Sony acquiring Gaikai, plans new cloud streaming service

Oishidesu

The only thing that worries me is that not everyone has super fast Internet connection. However, this still seems good!

JoeTheProYaKnow

I am still not ready for cloud gaming. :/

Though I could see how awesome it would be for MMOs and such...Hmmm...

ctg867

If this lets me play PS3 games on my Vita over the cloud (or any PlayStation game, really) I'm sold.

Hopefully Sony puts this acquisition to good use.

ANinja

So the rumors wear right …

But I think it was inevitable to see Sony taking that step into cloud gaming. Sony always wanted to be the first when it comes to providing the newest ideas in the business. Like when they shipped every PS2 with a DVD player that can show DVD movies in the very early moments of the DVD life spine. Same with the PS3 and Blu-ray players and internal Wi-Fi.

I think at the end when Sony will decide to reveal the PS4 there will be a cloud gaming service for the PS4 … definitely. Not necessarily at Launch. Maybe later with a frameware update. Alongside / together with disk based gaming console.

And I think Microsoft will do the same with their new Xbox

Kakashi

If this let's me stream/play like an install does on an xbox, I'm all for it! Also this is where online would do good. Put the online pass code, be able to play the game through the install. Sounds good to me.

Gravityboots000

Don't be afraid of clouds.

Smackybutts

This won't even be feasible until bandwidth costs nothing and you can get decent speeds in the mountains. Then, I guess all consoles will be cheap-to-manufacture thin clients in various form factors. I hope I get to see someone get ghost-hacked in my lifetime.

DNAd

internet where i live is pretty bad so I hope it's just an option. I also wonder if they'll change their current cloud saves, considering they're ps+ only.

RinseWashRepeat

My internet can't handle cloud gaming, though it's clearly the future. Well done Sony.

HipsterRainbowDash

Don't know why everyone worries about this like it will be a mandatory thing in the future. Personally, I have the internet for it, and if I could get a ps4 with all the features to be expected, plus an optional cloud service, well damn that'd be awesome.

TheNopeMan

What time do Destructoid writers go to sleep?

Do they work from home also, or are they locked up in the office?

I'm seeing this was posted at 2am and I live in the east, was this posted at ~11pm pst?

Conrad Zimmerman

@TheNopeMan: It went up at half past midnight Pacific, where I am. I do work from home, which lets me hop on stuff like this when it happens and I happen to be awake. :)

Chris Seto

This could be a killer move by Sony. There were talks of streaming PS2 games and timed "demos" of the latest titles before E3 and now that looks like a string possibility. If Sony got this wrapped up before their press conference, it would have blown the competitors away!

The Silent Protagonist

Meh.

Cloud computing I'm OK with. Cloud gaming, particularly platform-specific cloud-gaming, is a contradiction of what the cloud means. As such it's a glorified and largely unsustainable DRM.

The bandwidth speeds and saturation just aren't there yet and worse, we're close to hitting a limit on wireless Internet because the broadcast spectrum does have limits and cannot be infinitely subdivided.

As such, cloud gaming just isn't ready for prime time.

Stealth

isnt that for demos?

jackdan594

@Silent Protagonist

Its true that we aren't ready for the cloud yet. But I don't think Sony is planning to implement this so soon, the PS4 may have cloud capabilities but its a long time off before everything is could based. This is just Sony investing for the future, which seems like a pretty smart idea, because in the future, internet will be much more capable of this, with inevitable upgrades to networks and speeds

Snowraptor

I lived with dial up for most of my life, I'm not a huge believer in online centric services. In order to make it feasible one of two things needs to happen; a, they lower the quality and stream low resolution games so people can use the service or b, the infrastructure is upgraded such that it is feasible to stream a game of the same quality as you would for a local copy.

That still ignores the fact that for a console it's a useless service. Streaming games on a PC is to let people play more demanding games on low powered systems and it's a decent idea there. But consoles are locked into their hardware meaning that the point of streaming games is moot and therefore a future of games that are only available as streams is just a draconian DRM system that stretches the limits of what can be done with current infrastructure and what is likely to be available in the next few years which plays nicely into the hands of the telecom companies beloved usage caps.

AdamskiOwenov

I've been using Onlive for a while now, and although the tech/internet speeds are imperfect, it's been great to just instantly buy games I may not have considered (Metro 2033, Deus Ex, Aliens Vs. Predator). The idea of a large corporation run, cloud based console sounds pretty good to me, although I imagine it's more likely Sony will use this tech for demos/retro titles.

Adrian Smith

i dont get the bandwidth complaints. Cloud gaming is just a compressed video.I for one thisnk this will be awesome if its used for demos and full game trials. That away you can instantly try the game and then decide is you want to download it

BoomingEchoes

"The announcement comes two weeks after rumors began circulating that Gaikai was seeking a buyer..."

And a month or two since it was originally rumored that Sony was already buying it.

"(though I have faith in the power of the internet to make that happen)"

Depends on how you mean that.. If you mean on the hopes and dreams of people who don't know better or irrationally think the majority of the ISP's in the States have their act together, then yeah. But if you mean on the actual internet and the state of things as they really are at the moment, then I think your smoking something good and need to share.

BalloonFighter

I told Sony to stop making stupid purchases. First they bought that $200 Batman statue , now it's a 380 million dollar cloud service. I don't know how they expect to get out of debt.

Bobthecatlol

Smart move by Sony. It's becoming more and more about what services you can have on your console. The ability to purchase and game stream is certainly a bonus.

Elsa

I'm pretty happy about this myself. OnLive has an option to pay $9.99/month and have access to a very large library of games - I hope Sony incorporates an option like that into their next console. It's cheaper than buying a ton of used games and often allows access to hard to find games.
I would still buy the occasional new release, but this would address a lot of my other gaming needs.

I have a pretty good ISP and have a 400 GB/month limit... which isn't so bad as I expect that it will continue to increase, as will my bandwidth which is currently 50mbps - which should be fine for cloud gaming.

DinnertimeNinja

COMPLETE backwards compatibility through cloud streaming.

Count on it.

Sexualchocolate

I use OnLive on my PC. It's really quite good.

I don't fear our cloudy future...

Arttemis

I think this would be an awesome feature for future consoles. I'd much rather stream content from my own server than a faceless company's.

Now, if they work this technology into allowing PS3 to stream all games to the Vita, sweet! Hacked PS3s can already do it, why can't the rest of then output audio, video, and controls, too?

tylerstravis

@DinnertimeNinja that's exactly my thought. Get rid of the cell and let everyone stream ps3 games and call it backwards compatible.

ElektroDragon

Controller lag, AND video lag... it's coming with this Cloud stupidity. Cloud is NOT for streaming games! Only for save data!

El Conrado

Hey guys did you know? Gaikai and OnLive are not available in 90% of the planet!

Even if you HAVE the internet speed to use it, they won't let you sign in!

Isn't that great?!

...yeah, I'n not looking forward to it.

NoMoneyLeftBoy

I'm wondering if Sony will offer a service to PS4 consumers that gives them the option of streaming games at a cheaper price than buying the retail disc version.
Such an approach would certainly produce some critical behaviour statistics for them

Conrad Zimmerman

@BoomingEchoes: I was referring to the internet's ability to get excite, not making a statement on technological preparedness.

RiceAngelique

my friend's mother made $263164 so far just working on the laptop for a few hours. Read more here N u t t y R i c h dot cOm