Many people wondered why Sony decided to buy out cloud-gaming company Gaikai, but now we know…
Apparently the PS4, which is expected to be announced at an event in Manhattan this Wednesday, will let players stream games online. How cool?
Apparently, this online streaming service will (initially at least) focus on games for PlayStation 3, possibly being a sort of problem-solver for dealing with backwards compatibility issues while the PS4 is on its way in, and the PS3 is on its way out. Many gamers, when the PS4 comes out, will still want to be able to play their PS3 games, but having two consoles stacked up on top of each other is a major pain, so, it’s likely that Sony is doing this as a way of promoting their new console, and getting PS3 gamers on-board with it right away.
This could possibly be on account of the fact that PS4 will be switching to an AMD Processor, from the Cell chip, that’s currently in the PlayStation 3. Players were worried that this might cause some backward-compatibility issues, but this new announcement may put those fears to rest. Apparently this new system is going to be using optical discs, an interesting switch from the current model, and should make for an interesting gaming experience as well.
This decision to allow online streaming, might also be on account of the stunning success of very simple smartphone games, such as Angry Birds. It’s very possible, that people will be allowed to play a game on their console, and then pause it, and pick it up right after, right on their smartphone, tablet, or some other mobile device.
However, it won’t just be Angry Birds that you’ll be able to stream. Part of the reason that Sony most likely acquired Gaikai, is because they’re able to stream better games than just your run of the mill Angry Birds and Fruit Ninja. David Perry, the co-founder of Gaikai, said back in 2010, that this new service (Gaikai) was a lot like arcade games used to be… He said: “You wanted to play the latest machines, but they were $5,000 to $10,000. So you stuck your quarters in.”. Basically, the service was designed to allow players to play any game, at any settings, without causing lag for the end-user. This makes them a very valuable, and intriguing acquisition for Sony, and makes us wonder what Sony really has up their sleeves here with the PlayStaion 4. We’ll have to wait and see.
Will this make a huge impact on Sony’s success in the next round of gaming consoles? Well, who knows, we’ll have to see what the Xbox 720 (people are guessing that’s the name) and the new Nintendo will be offering. But if this allows Sony to give players unlimited access to unbelievably stunning looking games, on full graphics settings, then it’s going to be a big job for Xbox and Nintendo to be able to keep up, but knowing those two, I’m sure they’ll bring some interesting new changes their next round of gaming consoles as well. I can’t wait to see what happens next.