Sony has patented the 'PS Cloud' with the US Patent and Trademark Office, following the announcement of a number of new 'cloud gaming' services such as OnLive and Playcast Media at this year's Games Developers Conference.
The patent has lead to speculation that Sony Computer Entertainment may well be looking to 'cloud gaming' – where the processing power of a home console is replaced by that of a remote server outside of the gamer's home – as a strategic move forward for its PlayStation division.
The future of PlayStation?
Or, put in more straightforward terms, is PS Cloud the PlayStation 4? Is the 'next' PlayStation going to resemble a server-based system that allows gamers to play and save games to a user account via a range of devices such as their PlayStation 3, their PC or even their TV set-top box?
Sony filed the patent for 'PS Cloud' on 24 March, describing PS Cloud as a provider of "entertainment services, namely, providing an online videogame that users may access through the internet".
You can see further details on the filing here.
TechRadar spoke with a SCEE rep this morning who declined to comment on the story.
Let the speculation commence…
Your comments (7) Click to add a new comment
tflournoy95
August 27th
7. this is way to confusing. i like the old fashioned big fat box for a console. not whatever this thing is. lol
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taffyquad
July 12th
6. I don't think for one minute that "the processing power of a home console is replaced by that of a remote server outside of the gamer's home" will be the strategy for Sony. It is more likely to be an ADDITIONAL capability to centralized processing. People will still want to play unconnected to a network.
Today, idle PS3s connected to the internet can be used by organizations in furthering medical research. This is an opt-in feature on the PS3.
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lovlid
April 2nd
5. "I think Sony's just going with the flow. Probably sit back and see if OnLive is successful and then follow along like what they always do..."
Wow, I said that, but you said it way better than me,,,,DUH!!!!
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alexsmith102
April 2nd
4. I think Sony's just going with the flow. Probably sit back and see if OnLive is successful and then follow along like what they always do...
-Alex, OnLive forums http://www.onlive1.com
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adodys
April 1st
3. 5 bucks says this is the name for that stupid motion control wii remote knock off sony is rumored to have been developing.
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lovlid
March 31st
2. Looks to me like its a "Just in case it takes off" scenario.
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