FIRST AND FOREMOST.....

ITPython3400d ago

An interesting way to look at DDOS attacks is that the majority of all of us who use the internet are the biggest part of the problem. Think about it, if these script kiddies can't infect peoples computers with botnets, then it would be a heck of a lot harder to pull off DDOS attacks and would be easier to track down and stop.

It's people who don't take computer security seriously is why DDOSing is so effective and hard to deal with.

So you want to put an end to DDOs attacks? How about looking in the mirror first and securing your computers. Ditch Internet Explore and Norton AV and get some real security solutions and browsers already. Also don't leave your internet connections active when you are not using your PC, it's essentially the same thing as leaving house windows wide open when you leave home.

Would be nice if people were required by law to install and use good security software. Because some casual internet surfer with no decent security (or none at all) is essentially giving ammo to these cyber terrorists once his machine gets infected. If there is no infected machines, DDOSing would essentially evaporate overnight and never would be a problem again.

Raiden3400d ago

Hey I have sledgehammer some very large nails and a brand new nail gun, now which one am to use on these #%&*#@£% hackers, starting with there knees then fingers ending by cracking there skull open, do there realize how many people they made unhappy this Christmas, remember krama is bitch and I hope it really bad when it comes to them.

+ Show (7) more repliesLast reply 3400d ago
CptEccentric3401d ago

@TheLyonKing

Thank you kind sir/madam, that is exactly what I wanted to do, inform people. After I saw an article called "Microsoft and Sony should stand up to lizard squad", I just had to try and help people understand :)

Kivespussi3401d ago

They can't really prepare for DDoS attacks, no amount of servers can. But still I'm amazed how there hasn't been any consequences to Lizard Squad, they're interrupting the business of a huge company affecting millions, why aren't they locked up already? Are they hard to track down or is there some legal crap in the way?

CptEccentric3401d ago

Honestly they should be locked up. I am sure they are under investigation at the very least. However, these people are pretty difficult to find.

I would like to see a group like Anonamous actually jump in and help find these guys...That would be cool.

Gh05t3400d ago (Edited 3400d ago )

So you want one group of radical hackers to be locked up by getting another group of radical hackers to find them... Yeah that makes sense.

Lock them all up. If you break the law you deal with the consequences.

xtheblackparade3400d ago

@Ghost
yea, that actually does make sense. Because most (IT) experts are not with the government but with a group that pays well.

MelvinTheGreat3400d ago

@Gh0st

Lizard squad are not hackers

3400d ago
DanteVFenris6663400d ago

And what would anonymous do? Fucking threaten keyboard warrior them. Most hackers even them are complete pussies when it's time to go off there computer

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 3400d ago
Kayant3400d ago

Probably hard to track down because for ones they will be using things like VPN's,Proxies to hide their IP and the attack itself comes from millions of affected PCs that act as bots to be used in the attack.

Avernus3401d ago (Edited 3401d ago )

They can't do much, except aggressively pursue people that DDoS on this scale. Catch them, and show others that they're serious about catching them, and punishing them according to whatever law they use.

There should be consequences to their actions, and not just be rewarded with free shit. Catch these little turds.

Sillicur3400d ago

There definately should be consequences to their actions, hopefully they get what they deserve in the end.

nosferatuzodd3400d ago

Indeed I say 10 years of hard labor for first offense

xtheblackparade3400d ago

We should get together with like a million of angry gamers and start a corporate detention facility for people like this.

DaBooth3401d ago

hard to find try here http://www.lizardsquad.info... anyone live close and has a bat spare ?

Show all comments (137)
280°

Xbox's Preservation Step Sets A Much-Needed Example, Especially For Nintendo

Hanzla from eXputer inquires: "If Xbox can care about preserving its games and legacy, what exactly is wrong with Nintendo, trying to kill game preservation single-handedly?"

purple1014d ago

Ahh yes the good old game preservation of saving all your games to a removable hhd on the Xbox 360, taking it round your mates house, setting up multiple tvs to
Be met with “save data corrupted, please re download”

Or how about removing 360 games
From the store
, download them now or else, and, better hope to god that save data doesn’t corrupt, or it’s lost for ever

Nice one ☝️

Zeref3d ago

It's better than what Nintendo and Playstation is doing. It might not be perfect but at least they are TRYING. Unlike the others.

DarXyde3d ago

Trying? Take off the blinders for a moment, mate.

1. A failure to preserve games is just that: a failure to preserve games. Don't try to sugarcoat it: NO ONE is doing it properly. Better than awful is nothing to write home about.

2. At the time of this comment, isn't it the case that you need an internet connection to play Xbox games even if you buy physical discs that are hardly in circulation anymore? I don't have a Series X and I can't verify, but I think that is correct. I'm fairly certain you can at least play PS5 games at version 1.0 (not much of a win really when many games require day one patches). I think Microsoft's all digital, licensing approach is by far more aggressive than anyone else's. They really try to push you to game pass where you lose your entire library by umm.... Skipping a month of payments.

I don't think anyone is doing it right whatsoever. Don't get me started on Nintendo, who goes after anyone looking to preserve their games better than they ever would with extreme litigation.

Don't be a simp for any of these companies. Get it together.

PhillyDonJawn3d ago (Edited 3d ago )

@DarX never speak on Xbox again. You lost all credibility with your internet connection comment. Smh you have 0 clue and misinformed yet speaking on something you don't no squat about.

Einhander19723d ago

What has Sony done exactly? You guys keep deflecting to Sony but I am not actually seeing any results, and ai am certain nothing that you can come up with even comes close to what Microsoft has done and what they have tried and failed to do, like tie all your disks to your account on xbone.

Microsoft removed their whole indie section when they moved to the xbone because they were going to only allow games on the service that came from a publisher, id@xbox started after xbone launched and it only exists because Sony embraced indie and Microsoft was forced to cancel their plans and reverse course.

And every single game that was part of games for windows live including disk games (I have gta 4 on disk that won't work) so hundreds of games that use that DRM no longer work unless the company themselves patched it out which of course very few did.

MrBaskerville3d ago

Not trying. Tried. they killed of the backcomp program years ago. They set something up again, but sounds like it's more of an attempt to save the current library on whatever they are planning next. With luck they save everything and more, but let's see. I could see them killing off parts of the OG xbox and 360 libraries. Can't imagine that they would allow us to play Forza 5-7 in the future.

With that said, I do like what they've done and really wish they could have done more.

shinoff21833d ago

Zeref

So killing off physical media is trying what exactly. Ms don't really give a fk if you think they do your kidding yourself.

Profchaos3d ago

They are not trying this team is established for forward compatability the team is. It interested in preserving Xbox or 360 games.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 3d ago
isarai4d ago

Is that why Hellblade 2 is digital only?

Zeref3d ago

Just because it's digital only doesn't mean you can't preserve it. Just put it on an external and you have the exact same functionality of what a disc does.

MrNinosan3d ago

Guess you're trolling, but if you actually think that's how it works, I'd recommend buying some braincells.

mkis0072d ago (Edited 2d ago )

Volitile vs nonvolitile data. A disc will not corrupt either. A drive can be corrupted.

Einhander19724d ago

This is just a scammy PR move to distract from the fact they are going digital only and trying to push streaming and subscriptions only.

No gaming company has pushed harder to remove ownership than Microsoft.

Without discs there is no preservation, preservation can't be done by the rights holders it can only be done by the consumers, anything else is a lie.

4d ago Replies(3)
Einhander19724d ago

Anyone remember xblig which Microsoft removed their whole 360 indie section removing hundreds of games from people?

4d ago
3d ago
Zeref3d ago

Do you know you can put your games on an external and preserve them that way? There are no benefits to discs. ZERO. Idk why some of you are still obsessed with them.

DarXyde3d ago

Because games like Persona 5 exist. It's STILL V1.00. On Playstation, that's a win because 1.00 is installed on the disc—no need to download anything.

If a game does not require any updates, it's all on the disc.

Extremely low bar in the modern era, of course. It's not much of a win by any stretch.

But for now, physical media does have a purpose, at least on Playstation.

Einhander19723d ago

That is factually not how game licensing works, try plugging your hard drive into someone else xbox, It's not going to work, and it won't work if the licensing servers ever go down.

Einhander19723d ago

Anyone remember games for windows live.

I have around a dozen games, some on Steam itself that will not work because Microsoft shut off the licensing servers.

BehindTheRows3d ago (Edited 3d ago )

I do. I STILL have games (Gears of War being the big one) I cannot access because Games for Windows LIVE is total garbage and no one has held Microsoft accountable.

Zeref3d ago (Edited 3d ago )

You don't have an Xbox apparently. Because you can 100 percent plug in your external and play games from it on any Xbox console lol. You just have to be logged in to prove ownership.

Chevalier3d ago

"You don't have an Xbox apparently. Because you can 100 percent plug in your external and play games from it on any Xbox console lol. You just have to be logged in to prove ownership."

Damn how many times do people got to explain your idiocy to you? You can take a copy of Persona 5 like someone used as an example and play that game on ANY console WITHOUT logging in which means I can lend the game to a friend without internet and they can play my game. Can you lend your hard drive to anyone without logging in for them to play? NOPE. That is a huge difference and if you think otherwise then sorry you're an idiot.

Tacoboto3d ago

"No gaming company has pushed harder to remove ownership than Microsoft."

Ubisoft is literally erasing games people bought from their libraries... My PS1-3 discs are useless on modern hardware. Nintendo's re-published and resold almost their entire Wii U library, and the eShop is completely dead with no BC mechanism in the Switch software. Microsoft publishes everything they make today day one on Steam and Xbox/Windows. Sony only brings to PC the titles they think you might want some years later and Nintendo won't even design a functional long-lasting joystick.

You're absolutely trolling and not serious if you think Microsoft today is the worst offender.

shinoff21833d ago

Yay steam

Not everyone fks with computers though. The disc is still the best way as a console player. Period.

Tacoboto3d ago

How do Sony and Nintendo feel about these discs from 2001-2013?

Don't be stupid, you know Xbox is the best at this today.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 3d ago
Hofstaderman3d ago

Nobody wants this. Sales or the lack of it in the case of XBOX is very telling. I wonder how the adorably all digital series X will fare. Adorably dismal perhaps?

crazyCoconuts3d ago

Only time will tell, but for from someone like me suspecting that Xbox is trying to gracefully exit the console market, that "forward compatibility" team is trying to get Xbox games playing on Windows PCs. I mean, it's nice that they're not planning on exiting with a "enjoy your games while the hardware still works" message, so that's nice. They still have a brand to protect via Microsoft so probably feel obligated to have a better exit strategy.

Xeofate3d ago (Edited 3d ago )

That is not their plan, their plan is to transfer users accounts to the cloud.

Phil Spencer himself said as much a few months back, plans could have changed but I think people are reading way too much into one statement where Phil said he would allow Epic on xbox because he wants to be able to sell xbox games directly on other platforms. Aka, instead of selling Sea of Thives through PSN he wants to have an xbox store to sell his games on PlayStation without giving PlayStation any money.

Again, it's extremely unlikely that Phil plans to put PC on xbox and licensing would prevent them from just giving out other publishers games purchased on xbox copies of thier games on PC, Microsoft does not own their games.

crazyCoconuts2d ago

The thing that doesn't align with the cloud strategy is the giving up on exclusives. You'd still need strong exclusives for cloud streaming - it's still a "platform" , just with a lower upfront hardware investment. I feel like they've learned what PS learned with PSNow long ago. We're not ready to stream games and it's only gonna lose them money to try at this point

FinalFantasyFanatic3d ago

I would love that, I'd buy up some of the Xbox games if they could run on PC, like the Rare Replay, Lost Odyssey and Dead or Alive Ultimate, probably a pipe dream though.

Show all comments (43)
280°

Sony Taps Bungie's Head of Revenue to Lead Live-Service Games

Sony has recruited Bungie's head of revenue Jaremy Rich to head up its live-service gaming division, Rich has announced on social media.

Read Full Story >>
techraptor.net
ChasterMies13d ago

Please do not put Destiny’s monetization into Sony’s first party games. The monetization is what’s driving players away from Destiny.

just_looken13d ago

The new temp boss is the sony cfo bean counter so i can see this being a thing get every penny.

Cacabunga13d ago

PlayStation officially losing it.. fans will never support gaas games

just_looken13d ago

@car

The new boss did a interview in japan he wants to tap into the mobile market like nintendio so he give 0 fucks about gamers/fans

https://www.pushsquare.com/...

Redemption-6413d ago

@Cacabunga
You only speak for you and those who think like you, but most fans will support what they want. Playstation and PC fans are literally supporting Helldivers 2 and that is a gaas. Maybe you wouldn't, but many more would if they like it.

Huey_My_D_Long13d ago

@Redemption-64
Look, Im not making any judgement calls about this guy, but I will say that Helldivers 2 GaaS model is unique to Helldivers, and legit the only other game I can think of thats similiar was the Avengers game except HD2 pass is still better.
The fact that you can earn in game currency in a way that doesnt make you feel like you have to grind forever, as well you being able work on that pass that you bought...on your own time without a time limit...that right there is fucking huge to me, and I can't name any game other than avengers that avoided trapping players with FOMO logic...I think GaaS on HD2 shouldn't be compared to the rest of the industry...it should be copied.

Einhander197213d ago

Cacabunga

Helldivers 2...

Redemption-64

In Europe it's a 60 40 split favoring PC.
In the US its a 60 40 split favoring PS5.

So PlayStation owners supported the game just fine, it's not getting carried by PC or anything like that.

FinalFantasyFanatic13d ago

@just_looken,
I'm perfectly fine with the way Nintendo entered the mobile market, I never touched their mobile games, meanwhile, the console/handheld stayed the way it is. As for being a bean counter, he's probably going to reel in these massive budgets that Sony's studios have had lately, I haven't played Spiderman 2, but I cannot see how they almost tripled the budget for that game.

@Redemption-64,
That's an exception to the rule, I'm expecting a lot of these GAAS games from Sony to fail, to be fair, they only need a few to succeed, but I would have preferred that they put more of their resources into other types of games.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 13d ago
DivineHand12513d ago

True their monetization is driving players away and at the same time, their decision to chop out content and convoluted systems is keeping new players away from the game.

Joe91313d ago

I don't think that will happen based on how things worked out at Naughty Dog now that we know what we do, seems they had the option to fully commit to live service games or stay making single player experences so they gave up on their live service game. We are not sure how things came about with Bend making a live service game but I hope that was not a forced situation. Sony doesnt seem like they are forcing studios to switch up but we will see, Sony's bread and butter is single player games it is how they dominated the console market.

Obscure_Observer13d ago

Yeah, I though Sony learned something from all their failures in the LS segment under Bungie´s disastrous leadership and supervision which led to games been cancelled, studios closed and all the people laid off.

Looks like Bungie still plays a major role in Sony´s LS initiative and Sony is not backtracking on their GaaS plans.

S2Killinit13d ago (Edited 13d ago )

Are we forgetting that Destiny is also a highly successful franchise? I feel like that definitely deserves mention here.

Besides, there is no reason why a person cant learn from past experiences.

Joe91312d ago

I agree, people act as if Destiny flopped when it came out lol it took 9 to 10 years for the numbers to fall yet people are still playing it add the success of Helldivers 2 no wonder Sony is going forward down this path.

S2Killinit12d ago

Personally, I see no problem with Sony also having service games as long as they make good ones, and more importantly they deliver the AAA story driven games that they are known for. So yeah, I agree 100% with you.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 12d ago
Christopher13d ago

I mean, this person made some pretty bad decisions at Bungie. I hope they've learned from them because I definitely don't see those type of ideas as good for PlaySation in general.

CrimsonWing6912d ago (Edited 12d ago )

Honestly, what’s to learn from? How to make people happily continuously dump money into a single game over its life-time? Buy season passes continuously for several years with a smile on our faces?

GaaS is a design decision that is everything wrong with this industry. The fact that Helldivers 2 did so well and people defend the monetization because it was $40 and is a fun game, scares the sh*t out of me to see that the door is open and all shift will probably be to replicate that in future games. We already know the ROI for traditional game dev cost isn’t doing it for them.

I thought with Jimbo leaving we’d see a change for the better… I’m not so sure now.

S2Killinit12d ago

Service games are being offered by everyone. Sony cannot afford to only create single player AAA games. No one can. They already said they will be doing both.

Abnor_Mal13d ago (Edited 13d ago )

Ps5 gamers in 2023 seemed to play more live service types of games, so regardless to how people feel about them, numbers don’t lie and Sony is going where the money is. I mean look at the excitement around Helldivers2, people are showing that they want live service games.

Christopher13d ago

They play long-time existing live service games like CoD, Fortnite, Apex Legends, Destiny 2, and the like. Mass majority of new live service games are considered failures and aren't moving gamers away from older games.

just_looken13d ago

Yep the huge issue with live service is they need paid players along with a reason to play them.

You forgot mobile market that also taps into that player base as well as the eve online style games there is only a certain amount of krakens/whales blind supporters compared to the amount of live service games we have its not sustainable math wise.

700 restaurants making food for every seat for 1000-3000 eaters just does not work out

Einhander197213d ago (Edited 13d ago )

Christopher

I am not a big live service fan and literally own zero of the games you listed, but that is not true, unless you call games that aren't the top games to be failures.

There are tons of live service games that are profitable.

Games don't have to be the biggest game ever they just need to make more than they cost.

I challenge you to show professionally prepared data that shows that more live service games fail than make enough to keep going.

Because all the data that I have seen shows that live service is less of a gamble than making a big AAA budget game which needs to survive off retail sales.

FinalFantasyFanatic13d ago

I sometimes wonder if we're at saturation point, where it's hard for a new game to join those ranks unless it's particularly exceptional, people only have so much time and money to devote to these types of games.

romulus2313d ago

Correction, they have no issue playing good live service games

shinoff218313d ago

Lol it's not even a quarter of the ps5s sold. Helldivers may have been a hit but let's not say most are enjoying it because truth is most(the real most ) don't care about it.

S2Killinit12d ago (Edited 12d ago )

I play what is fun. If a live service game is good I’ll play it as long as its not a money scheme which Helldivers is not.

And Im a single player gamer.

mastershredder13d ago

How do you kill a franchise that already been killed?
Destiny’s grind, cash-in-on-playbass-cha-Ching, and pop-culture-insertion mainstream-me-too bs totally killed any rep Bungie had. Sony/Bungie, if you are doing this to ward-off players, it’s already working.

crazyCoconuts13d ago

Headline truncated:
"... off a cliff"

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370°

Could Xbox Soon Become The Next Dreamcast?

Microsoft's future in the video game space is murky right now, so let's break it all down.

Read Full Story >>
thegamer.com
ApocalypseShadow16d ago (Edited 16d ago )

Not anytime soon. But they're on that path.

One thing not mentioned in the article is Microsoft's money bags. If Sega had Microsoft's money, they would have still been around as a hardware manufacturer. Xbox as a platform only survives because of the money bags. They can continue making consoles for the core and port to PC.

The multiplatform strategy is only the result of arrogance and misguided leadership that blew up in their face. They thought gamers would jump on Xbox in droves if they knew that many of their favorite games would be only on Xbox. But that's not happening at all. Sales didn't increase. They decreased. Why? Because the dumb asses thought giving away these expensively made games in a cheap service would also turn the tide.

Gamers on other platforms are willing to buy quality. They don't need to be handed nearly free games in a service that aren't even finished and sometimes average in their development. Gamers buy Nintendo games. They buy Sony games. Microsoft groomed their base to not buy games. Even the quality ones. It has always been their plan to go digital. But most gamers still like single player gaming. Still like physical releases.

Microsoft's problem has always been that they don't produce high quality games at the same output as Nintendo and Sony. Actually, they should be producing quite a lot more because they're worth over 2 TRILLION. How they don't have more is ridiculous and no excuse. Buying publishers to take away from competition only backfired. Because it still takes millions of dollars to continue to make those games from the publishers they snatched. Their only choice was to crawl back to their competitors to help sustain those developers because Nintendo and Sony platforms were the ones buying games.

Am I sorry for Microsoft? Hell no! They deserved last place for putting in the least effort. They deserved the fallout for buying up the industry and didn't make a single blip on the radar against their competitors where they now need those same gamers they took away games from to support them. Part of it may have been to cash in on their competition. But the result is the slow death of their platform. They may go 3rd party. They may keep making hardware. I don't give a shit about them to worry about it. I only give a shit about the destructive nature of their industry moves that only negatively affect gamers. They could sell and drop out of the industry and I wouldn't blink. Probably laugh. But not blink. They deserve whatever comes to them. At least Sega put in the effort when it came to games. They just had poor leadership. Microsoft has poor leadership and barely makes memorable games. That's a killer combination. And not in a good way.

Cacabunga16d ago

That would be an insult to Dreamcast.. it had a crazy line up of legendary critically acclaimed games.

Crows9016d ago

I was thinking the same. Dreamcast had incredible games in such a short amount of time. It was truly exceptional.

darthv7215d ago

...and yet all those great games were not enough to sway people from the looming release of the PS2 at the time. Sony just has that kind of brand loyalty.

Cacabunga15d ago

Darth

I do not agree.. Sony had even better games thanks to an unprecedented 3rd party support..
DC had amazing lineup but 90% were arcade games..

88315d ago

@darth:
And Sony showed off "The Emotion Engine" and their real time demos that made everyone think they would miss out on REAL next gen 128bit magic if they jumped in before PS2s polygon pushing monster (and early lack of anti-aliasing with a healthy heap of shimmer + DVD playback) stepped up. PS2 was a fantastic system though with amazing games.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 15d ago
blacktiger16d ago

That's not true. Just because Microsoft has the money doesn't mean Microsoft can allow xbox to bleed entire Microsoft money. It doesn't work like they. Also SEC will be watching and investor won't allow it. Lot of reasons why Microsoft can not continue even if they wanted to. SEC regulations is expensive.

fr0sty16d ago (Edited 16d ago )

Exactly this... Microsoft is a publicly traded company, mostly owned by their shareholders (Approximately 59.24% of the company's stock is owned by Institutional Investors, 7.73% is owned by Insiders and 33.03% is owned by Public Companies and Individual Investors.). Their shareholders call the shots on the business decisions, and their shareholders want one thing and one thing only, for their stock price to go up. Losses do not make stock prices go up... so if the division continually posts losses on hardware, but shows profits on software and services (which has been the case with Xbox its entire lifespan, for over 20 years now), the shareholders are going to grow impatient and demand they stop making hardware and focus on the only thing that has ever made them money, software and services.

When Microsoft bought Blizzard and Activision for almost 100 billion, I knew that was the nail in the coffin for Xbox as a console... as the shareholders were going to expect a quick return on that investment, and when it didn't materialize, they were going to be out for blood... out to force Xbox to sell those games on as many consoles as possible, "and while you're at it, sell those first party exclusives that aren't selling well on other consoles as well... hell, just stop making consoles and sell games."

If there is another Xbox console generation, it will definitely be the last, but I doubt there even will be one at this point. I think the Xbox division planning on it just in case, but I don't think the project has been greenlit from Microsoft itself. The rumors that they have not yet even secured the chips needed from the chip fabrication facilities ties into this.

shinoff218316d ago

While I usually agree with you . Alot of what was said can just also be asked before any of that.

How long will the shareholders wait? It doesn't appear long at all

Babadook715d ago

I think I get your point. Like just because MS has money does not mean they are content to throw it away on a dying ecosystem. Xbox has to be profitable or “what’s the point?”

ifinitygamer15d ago

Money bags, yes, but are we ignoring that Xbox actually makes a profit on games and GamePass? Hardware is often a loss leader, and they're probably making profit 4 years into the life cycle, but games and services revenue have been very profitable while other parts of Microsoft's business is struggling. Say what you will about the quality of those games, of course, but this is kind of a reverse Dreamcast situation, where the console was dragging down the company and put it at risk of shuttering entirely. Killing that console saved the business and allowed it to continue to make games on multiple platforms. In this case, the service is very profitable, as are the games, and they're also double-dipping into Multiplatform to extend this further, while their hardware is just sort of what they believe to be the best for gamers and their own titles (whether that is the case or not...)

fr0sty15d ago (Edited 15d ago )

The issue is, they aren't selling enough hardware to make their exclusives profitable, and now that they've bought half the gaming publisher/dev industry, they have no choice but to go third party to make a profit... and that is making their shareholders take a real close look at their hardware division under the microscope... why keep making the hardware if the software is all that is making them money, and they continually, generation after generation come in dead last with hardware sales?

Look at a game like Spiderman 2... if it had been an Xbox exclusive, with the amount it cost to develop, it would have been a huge failure... simply not enough consoles out there to sell it on. They would have been lucky to break even.

ifinitygamer15d ago

@fr0sty agreed completely, which is why they're hedging by releasing other games to multiplatform, plus they have PC to make up for the difference in a lot of ways, which is why their games are not complete money pits. It brings up the question of whether or not those exclusives would drive sales of consoles, though. Let's say Spiderman 2 was an Xbox exclusive, it would certainly have pushed console sales, though who's to say how much is anyone's guess.

fr0sty15d ago

That's why you can't rely on just one exclusive, Sony has always delivered on a wide range of solid exclusives, even this generation (even if they haven't been strong on the first party exclusives, they've made up for it with third party). They don't rely on just one "system seller", they have a portfolio of them.

15d ago
JBlaze22615d ago

ApocalypseShadow To be honest Sony has more of a chance to go 3rd party because like you said Microsoft has money, Sony does not. Sony does not have games, Only games they have come from 3rd party. Sony has been losing money for years and you. Saying Microsoft has been putting the least effort just proves you have no idea what's been going on. All Sony has done is repeat and recycle, never innovating or doing something new. All Sony has is brand loyalty nothing else and it shows.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 15d ago
LG_Fox_Brazil16d ago

Not sure about that. It's been two decades and I still think about Power Stone, Shenmue, Crazy Taxi, Jet Set Radio, Seaman and others, but I'm not sure I'll remember Xbox Series X/S games in a few years from now... Maybe I'll remember about the franchises that the Xbox brand spawned, but I don't believe that the Xbox Series lives up to the late Dreamcast or even to the Xbox name itself. I do have great memories about the 360 with Blue Dragon, Gears 2 and Lost Odyssey though

isarai16d ago

Nah, sega actually makes good games

Becuzisaid16d ago

No, Dreamcast was ahead of it's time and most still have very fond memories of it that had one. It also had some good games on it even in it's short lifespan. Xbox has none of these qualities.

Profchaos16d ago

I remember it coming out at the time in a really bad place they hit the market before the PS2 but it was during this transitional time when Sony was promoting the power of the PS2 and so many of the Dreamcast games were awesome but often third parties simply ported the PS1 version increased resolution and performance but rarely fully utilise the capabilities of the console.

I think in the end bad marketing done it in and like the GameCube so many people are fond of it now but at the time it was looked at in the lense of the day and it didn't stack up.

Personally I miss Sega in hardware they took risks that many companies won't

Becuzisaid16d ago

I never owned it, and got the PS2 right when it launched. But there were certain games it had that I was always jealous of that I didn't have access to - Sonic adventure, crazy taxi, power Stone, code Veronica, shenmue, skies of Arcadia. I always thought it was a really cool machine though. I've never heard a bad thing about it though from those that had it.

FinalFantasyFanatic15d ago

I only ever saw one Dreamcast, and that was one my friend owned, pity I never got to play it, I wonder what games he had for it?

It would be nice if some of those games got ported to modern systems.

Profchaos16d ago

Oh man sonic adventure on the Dreamcast made me so jealous as a huge sonic fan on the mega drive who also moved to PlayStation 2 I never got the chance to play it back in the day either. The Dreamcast in Australia where I am was always relegated to the smallest corner of EB Games it was kind of a strong first indicator that things were not going well at the time.

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