Pach-Attack! - Apple Patents & PS3 Offline?

Is Apple abusing the patent system? Plus, how long will the PS3 be online? And more!

[Da Ill One]

This guy is a complete idiot...he's like 1 for 290 on his "guesses".

[dirthurts]

What exactly did he say that was wrong here?
And what exactly makes you an expert?
To be honest, I'm a fairly well educated individual, and I agree with most of the things he says.
Just because you don't agree (or understand?) doesn't make him wrong.

[Enziet]

Many people on here can't distinguish between "disagreeing" and someone "being an idiot." Constructive conversation and debate is somewhat of a foreign idea on N4G.

[GribbleGrunger]

Apple lost their patent lawsuit in Japan and Europe, so as much as Pachter wants to brush it to one side, clearly other countries DO think that Apple are abusing the patent system.

As for, 'how long will Sony support their PS3 online infrastructure' I'd say he's also got that wrong too. I think that the PS4 will use exactly the same infrastructure as the PS3... in other words, there won't we a cessation of services, there will be a continuation (but with PS4 specific features)

[Wigriff]

I had a friend still playing Final Fantasy XI on his PS2 until early this year. I'm not sure, but doesn't that mean that the infrastructure for the PS2's limited online capabilities were still intact, or did you connect directly to a Final Fantasy server for that game? You might know.

If it was through PS2 infrastructure, and it was still active for that long, that would indicate to me that Sony isn't going to abandon a much larger [than FF XI's] user-base for the PS3 just because their next-gen console has launched. You're probably right that they will just keep and expand their current infrastructure, especially considering the incredible cost of completely redesigning from scratch in the first place.

Pachter isn't an idiot by any means. You don't get multiple law degrees, an MBA, get cited by the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times, and hold some of the positions he has by being an idiot. That doesn't mean that he can't be wrong or slightly out-of-touch though. I just happen to disagree with him on several of his points outlined here.

Good post, as usual, Gribble.

[GribbleGrunger]

Sony never had what you would consider a robust infrastructure for the PS2. They were going to invest heavily in online before the PS2 released, but decided against it after realising that broadband wasn't fast enough or common enough to warrant such a strategy -- hence the HDD bay in the PS2.

So, I wouldn't draw any conclusions from their long standing support of any PS2 games. On the other hand, Sony have now got a strong online strategy with PSN, PS+ and HOME, so their strategy is far more robust this time around. I can't see them wanting to lose momentum going into next gen but rather build on that momentum, and the only sensible way would be to make their console's online agnostic.

If you think about it, we already see this in action with the Vita and the PS3 sharing PSN IDs, Cross platform Trophy support and shared online Store. In my opinion, this makes it likely that the PS4 will work in exactly the same way, which is why this makes the question of 'how long will they support PS3' redundant.

I could be wrong but I'm 80% sure I'm not.

edit: I forgot to thank you, so have a bubble instead. :)

[Wigriff]

I'm partial to agree with you. Your assertion seems sound enough.

[GribbleGrunger]

The two areas that I'm going to be interested in are Gaikai (which goes without question) and HOME (which is largely overlooked).

Gaikai could unite both consoles simply by offering BC to both PS3 and PS4 via streaming... don't discount Vita from that either.

HOME is going to be more of a problem. If they do continue supporting HOME on the PS4, how will that work? Clearly it will have to be a better version, but will that mean separating the two communities? Those that have bought content in HOME will surely be annoyed if they can't use that content in HOME2. This is where I see the main problem.

I've been watching HOME for quite some time and, although it's not for me, I can see how it plays a big role for those into social networks and social gaming. Obviously it makes Sony a lot of money, otherwise it wouldn't be getting ever more support on a monthly basis, so the one thing Sony will want to do is make the transition from HOME to HOME2 as smooth as possible.

[shoddy]

He expect all gamers should pay to play online.
Middle finger to that and patcher.

Let keep online free please.

[Wigriff]

Pachter also opposes labor unions at game studios, which I strongly disagree with. If they had union representation, Jason West and Vince Zampella wouldn't have been fired from Infinity Ward or taken advantage of by Activision. All workers, regardless of wage, should be entitled to proper representation to protect their rights.

[palaeomerus]

Patenting 'look and feel' or vague ideas instead of specific methods IS an abuse of the patent system. 'No buttons' is not really a defensible competitive advantage that took a lot of R&D to accomplish and so deserves protection. It's very easy to duplicate and uses off the shelf tech.

[shoddy]

Who ever believe or paying Guessing Patcher is an idiot.

[SOULJER]

Pachter you lucky basturd. You can't get shit right. Yet someone pays your silly a$$. It's OUTLANDISH.