Pocket-Lint Crackdown 3 preview: The Xbox One game that is beyond the PS4's capabilities

POCKET-Lint: Crackdown 3 makes for an incredible demonstration of how the Xbox One is capable of doing things the PS4 cannot. Crackdown 3 will use Microsoft's cloud servers to help crunch enough figures to make the physics engine work, something that the console is not capable of doing on its own.

During our session, we managed - along with three other players - to destroy a tower and surrounding buildings and could see as servers were required through an on-screen graphic. We managed to get around 10 servers all working at once, but the record is apparently 20. And being able to keep that many objects flying about, colliding with each other and landing as they should makes for one hell of a satisfying blast-a-thon.

[KingKionic]

"One example of this was shown to us using a normal assault rifle. The third-person character drew a rectangle in bullets on a wall, creating what can only be described as tiny pebbles of concrete and as soon as the middle section wasn't secured enough, it fell out to land at the player's feet. It looked natural and normal. It could even be used as a strategy to both maintain cover in a shoot out, yet have a small hole to fire through."

This will be amazing to see up close like he is. This dudes saying it looked like tiny pebbles and natural. That`s pretty impressive. First time ive heard it explained that way in detail.

Im ready and got my train ticket to the crackdown 3 train. Crackdown 3 is just gonna be awesome.

[Gazondaily]

I'm very excited about the tech too and do think its a game changer but its imperative that we wait and see how it operates in the real world.

In one of the demos we saw a single session clocking up to 14 servers. Surely 300k servers aren't enough loads of people are online at once?

Also, the PS4 is capable of this. Whether or not Sony embrace it is another matter entirely.

[KingKionic]

Lol "the ps4 is capable of this" the rhetoric of fear never ends.

This hysteria is hilarious. Now ps4 can do do 100 percent destruction in there game because now Microsoft has shown it.

This is just ridiculous. Like its obvious what is being done here.

Microsoft showed off something EXTREMELY powerful and the kneejerk reaction is Sony can just wave wand and do it too.

I`ll stick to the company who has continued to support this future.

Xbox gamers dont need to wait. They dont need to guess. Microsoft has proven doubters and they have shown in real time the technology.

But ill admit it is hilarious watching people make these statements.

[Gazondaily]

I mean technically it is capable of it. Whats stopping them? Its just that they lack their own infrastructure for it but they could approach third parties like Amazon etc surely?

What do you expect Sony to do? Sit around and twiddle their thumbs as the cloud lets the X1 surpass their console in terms of what its capable of?

[KingKionic]

Microsoft has setup up a actual xbox compute platform for what there doing since 2013.

http://news.xbox.com/2013/1...

They have the service in place and the tech involved.

Even when Microsoft was talking about this stuff sonys first party boss didnt even know what they were taking about

http://www.videogamer.com/n...

Like i dont see how sonys just gonna walk up to amazon and cut a deal to make this stuff happen on there system.

Its a BIG stretch for anyone to assume this Septic.

[4Sh0w]

Kionic

I get what you're saying but YES on a purely harware capability bases ps4 CAN do this as its not really hardware driven but rather its physics calculations driven by the cloud= Microsofts Azure network/servers.

Now If you are saying sony cant at least right now because they do not have the large cloud infrastructure then I would agree. Still they could always pay/rent from those who do or dramatically build up Gakai or whatever I suppose but YES any scenario on sonys part will be very expensive and time consuming. Im not suggesting sony will do anything or if they are even going to try just saying its possible with alot of money and time.

All that said Im not going to shout from the rooftops about Crackdown3 and what the future holds just yet, it was impressive, the potential is there but I have to see more and at least wait closer to the final product, get previews and such on how everything holds up under legit full online gaming sessions, hands on, etc.

[DDOS-DelDaemonicOSes]

I often agree with you Septic, though the PS4 isn't capable of it, not any more than mobile phones or any other gaming devices are also "capable" of doing it (yes, though not really).

In other words, it is sort of like saying that Linux is capable of as good of a desktop user experience... not likely anytime soon, possibly never.

[LonDonE]

Agreed.
Whats funny is hearing so many praise the x1 for the crackdown 3 destruction when it is not doing any of it! the 14 servers are, so why websites and fanboys are having digital orgasms is beyond me.

The tech is cool and will only get better but people need to stop with the "PS4 cant do this b.s!!"
because niether can x1,hence why they need 14 servers to do it for the console.

Seriously the fanboys and the click baiting websites are getting out of hand.
Sadly too many gamers lack the ability of critical thinking and so fall into the trap.

I will wait till we see more, not saying ms has but they have faked things before.
People need to get a grip cos cloud tech wont magically make x1 the market leader.

While i agree ps4 probably wont see this type of tech any time soon, but saying its incapable is plain wrong! i bet ms engineers could hook a ps4 up to azure tomorow and do similar things.

Regardless this tech is exciting for gamers.

[Ricegum]

@kionic

Oh please stop this drivel. Who keeps approving these articles, no joke we've had about 20 of them in the last couple of days.

1- it's Crackdown, nothing big

2- please wait and see, all we have seen is a small tech demo of it and on a game that isn't really that popular and still far from release

3- no third party developer will ever utilise it

[StrayaKNT]

@Unreal
"it's crackdown, nothing big"

You're right dude only a huge open world with %100 destruction that isn't possible on any other xonsole. Maybe when talking about sales, that would be something "big" for you.

"all we have seen is a small tech demo"

How the hell is is a SMALL tech demo lmao it was a multiplayer match with a full lobby of guys blowing up a building. The demo cannot get any bigger than that lol.

"No third party devs will ever use it"

Thanks boss, pretty quick of you to ask every Dev in the industry haha wow dude you're taking the word damage control to a whole new level. I sense some fear from you sir.

[joab777]

That's what I didn't understand. Title is a bit deceiving. It may be true that Sony chooses not to go in this direction. They may be pushed to, but of course the PS4 can handle it. If it isn't beyond xbox's capabilities, it isn't beyond the PS4's.

And can anyone answer this question? Now that Windows 10 has launched, and the new Direct X12 is out in the wild, how long until other api's such as ICE begin optimizing in a similar manner? Tech is never really patented. Won't others simply follow suit if its so good that it basically removes bottlenecking? I'm sure they've known about this tech for quite some time.

I am happy for MS and the cloud and I am beginning to see why they wanted drm to begin w/. Ya just can't sell something 2 yrs ahead of its time w/ an arrogant attitude and nothing to show and expect everyone to jump on board.
This may be the beginning of the argument that eventually wins us over. We will cave if the experience/tradeoff is worth it. We are suckers for new shiny things that are much shinier than before.

[GorillaSceptre]

Let me clear this up before X1/PS4 fanboys get carried away..

this type of cloud rendering applies to physics, aka the reason Crackdown 3s entire city can be destroyed. It will allow types of games to exist that we have never seen before.

What it won't do is let the X1 play games at 4k 500 fps, the graphical fidelity is still limited by the GPU. So Crackdown 3 may end up running at 900p and look like garbage, but the physics, which is things like destruction etc (which is offloaded to servers) will be more intensive than even high-end PCs could handle.

Why can't the PS4s APU do this? Well MS spent a Billion dollars customizing the APU, the same series APU that the PS4 has.

Whats the difference? X1s APU dye has 4 move engines, those engines take pre-rendered data and displays it in sync with the local X1 hardware. Those engines took up space on the dye, so MS cut some GPU shaders. Sony didn't customize AMDs chip, thus the PS4 GPU side of the chip has more shaders, and is therefor more powerful.

The PS4 will ALWAYS have a more powerful GPU, but X1 leveraging cloud processing will easily crush even my PC let alone PS4. Don't be stupid and think X1 games are going to LOOK 20x better than PS4, they won't. But the type of games that can be made on X1 can be much much larger in scope. But the catch is you obviously need the internet to use it.

To sum up, the PS4 CANNOT do this type of cloud compute, it lacks the necessary hardware.

[slasaru01]

It's not 14 servers for one player, rather for a collective session.

[Why o why]

Well said septic, 4Sh0w. .

[Ricegum]

@straya

1- Crackdown has never been popular. My point still stands.

2- blowing up a building. Woah you're right that is huge stuff right there lmao. My point still stands.

3-why would 3rd party developers waste time, effort and money on utilising this, for pretty poor sales of their game on the Xbox One? Use some sense boy. So again, my point still stands.

[Griever]

Well said. People need to keep in mind that it was a "tech demo" and not the finished game or even an actual demo of a near-completion game. It is in no way representative of the final product which has been made clear. Tech demos are only a proof of concept. We have seen numerous mind-blowing tech demos but they rarely ever appear in final games in a exactly similar form. Remember the Kinect demos including Milo and Kate and how the end product turned out to be?

Nobody ever said that using cloud was entirely impossible. The problem is if it is possible on the consumer level on a day to day basis and not just on a stage where everything is carefully organized so that nothing goes wrong and in turn leaves a bad impression. There are just so many variables involved including internet speed, disconnections, server errors, latency, bandwidth caps, distance from server and number of users at a given time. Nobody knows how it will work under real world circumstances when millions login at the same time.

If it works in the real world then it will bring a revolution in the gaming industry and everybody including Sony and Nintendo will follow suit. They used 14 servers for the demo so I am sure others can arrange for 14 servers too although I am sure they will need a lot more for a million players. If it doesn't then it will be forgotten as a failed experiment that was ahead of its time.

[bouzebbal]

"I'm very excited about the tech too and do think its a game changer but its imperative that we wait and see how it operates in the real world"
In one sentence you made a summary of the whole microsoft xbox mentality. Project Natal is a game changer, Hololens is a gamechanger, power of the cloud is a game changer.

Wait and see when this is out before anyone jumps into conclusions. Kinect showed that it has nothing of a game changer but just an HD eyetoy, Hololens is shown to be this crazy revolution, MS themselves tried to hype it down cause we ALL know it won't work the way they showed it first time.

Now power of the cloud has been a laughing stock for 2 years and it's a game changer all of a sudden... oh no, Azure servers have been a game changer before that.

the title of this article is laughable, clearly coming from the heart of a fanboy. Sony could as well embrace the cloud computing and MArk Cerny himself said that PS4 is capable of doing that, but i don't believe it's as good as it sounds.
Drivatars only possible thanks to powaah of clawwwwd, it's a damn ghost racing next to you, no more no less.
1080p only possible due to powaaah af da clawwwwd: http://www.destructoid.com/...
Devs and publishers are ready to say any garbage to sell and brainwash fanboys.
it's good the writer can finally give some highlight to his purchase, like Natal some years ago. Classic...

[Aenea]

@Gorilla

How many people believe that those move engines in the X1 are build for Cloud Compute baffles me! They move data from DDR3 RAM to ESRAM and back with some added functionality like (de)compression.

Yes, the move engines could give some benefit with the decompression on the fly of the incoming data, but that data still needs to be processed by the CPU or an ACE to turn it into something that can be displayed. The servers aren't doing any rendering whatsoever, they calculate the physics...

If you're interested I can send you a wall of text explaining this further and what it can actually do or don't for Cloud Compute and what the PS4 could use instead, so far the people I sent it to didn't care to reply anymore...

@SirJoJo
Yep, you told me that in another one of these posts already, then explain to me why that GamesCom 4 player demo needed 11 servers? For kicks? Why wasn't it all done on one? Why is the record 20 servers? Why did this demo to these 4 players need 10 servers when you claim those servers each can serve more than 1 player at a time?

When I first heard of it I assumed it was like you say, but the articles keep telling us they use more than 1 server for a 4 player session which baffles me. If this is necessary because 1 server can't do this alone then it worries me when 1000s and 1000s of players go online to play this.

Sure MS has millions of Azure servers around the world, but they aren't all used for the X1 games, they are for Skype, Office365 and all the other services MS and 3rd parties offer through Azure as well...

And then think about if more games are going to do this and needing more than 1 server for 4 player games, the amount of investment for this alone from MS is insane. Yes they have the money for it, but will they actually do it when it only costs them money?

@Kionic
Yes, the PS4 hardware can do this just as easily, maybe even easier than the X1. Don't forget the PS4 was designed to handle streaming data efficiently for RemotePlay, SharePlay, broadcasting and PS Now.
If a PS4 can handle a game like PlanetSide 2 with 100s and 100s of players running around and receiving all those data packets and turn it into something visible then doing the same for a mere 4 players and a whole bunch of physics data is certainly achievable as well.
We will see how the X1 version of PlanetSide 2 will perform once it releases...

-----
Anyhoo, I'm going to wait and see how this tech will behave in the wild after release. It sure is exciting tech and am happy MS is doing this since it will push game development and not just for their consoles!

[gamer7804]

I have to disagree with septic on this one, Sony/PS4 is not capable of this. They would have to spend billions on infrastructure in order to do this type of cloud computing. It might be possible using Amazon Web Services but again millions of dollars of R&D would have to be involved which Sony currently doesn't have the means to do so.

If they did it would be years away from practical use. Perhaps in the next generation of consoles it would be ready if Sony as a whole posts profits.

"The Network Is The Computer" - Sun Microsystems

[raggy-rocket]

Yes because Microsoft invested over $15bn in Azure. Sony is a $30bn company. You expect them to justify spending that much to help a few games do more?

[Gazondaily]

@abzdine

If this works as intended, will you consider it a game changer? Will the cloud not be regarded as a laughing stock anymore?

Why can we get excited for demos for things like Remote Play in controlled environments and not this?

This is an actual game utilising the technology for one of it's game modes and we've been shown a demonstration of exactly how it works. The developers have been very transparent about it and many have gone hands on with it and are impressed. This is why its different from Natal and Hololens.

First we heard how the cloud was basically a lie and now Sony can do it too? Just some consistency in the rhetoric would be nice. Don't get carried away in the expectations but don't be overboard in the criticism either.

There's nothing wrong with being cautiously optimistic.

[bartender64]

If I remember the technical details correctly, there were 300K phisical servers, but the cloud compute allowed for virtualized server to be created and destroyed dynamically based on the game's need. It is not a 300K server top for developers. Now, whether what's the max number of allowed virtualized servers to be created, it's another sepparate issue entirely.

[bouzebbal]

"Why can we get excited for demos for things like Remote Play in controlled environments and not this?"

for the simple reason that remote play actually works and has been proven already on with PS3-PSP then PS3-Vita.

"...and we've been shown a demonstration of exactly how it works..."

Like we have been shown exactly how Natal works?

I am very optimistic, but not blindly embracing every bit of what comes out of a company.
They showed it? cool but people need to test it. Still no game changer as you think it is even if it works the way they showed it. In the end of the day if the game is broken there is no point of having any tech.
but who knows, power of the cloud will make boring games great! Only on Xbox One. You heard this here first and that's actually what's happening already.

[Gazondaily]

@abzdine

I was alluding to Remote Play when it was being demo'd behind closed doors. That attracted far less derision and criticism.

So you are saying that you are optimistic about the tech but it's no big deal. You're implying that Crackdown is a boring game and the cloud is being used to prop it up. You're saying that Sony can do it too but joined many in ridiculing it.

It seems that you are completely dismissing it, even if it works. Let's wait and see in any case.

[bouzebbal]

"So you are saying that you are optimistic about the tech but it's no big deal. You're implying that Crackdown is a boring game and the cloud is being used to prop it up. You're saying that Sony can do it too but joined many in ridiculing it"

OMG where did you see me say this?
many of a sudden think POC is a game changer and it definitely isn't and will never be.
Gaming is about having fun so if the game sucks you can add i dont know how many xbox to compute i dont know what the game will still suck. Doesn't fit my definition of game changer. I never said this game in particular is boring i don't even know this series but many are so hyped for this game that for sure is gonna kick ass just because of a tech being added to it and we have no idea if it's working well for EVERYONE.

What happens when they have servers maintenance for example? or if you simply don't have access to internet. is this really necessary? for random xbox fanboy it definitely is, but for someone who just wants to have fun no, or best cases it could be a fun addition. Game changer? come o n...

[Gazondaily]

"What happens when they have servers maintenance for example? or if you simply don't have access to internet. "

Simple. Like any online multiplayer game, you can't play without the internet.

I think POC is a game changer. If it works well and you're offloading massive destruction onto the cloud to enable an experience a gaming console that would otherwise never be possible before, that is literally changing the game.

Now imagine cities inhabited with loads of npcs for instance etc. It really is an extremely promising bit of tech that cannot be described as a gimmick as it has some real hard hitting gameplay implications if they work.

We'll have to agree to disagree on this one bro

[Kidmyst]

This sounds exciting reminds me of the old game Mercenaries when you can destroy buildings and such, but I wonder what games like this that use the Cloud will be like next Gen, as we look at backwards compatibility and playing last gen games as a hot item. Will companies support these cloud servers years from now and well into next gen.

[dcbronco]

Aenea please send me your wall of text
I'm not in the computer field but I have some understanding and would like to learn more.

That said I disagree with you on several issues. Though I don't have computer expertise I have been right on several of my theories on Xbox One while other far more knowledgeable people told me I was wrong. Though I believe some, if not all is misdirection since they seem to work at developers. One thing is on BC. I always believed it was possible looking at the design of the OS. Because it is a VM and VMs communicate with different architectures and it is Windows based, which also works with many different parts, there was no reason Xbox One couldn't load a third or different VR OS to run 360 games.

On the move engines, some of the diagrams of the Xbox One APU I have seen show a memory subsystem. I believe that is where the data from the cloud is coordinated and properly placed within the work done locally. In order for it to work seamlessly it, it and any other machines, would need an additional memory layer specifically built to handle this complicated task. Microsoft claimed they could do 800,000 updates a second in the asteroid demo. I don't think any machine can just handle that given we live in a world where clipping still occurs on games done locally.

On the reason for it using multiple servers. You say you know servers so I'm sure you know an Azure server is far more powerful than an Xbox One. So 13 servers would be far more than 13 Xbox Ones. I have several reasons I believe it is done this way. First it appears the structure of Azure is a like one large brain. All of the servers work together on all types of task. Sort of like a human brain. It isn't just focused on one thing. It's firing up parts to do whatever task need to be done at a given time. This guarantees no information is lost, one server failing doesn't mean it all fails and I believe it already builds in a certain amount of known stable information.

Say a thousand people are playing Crackdown. The map is divided into fifty sections. Each a single server running a VM. That server knows every part of it's section and can easily calculate it's destruction. It can do it on 50 VMs for 50 different sessions. Once it gets more people in it's section than it can calculate complete destruction for it calls on additional help from another server. It has some additional room for potential pieces that fall into it's zone from other areas. The servers all talk to each other like a brains sections do to let each know what is coming their way.

Knowing what's in your section and what is coming from other sections limits the possibilities and lightens the load for any given server. All servers being connected makes sure of quality os service. If you read some of Microsoft's QoS information on Azure it seems have built one big brain that guarantees a smooth experience that doesn't load all of the eggs into one basket.

I'm not sure how Amazon or Google built their systems but I believe Google's is built in a similar way. Or Amazon's. But I have read that Microsoft has the fastest cloud system and in some areas by a pretty good margin which leads me to believe they have a lot of technology that others don't have yet and those things help make Crackdown work. And that is one of the reasons, along with move engines and memory subsystem, that won't allow PS4 to do this. Move engines aren't about bandwidth like most thought.

[dcbronco]

Abzdiine, you really don't see how this is a game changer? Graphics have not been the area of games that have been stalled. Game mechanics have. Graphics are easy, just add a more powerful GPU. But you can't add the amount of power needed to fundamentally change the gameplay in one console. Teh Cloud(TM) changes that.

Now we're talking massive worlds were you track someone because you followed their footprints in the snow. From yesterday. Where there is fully realized dynamic weather and Godzilla destroys Tokyo just like in the movies. Where a tidal wave destroys a city , the waters recede and real damage is left. Where controlling a floodgate on a shooter map has strategic value because you can flood the enemy base with it. Say you control a position that oversees an entire map an you can release water that kills or blocks the opposing team's spawn or kills them. Where the servers sends random storms that can kill you forcing people to move to shelter or to isolated areas for more closed quarters fighting. Sandstorms.

One of the things I would love to see is a new NPC AI developed that works sort of like a Chess computer. A map is graded based on real world scenarios where the high ground is given a certain value, terrain, air power. Anything that goes into real lift military strategy. Cloud based with access to information from thousands of documented battles and tactics. And then give that AI an army and a resource system like a RTS credits for kills system. Now put that up against a couple of hundred human players.

The AI could use drones and intel to dictate troop movements and like Drivatar it could constantly update it's tactics based on previous battles and all of the creative things humans will teach it. And if the whole thing about agents on Azure is true one day we will have to erase it because it will change it's own name to Skynet and kill us all.

Just thought of something else. Teh Cloud(TM) also opens up a new business opportunity. Some companies already build copies of actual cities for use in games. Now companies can do that based on real world physics and sell it as middleware and store it in the cloud. You want to build the use NY for The Division, use the middleware and add a paint job. Already built and fully destructible.

What Microsoft needs to work on next is a piece of middleware that adds destruction to anything. If computers are learning to recognize images, then they should be able to look at a given piece of code, virtualize it and add physics based properties to the render. It should only need certain parameters to do it. Like a building in the U.S. built in the '50's will be made of these materials. It would take"Can you blend it"? to another level.

[bryank75]

i would like to know the details.... Cause physics are quite demanding. If its taking several servers to compute for a single user, its just not practical. Now, if youre gonna pay a subscription to play this, they should be upfront about it. MS are always shady and you can never take them for their word.

[Professor_K]

HAHAHA look at the disagrees! the tears are delicious!

[Zodiac]

This should make for some civilized conversation.

[SockeyBoy]

got your popcorn ready?

[BigKev45]

Got your Mac and Cheese ready?

[pinkcrocodile75]

Indeed Zodiac.

Most posters on here seem to lack any grasp of what Microsoft have done.

The word cloud is assumed to be the same this as siri, cortana, One Drive, XBL / PSN.

I wish posters would really look at the platform MS has written and built from the ground up. It's a cloud service but nothing like any existing cloud service provided by the big 3.

Crackdown does look like a right laugh and I'll probably get it next year on release. For the time being TLOU Remastered, Ori and the Blind Forest and Forza Horizon are dominating my time...

People, take a chill pill and wait for Sony to announce a similar service ina few years, till then shhhhh

[Sparta07]

Well said pink.
I giggle every time I read theses comments about how the Xbox is the most powerful console. Cloud computing is nothing new, all consoles use it for matchmaking ps4 uses the cloud for ps now. You guys really think Sony is not working on something like this? Btw nobody was making fun of the cloudZ cause of physics but because Microsoft said it would improve graphics, which it can never do not anytime soon anyway. If it could why does crackdown look like a 1990's cartoon?

[Kiwi66]

"wait for sony to announce a similar service in a few years" but if they actually did have something similar in a few years from now don't you think that what has been shown by ms now will be even better so even if sony did do something it would still be years behind what ms have done

[4Sh0w]

Yeah, I wish the headline didnt mention ps4 at all....they could have wrote a very interesting news piece but the headline is click bait.

Personally I wish Xbox fans would just take the high road, we get it some fanboys called it a joke, reality is theres alot of potential in cloud based game development. pffft so do folks actually want to talk about the tech or always make everything about the silly console war.

[StrayaKNT]

The cloud has made the Xbox one the most powerful console ever made :)

[Snookies12]

Correction, the developers were talented, and used the cloud to their advantage. The Xbox One, like any other system with online capabilities is just using servers to maximize what they can do with the hardware. It's not like this can't be done on any other hardware. However, it's great that Microsoft took steps in this direction. I'm primarily a PS4/PC guy, but this has definitely piqued my interest. Awesome to see gaming heading into such exciting directions. I remember wanting to do things like this in games way back in the day. Now it's finally coming true, which is really cool to see.

[SquidBuck]

Yay for physics!!!! It's all that matters anymore! /s

[Aenea]

Yeah, The Cloud magically enhanced the Xbox One's hardware!

/s

[Professor_K]

>magcaly

no, it literally did why is it so hard for sonysalties to conceive

[Clunkyd]

It seems that PC and Playstation fanboys get so insecure and salty when people talk about this. lol

[Gazondaily]

Maybe we can use Crackdown to see if jet fuel really does melt steel beams?

[GrubsterBeater]

Hahahahahahaha, dude that was the funniest thing I've heard all week.

[StrayaKNT]

Lol Arabs test it out, doesn't melt the beams. World war 3.

[Neixus]

It's funny how cursing isn't allowed on this site, but making 9/11 jokes isn't a problem.

[Gazondaily]

Its not offensive though is it?

[Neixus]

@septic

No, i don't even care about your comment, i was just making a statement.

[spicelicka]

That's because it's difficult to pick up and prove. He could easily say he wasn't talking about 9/11. I'm sure if its flagged enough it would be blocked.

[corroios]

The PR «news» strike again day after day after day. Its an onslaught.

[S2Killinit]

Its the end of the year and MS money is behind the articles. Notice how its the same thing every year? A couple of big name exclusives reserved for holidays and LOTS of advertising to boost moral. Big promises and extraordinary claims. Then the dust settles. Its sad that some people fall for it year after year.

[Volkama]

But the realisation of cloud compute is probably the biggest thing to happen in gaming since the gen 8 consoles were revealed. Arguably bigger than that.

Of course we're going to see lots of articles.

[Aenea]

Just wish they would hold back on the nonsense and just write about the facts!

Cloud Compute will be part of the future and is amazing tech, but the clickbait titles and the misinformation that is spread should stop...

[Professor_K]

An onslaught indeed and lots of ps troll lining up for damage controll.

[StuporUser]

The title of this article is ridiculous. Don’t you get that they are processing the physics etc on the cloud because these techniques are also BEYOND THE XBOX ONE’S CAPABILITIES?

Cloud computing makes the end machine's spec less and less important.

Sheesh.

[XSpike]

Totally, I think the title should read "Crackdown 3: The Xbox One game that is beyond any PC's capabilities"

PC standing for PC (Person Computer) not computers like super computers which nobody uses as PC's, like the super computer that runs Crackdown's physics which you would need to play the game's MP.

[aerisbueller]

Pocket-Lint Crackdown 3 preview: The Xbox One game that is beyond the Xbox One's capabilities

[sullynathan]

The title this article will surely garner a lot of hits

[DigitalRaptor]

That doesn't stop it from being a brain-dead article title of factual inaccuracy.

Crackdown 3 is beyond the Xbox One's own capabilities, so that's why the Azure cloud and third party Cloudgine has had to help the hardware out. What people are wilfully ignoring is that PS4 is capable of employing this tech too, but Sony doesn't have an in-house solution.

Instead, they have had a partnership with RackSpace and OpenStack for many years in exploration of cloud computing, even before Microsoft announced their foray into cloud computing with Xbox. Facts.

http://www.thewhir.com/web-...
https://www.youtube.com/wat...
https://www.youtube.com/wat...

These are the facts which I've posted for many months if not years. MS has a solution now to give LAST-GEN looking games, really impressive physics via cloud computing. Sony doesn't have that solution in-house right now so have been working on the same stuff for years behind the scenes with third parties - it's that simple.

Do you want to know what most people are also ignoring? Crackdown 3 is the only announced Xbox One game using the cloud in any almost dependent way, and it will be out almost 4 years (perhaps longer) into the console's cycle. Third parties are not going to get on board here now if they didn't get on board with optimising the PS3's CELL architecture when the marketshare was closer. And what else is MS going to announce in the next 2 years that will be out before 2018 when the generation will be likely almost reaching its final phase?

[DDOS-DelDaemonicOSes]

We're starting to see what seperates the "Ms" from the "SONys". "Ms" put the CrackDown on Sony, and I question Sony can handle that massive backend.

[THC CELL]

Welcome to always online, just cause a game is doing slightly more than red faction. BTW I'd of had 1000s of players in halo and fully destruction maps not egg shell buildings falling down. Sony states it can be done on ps4 if developers want to. But again welcome to always online to see the best of xbox one and u need a awesome connection

[Bennibop]

What a ridiculous clickbait title, I agree its an interesting tech but I think I will wait until I see it work on my X1 in my own home before getting excited does nobody remember being told that Kinect is a game changer. Not to mention this is not beyond the capabilities of PS4, Nintendo, Apple or Android all it takes is investment.

[freshslicepizza]

people are actually testing it out. nobody got to test out milo on kinect.

[S2Killinit]

"Beyond Ps4 capabilities"... Ahhhh at this point logic is irrelevant.

[Manubiggs]

All this hype about destruction ... I will get hyped once I understand what is new about the game and how its better than crackdown 2 which was a great disspointment (other than destruction ofcourse)

[Steptoe]

Wait till its out before getting excited. I don't think it's gonna be as great as everyone seems to think. In theory it seems great. In practice i don't think it'll work as great as they think.

[mkis007]

Power matters again, interesting. Did not see it coming.

[corroios]

Microsoft is doing everything they can to try and get more sales. Its more then normal.

They want to end the graphic superiority of the PS4 and the cloud is good way, because the game wont came until late 2016 and they can say whatever.

Like: It will be the most advanced never seen before game that runs easy at 1080/60 maybe even at 4k, because they have the power of 20 xbox wiht the cloud tech.

I also read so many thing about DX12 and i saw amazing videos of the game running with DX12 and without.

The «war» (dont like this word) is open and Microsoft want and need more sales.

[Whitey2k]

Sony don't need loads of pcs they need lots of ps3 and cells

[GrubsterBeater]

Flamebait article submitted by none other than RookieMonster, a supposed "PS4 owner".

[gangsta_red]

I guess PS4 owners are not allowed to submit any articles about another console.

[GrubsterBeater]

@gangsta_red

You know that's not what I'm referring to. Rookie Monster does these verbal gymnastics to try and put down the PS4 stealthily, while attempting to seem impartial to each system. Then, saying "Well, I own a PS4 and I love it!" in order to seem like he's a part of the "multiplatform club".

[ScorpiusX]

Can't wait for this game .

[Sm00thNinja]

I think we can all agree that the Xbone IS DOING something the PS4 isn't at the moment and that's all. Is it a game changer? Yes especially if they can find more and more practical applications for it, BUT it's one game almost coming out close to 3 years in the Xbox Ones life cycle. So unless an abundance of games utilize this in the future I'm not getting excited just yet

[PrinceOfAllSaiyans]

Lmao at that title. Do people even care about Crackdown ? From what I know, the game has always been mediocre.

[spicelicka]

"From what I know"

You don't know much then lol.

[spicelicka]

Well after reading PS4 1080p/60fps articles and comments for so long, I'll give this headline a free pass.

[zod]

Sony doesn't have their own Data Centers like MS, Amazon and Google..They rely on 3rd party servers for PSN stuff like Amazon servers and OpenStack...They have to pay 3rd party company lot money to enable such infrastructure for a one game. Don't think they can afford to it. Only PS division is profitable rest are under losses.

MS Azure server farms are in over 140 countries..They have more money plus all infrastructure in place for all this.

[asadachi]

I was excited for this until I saw it only works with multiplayer. Also, it would be nice to have an author (if you can call them that) just discuss the capabilities of one system without bashing the other, on both sides.

[assdan]

So there going to try out the cloud based pibbgybacking? A thing that has only worked in theory during test demos under perfect conditions. Also, I was reading yesterday that crackdown won't allow these feature in single player.

[hadouken007]

A lot of people saying that devs wont utilize this tech maybe be on the money...hell devs cant even make every game we play on ps4 and xbox1 1080p 60fps so yeah stop talkin cloud this and cloud that if I remember correctly they said it was supposed to push the graphics plus more beyond games we've been playing. So wait and see.

[DougLord]

The "lulz secret sauce" Goon Squad is out in force on this article. "It's just Crackdown", "its still a tech demo", "It won't work in the real world". LoL.

Look let's make a truce - we will admit the PS4 COULD do this and you admit it's awesome and you are jealous.

All Sony has to do is spend a few billion on server infrastructure, spend at least 2 years writing back end code and then find a developer that has a great idea. Game would probably launch around 2020.

Most Sony owners are going to see Crackdown and buy an Xone, the salty fan boys here will just try and pretend it's not working or its not cool.

[Roronoa0411]

This is possible with any console even the creators of the cloud tech behind this game are reaching out to other developers not just microsoft. The cloud is basically a bunch of servers dedicated to a certain task.

http://www.cloudgine.com/te...

"With our extensive experience in online games development and distributed computing we are uniquely positioned to help game studios of any size transition to this new revolutionary paradigm by providing tools and expertise throughout the process."

a little research goes a long way.

[ironmonkey]

low end graphics will give you more room to make things go boom.

[psychosmurf101]

I'm a Manangement Information Systems major in college right now and I knew that when Microsoft said they would be using the cloud (azure) for gaming I knew we would eventually be in for quite a gaming performance from somewhere. You don't need crazy bandwidth to use the cloud for things such as this. I knew that all the servers microsoft was housing would eventually come into play. And now we finally have the days upon us. Crackdown 3 is only the beginning folks......as long as it works.