[Shifty Geezer]

Originally Posted by NathansFortune

Sony have basically taken over Android gaming in one move. On smart phones the competitors will be Apple vs Microsoft vs Sony (via Android).

Well, this won't be the only SDK on Android, but it possibly represents the largest unified game platform. However, unless it gets a PS3 implementation quickly, it'll only be good for NGP's and Sony mobiles at the moment. The moment PS3 get's a version, that's 50 million potential buyers. If that content works on their mobiles too, the whole package value because substantial.

This actually has huge implications, every Sony Ericsson device is going to ship with this and Sony are talking to other Android manufacturers about rolling it out on their devices.

This is the most striking thing with Sony of late. Old Sony was all about forging their own path, leading the way. They then got left behind. Now they seem to be much more about collaboration, creating standards and supporting them, seeing that the best way to compete with the opposition is to befriend them and work together, taking a little of all their labours and vice versa. The up side for Sony is whatever hardware advances may come, they don't have to race to compete!

The minimum specs for PS Suite is ARM A8 single core @ 800MHz, 512MB RAM, Adreno 205 GPU/PowerVR SGX540/Tesla 2.5 Integrated graphics core....

This is where things start to get worrying. We're going to have different hardware platforms, which means driver issues and basically a PC style possibility of impossible bugs. "I bought this PS game on my old phone. I just upgraded and now it doesn't run."

Originally Posted by Scott_Arm

Good call from Sony on this one, but the min specs for the games better not fluctuate and turn it into a PC type scenario. Hopefully devs target the baseline for good performance. Overall, great move.

As above, the PC type scenario could be a plague limiting progress. Discrete hardware can achieve far better each generation than legacy-bound software platforms. Hopefully the past 15 years of graphics libs and abstraction layers and SDKs and drivers has provided enough material to inform a proper clean-architecture that is stable and can grow.

Originally Posted by NavNucST3

I've read this release multiple times from the ir site. I only see PS One Classics and then of that a subset...

On the software front, SCE plans to provide PS Suite content within this calendar year, starting with original PlayStation games... Moreover, SCE will provide a new game development environment in an effort to ensure new and compelling content is delivered on PS Suite, which will also offer opportunities for a wider base of developers and publishers to further expand their business on various portable devices.

So I read it as at first, only PS One ports, but the engine will support new content and Sony among otrhers will roll it out.

EDIT2: "PlayStation®Suite (PS Suite), announced today, will also closely coordinate with NGP. The newly developed and released game content for AndroidTM based portable devices can also be enjoyed on NGP. As a result, users will have access to not only the most leading-edge content (NGP specific), but also some of the more casual experiences (Mobile targeted PS Suite, like Angry Birds) that typify the mobile market place."

I also take that to mean that the Android side is to be the casual experience.

They're differentiating the NGP experience from the PS Suite experience, saying NGP offers best of both worlds with a higher quality experience developed for NGP, and also PS Suite titles developed to a lower specification platform. Basically you won't be getting Uncharted type AAA games on PS Suite because it has to aim sufficiently broad, but NGP isn't just a AAA handheld and will support PS Suite too.

EDIT: found a piece reading now but the first thing that jumped out at me was:

“You won’t see it, not as long as I am the president,” Iwata said in an interview on Jan. 9.[/QUOTE]After the heresy of Sonic on a Nintendo console, nothing should come as a shock. This was a brilliant business move by Sony, even if PS fans feel it's the end of their brand of favourite console and akin to Atari going from hardware company to shell of a software company. There's loads of potential in this move. It's very clever, and if it works out it'll give Sony a competitive edge going forwards where they just can't compete with ahrdware like they used to.

Originally Posted by makattack

Explained House: "One area that I'm particularly excited about is the idea of asynchronous gaming, whereby the game experience is existing either on a PS3 or on your NGP, and then the 3G ability is the real-time, you know, 'you're under attack, you've got to go do something,' messaging, just keeping that link with you, which clearly is not very heavy in terms of data traffic, but creates a whole different sense to the experience."

From this link: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...hronous-gaming

Live was talked about providing exactly that sort of thing before 360 hit the shelves. It's funny how these ideas take an age to get anywhere!

Originally Posted by Farid

That's an interesting and surprisingly wise business move on SCE's end. It allows them to lure a lot of small developers to their platforms, while getting revenue from the PS Store games sold on Android-based platforms.

It's also interesting to note that this new platform is in line with the latest Sony/Google collaborations, like GoogleTV (if that's still alive..)

Yes, I wonder if we'll hear something official regards a Sony/Google partnership at some point? They sound like they're getting pal-y, but I don't suppose Google want to appear partisan so would have to tread careful with their choice of partnerships. It's certainly in Sony's best interests to combat MS's global software platform, and it's somewhat in Google's favour to have the old PS name and a solid hardware base and the large library of Sony content as the starting blocks to build a stronger network.

[patsu]

Originally Posted by Shifty Geezer

Well, this won't be the only SDK on Android, but it possibly represents the largest unified game platform. However, unless it gets a PS3 implementation quickly, it'll only be good for NGP's and Sony mobiles at the moment. The moment PS3 get's a version, that's 50 million potential buyers. If that content works on their mobiles too, the whole package value because substantial.

Yes… the PS Suite spec requires 512Mb RAM. Not sure if PS3 will suffer because of it.

For an approximation, they should integrate the PS Suite common services into PSN. e.g., share the DRM between the PS Suite and PS3, the communication infrastructure, user and presence data, the cloud save, etc.

As long as a PS3 app can tap into those info/services seamlessly, it may be possible to come together and create a seamless experience. Individual PS3 game may require additional porting effort (from PS Suite) in this case.

EDIT: Even better if a PSP2 can message someone on Steam via Sony and Valve's partnership.

[NathansFortune]

Originally Posted by Shifty Geezer

Well, this won't be the only SDK on Android, but it possibly represents the largest unified game platform. However, unless it gets a PS3 implementation quickly, it'll only be good for NGP's and Sony mobiles at the moment. The moment PS3 get's a version, that's 50 million potential buyers. If that content works on their mobiles too, the whole package value because substantial.

This is the most striking thing with Sony of late. Old Sony was all about forging their own path, leading the way. They then got left behind. Now they seem to be much more about collaboration, creating standards and supporting them, seeing that the best way to compete with the opposition is to befriend them and work together, taking a little of all their labours and vice versa. The up side for Sony is whatever hardware advances may come, they don't have to race to compete!

This is where things start to get worrying. We're going to have different hardware platforms, which means driver issues and basically a PC style possibility of impossible bugs. "I bought this PS game on my old phone. I just upgraded and now it doesn't run."

I'm not sure it will get a PS3 version, but the more popular games and Apps will probably get a PS3 release. Generally yes, Sony have been more about the co-operation than going it alone lately, but they do still go it alone sometimes. Qriocity is a good example of Sony not waiting around and going it alone, no other media company has even dared to use UtraViolet, but Sony is forging a path and signing up partners left and right for it.

On compatibility, it shouldn't be a problem. If you get an upgrade to another Android phone then it should be very easy to authorise your new phone with PS-Suite and download your content again. By definition your upgrade will be better than your older phone and from what I know compatibility is dependent on Android so your phone will only be able to download compatible versions.

As above, the PC type scenario could be a plague limiting progress. Discrete hardware can achieve far better each generation than legacy-bound software platforms. Hopefully the past 15 years of graphics libs and abstraction layers and SDKs and drivers has provided enough material to inform a proper clean-architecture that is stable and can grow.

Yes, I wonder if we'll hear something official regards a Sony/Google partnership at some point? They sound like they're getting pal-y, but I don't suppose Google want to appear partisan so would have to tread careful with their choice of partnerships. It's certainly in Sony's best interests to combat MS's global software platform, and it's somewhat in Google's favour to have the old PS name and a solid hardware base and the large library of Sony content as the starting blocks to build a stronger network.

Not really. It's not an official partnership. It's more like a marriage of convenience. For Sony it is an easy way to get a lot of publicity (Google TV, PS-Suite, PS3 Chrome rumours) and for Google it is an easy way to test out their products in the mass market and use Sony's formidable distribution network rather than build their own. PS-Suite is the single biggest Android announcement since Honeycomb and tablet support. Game developers will be much more willing to sink in time and money into the platform now they have a dedicated channel for their wares, we will see throughout the year where iOS games get announced for PS-Suite phones, but not Android. Once PS-Suite is available on Samsung Galaxy/Nexus products it opens up a potential 15m users and SE Arc will get support from the off as well which is expected to ship 10-12m units this year.

[patsu]

Are they going to talk more about PS Suite at the Xperia Play unveiling ? Perhaps more demo ?

[patsu]

Sony Games Chief Faced Big Challenges With PSP Refresh:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/21793...p_refresh.html

Through brainstorming sessions with developers and engineers, new technologies were proposed and discussed.

"We had a lot of different ideas that we felt would be points of differentiation," said Hirai. He said the aim was to "really change the game experience."

One of the ideas was the rear touchpanel, which turns the back of the NGP into another input device.

"It seemed like a great idea conceptually," he said. "We prototyped it and it looked pretty good, we played it and it's actually pretty fun so we said this is a feature that's going to make it right into the actual product."

…

"We looked at the possibility of doing 3D on the NGP," said Hirai. He added that discussions with software makers convinced the company not to include it.

"We decided to forgo 3D, at least for the time being," he said.

…

He also declined to provide more detail on launch plans.

"We need to sit down with our publishing partners, look at [production] capacity and come to an ultimate decision on whether it's a simultaneous launch, a one-territory launch or two," he said.

…

But he did say the company is looking at launching two models: one with Wi-Fi and 3G compatibility and one with just Wi-Fi.

[NathansFortune]

I don't know. That's Sony Ericsson, and mostly they are a bunch of w*ankers and I don't have any association with them.

One thing I've learned working with Sony. Never underestimate the ability of Sony Ericsson to feck things up. It's why Sony have been absolutely unwilling to lend the PS brand to them, they already devalued the Walkman brand with £50 prepaid phones and they didn't want to do the same with PlayStation. As far as I know PS-Suite was developed completely independently from SE and they were only informed of its development at the last stage and were given preference to be the launch partner. It looks like that might work out, but only once SCE reworked it for them...

[patsu]

Yeah… I most likely will skip both Xperia Play and PSP2 and wait for Sony's pad instead. Will see if they put 3D on it. This is why Playstation Suite is so important. It expands the market and at the same time free Sony from being slave to a particular SKU.

I still want them to work on PS3 though. That's my primary entertainment platform. ^_^
Any news on that front while you're in Japan ?

[NathansFortune]

Not much, the hotel sucks, their internet is weird so I have to route through my vpn which makes everything super slow. D:

[corduroygt]

Jack Tretton said Playstation Suite will have non-gaming apps and it'll also work on the PS3! That's pretty cool, buy a game or an app for your Android phone through the PSN store, and it'll also be on the PS3. Still no info on whether PS suite games will have trophies. Obviously the PS1/PSP ports won't, but what about new games?

[NathansFortune]

Originally Posted by patsu

Yeah… I most likely will skip both Xperia Play and PSP2 and wait for Sony's pad instead. Will see if they put 3D on it. This is why Playstation Suite is so important. It expands the market and at the same time free Sony from being slave to a particular SKU.

I still want them to work on PS3 though. That's my primary entertainment platform. ^_^
Any news on that front while you're in Japan ?

Well I just read Jack Tretton on Engadget saying that PS-Suite would be available on the PS3, but then took it back. If that is the case then it will be a massive boost to the platform before it even launches.

If I were you I wouldn't skip on NGP. It's pretty awesome, I would wait for the first or second revision though as they may have more features included or have a better design.

[patsu]

Hah, Jack Tretton's leak if true.

It would be rad if I can use my PS3 as a server to serve out stuff to the PSP2 and PSP Suite devices in my vaccinity.

If I were to buy PSP2, I'd buy it day 1. The first batch of Sony devices usually have the best components (based on PSP and PS3). The subsequent ones use cheaper parts.

[BoardBonobo]

Its good to see Sony finally getting back into the game. PS-Suite running on mobile devices joined at the hip with Steam on the PS platform to provide coverage from mobile to console to PC. Chuck in cross platform Trophy support and Apps and I'm all in. Especially if they can now consolidate their current DD methods (iPlayer, Lovefilm etc) into the same experience.

[patsu]

EA and Activision will want to establish their own presence too. At least EA is still negotiating with Sony as we speak. ^_^

[Npl]

Am I the only one actually more interested to see where the PS-Suite will end up... besides useless smartphones?
I thought often enough that it would be great if you had a last-gen console in your TV, now this could archive just that. TVs are easily big enough to facilitate 10-20W additional heat without any active cooling.
Add Bluetooth or some kinda Wiimote and you have a totally silent console, nearly all the pieces necessary are already in current TVs. LG will do exactly that with their future models, having a "Wiimote" and "Appstore".

IMHO Sony finally did the right thing with PS-Suite... well almost... sounds quite stupid if the PSP2 wouldnt just run the same Android packages but has to be targeted explicitly.

[joker454]

Originally Posted by Npl

Am I the only one actually more interested to see where the PS-Suite will end up... besides useless smartphones?.

I'm wondering if they will get this on iPad at some point.

[rabidrabbit]

Originally Posted by patsu

Hah, Jack Tretton's leak if true.

It would be rad if I can use my PS3 as a server to serve out stuff to the PSP2 and PSP Suite devices in my vaccinity.

If I were to buy PSP2, I'd buy it day 1. The first batch of Sony devices usually have the best components (based on PSP and PS3). The subsequent ones use cheaper parts.

I agree. I've bought all my Sony consoles from first 'batch', and they've been quality pieces of kit, only the later iterations' lower power consumption and diminished noise have been improvements.
I still have the original PlayStation somewhere, and last I played with it it worked 100%, the EU launch PS2 is working 100%, Japan launch PSP is working 100% if only I replaced the battery. Only the PS3 has given me the YLOD before well deserved retirement, but after giving it a little heat treatment and changing te thermal paste it's working 100%.

[Farid]

Originally Posted by Npl

Am I the only one actually more interested to see where the PS-Suite will end up... besides useless smartphones?

Android based tablets. And maybe future Android based Netbooks and other appliances (GoogleTV, maybe?).

[NathansFortune]

Originally Posted by joker454

I'm wondering if they will get this on iPad at some point.

Apple will never allow it on iOS.

It would be like Sony allowing Xbox Live and XNA on PS3/NGP. It's not going to happen.

[Arwin]

Originally Posted by NathansFortune

Apple will never allow it on iOS.

It would be like Sony allowing Xbox Live and XNA on PS3/NGP. It's not going to happen.

I don't expect that to happen either. The Android alliance may not even want it to ... On the other hand, Apple lost the case against outlawing cross-platform development tools, so if they'd want to they could add support to the SDK for building to iOS (or iOS code).

[frogblast]

Originally Posted by NathansFortune

Apple will never allow it on iOS.

It would be like Sony allowing Xbox Live and XNA on PS3/NGP. It's not going to happen.

Except that there already are several competing social gaming networks available for iOS, and they don't seem to be having any problems with Apple (OpenFeint, Crystal, GameSpy).

[NathansFortune]

This isn't a gaming social network. It is basically the PSN store made for phones and other licensed devices. Apple aren't going to allow another store onto their devices, especially one sponsored and run by a direct competitor.

[patsu]

I wonder if Sony will sell dual stick extended casing for Android phones and pads in the future.

[patsu]

As expected, Playstation Suite Could Support Other Platforms:
http://www.andriasang.com/e/blog/201.../hirai_on_pss/

As Sony hopes to make use of the millions of Android compatible sets throughout the world, they're not doing such things as selecting partners and the like. "We have a completely open stance," said Hirai. "With carriers and with hand set makers."

Sony's openness with PSS appears to extend even beyond Android. "There are a variety of OSes," said Hirai. "But we're focusing first on Android. There's also Windows, iOS and so forth, but we don't have the resources to make it compatible with everything from the start."

Even within the Android world, Sony is focusing on one particular area first: smartphones. Tablets will come next, according to Hirai. Everything seems to depend on user adoption. "We're not ruling out PSS even on products like Sony Internet TV Powered by Google (Google TV) if adoption rate increases, or if it will help push adoption greatly."

PlayStation Suite software will in general work on any Android device, said Hirai. However, in general, there's no guarantee about response time and key positioning. That's where the PlayStation Certified licensing program comes into play. PlayStation Certified is an assurance that the device will run PlayStation spec software well.

Sony will have a review process in place for PlayStation Suite software, similar to the review process it has had in place for its past consoles. Through this, Sony hopes to establish an ecosystem that runs on Sony certified hardware, differentiating PlayStation Suite from the anything-goes PC world.

Software creators will likely have to pay royalties to Sony. This is something that Hirai says is currently under investigation. The model will be revenue sharing -- that is, Sony will get a cut of profits. Sony has not yet started discussions about this area, discussions that Hirai said would have to involve the carriers.

It's a dangerous move to reveal so much so early. I guess he may not have a choice since even a casual observer like me could guess the intention.

Hopefully, Sony can roll out a Playstation Suite for PS3 fast. At least it would help secure a large user base.

[Arwin]

Originally Posted by patsu

Hopefully, Sony can roll out a Playstation Suite for PS3 fast. At least it would help secure a large user base.

I don't think its dangerous. It should be an indication of where they are at this point, which is n the phase where talks with phone manufacturors are starting and deals with carriers should be made. And that basically means that either the information will leak, or come from Sony. Generally better if it comes from Sony.

It is a very powerful stance that Sony has taken, and a very necessary and timely one. iOS has Apple who does this work, and for Windows Phone 7 clearly Microsoft is going in this direction with XNA and Live support for it. Everyone involved with Android needs someone to do this, and Google can either choose to do this themselves, or have Sony step in.

I think a lot of parties involved with Android, developers and hardware manufacturors alike, see the advantages here. There are risks too, sure, if Sony can't pull it off on the software side properly, but I think they have a good shot here. I don't see anyone else do this for Android on the short term.

[jeff_rigby]

All I have to say is Wow. So much information so soon and all of it amazing -riveting.

Shifty, well done. I don't know where you got the time to digest and regurgitate a GEM of a summary so quickly. Thanks NathansFortune for the industry information. Every one posting so far has been spot on and amazingly informed.

Things are looking up for Sony. It kinda makes me think, but what about the PS3?