PlayStation suite

PS3/PC/iOS/Android cross-platform multiplayer achieved in Dungeon Defenders:
http://www.joystiq.com/2011/03/02/ps3-pc-ios-android-cross-platform-multiplayer-achieved-in-dungeo/

Trendy Entertainment has managed to bring cross-platform multiplayer to its Unreal Engine-powered, action-RPG Dungeon Defenders on PS3, PC, iOS and Android. The developer has even implemented cross-platform matchmaking and buddy lists across the devices.

The experience is made possible through GameSpy's online tools, suggesting that cross-platform multiplayer will not only become a reality, but a common feature down the line. Trendy utilized GameSpy Open, a new program that enables start-up and indie developers to use the company's online tools for free.

Sony should talk more about how Playstation Network can interoperate with third parties (Steam, GameSpy Open, Open Feint, etc.).
 
PlayStation games coming to Tegra smartphones and tablets this year:
http://androidandme.com/2011/03/news/playstation-games-coming-to-tegra-devices/

Apparently, PS2 games are also coming...

Today NVIDIA announced on their Tegra Zone app that Sony’s PlayStation Suite will be coming to Tegra-equipped Android phones and tablets later this year. PlayStation Suite is a hardware-neutral game framework designed to bring the PlayStation experience to Android devices.

The report did not mention which Tegra devices would be PlayStation certified, but it did reveal a couple of games that are expected later this year including PSOne classics like Wild Arms, Cool Boarders 2, and Syphon Filter.

Tegra 2 powered devices have the processing power to bring console-quality games to Android so this announcement is not that surprising, but it’s the first time that details have been shared about other devices joining the PlayStation Certified family. So far the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play is the only device that has been confirmed to offer PlayStation titles.

It was also revealed that PlayStation 2 games will eventually be released on Android devices. This is good news since the original announcement only included the PlayStation One library.

...
 
I'm not suggesting anything. Sony is in partnership with Google for a few projects, including GoogleTV. Most of Google's apps are web-based. As long as NGP and PS3 have a good web browser, they should be able to work well together.

We haven't discussed non-game features of the Sony ecosystem which PS suite will use for applications.

I've done some research during my sabbatical and some of the PS3 Webkit research brought out some interesting possibilities. Message 477
 
Interesting. One facet of this is that if Sony decides to get out of the hardware console business, they are laying the groundwork for being a multiplatform Software publisher like Sega.

Regards,
SB
 
Interesting. One facet of this is that if Sony decides to get out of the hardware console business, they are laying the groundwork for being a multiplatform Software publisher like Sega.

Regards,
SB

It surprised me that they invented/started DLNA but MS was first on the Xbox360 to support it, invented/sponsored Collada as a format for game asset storage, were part of Ultraviolet, and multiple other open source industry initiatives or standards committees .

Amazing really all they have invested in open source. With the PS3 and PS Suite it appears as if they were waiting for the industry to mature so they could realize their vision. Along the way in the last 10 years they have been sponsoring and releasing open source software to help the industry grow into their vision.

When you move from the PC world with DLNA and try to setup the same thing for a friend with a Mac you realize there is somehow a big hole. There is no official support for it with Apple, unless I'm just not familiar with it.

http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/technology/technology/theme/dlna_01.html

Sony established the DLNA in June 2003 after convincing other manufacturers of the need to improve interoperability through industry-level standardization initiatives. Sony continues to play a leading role in the organization

img_01.gif


And of course PS Suite will be used to port applications to control plug and play network connected hardware in the home. A minor role but one that will support the value of an ecosystem to the non-gamers who buy the living room TV.



Best Sony Open Source Quote

Collaboration: While our developers are among the best in the business, we don't have a monopoly on good ideas. Our experience over the past year has reinforced that fact as great ideas have come from every corner of the globe. For some anecdotal evidence, browse through the OSL mailing list archives.

Today we are adding two more significant projects to our open source offerings. Both OpenColorIO and Alembic have been born through a collaborative process with input from experts and studios across the industry. We're very proud of where these projects stand today, but the real value will be in seeing them adopted and improved over time—the whole idea behind open source.

And yes, it looks like they can now profit by being a publisher. Sony appears clumsy to outsiders like me, stumbling and slow to release new features for the PS3 but when you really dig, they have a hand in much of the innovation. 2011 - 2012 might have us re-evaluate our opinion of Sony's corporate vision.
 
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Sorry, slightly off topic, I posted here by mistake but think it's relevant. Cairo is going to be used by Sony on the PS3 and NGP and PS Suite will probably have Cairo as a major player in a cross platform GUI for applications. Many of the webkit ports are now entirely using Cairo for their graphics.

Sony can go the:
1) Android OS or Chrome OS route and build their own desktop
2) or they can use GTK+3 and use it for Webkit and to build their own custom front end like the various flavors of Linux do. Gnome is a Linux desktop built using the GTK toolkit that is now totally based on Cairo.

In either case Cairo is the basic building block.

IF GTK+3 is used then there are multiple open source Linux applications that can be easily ported to the PS3 & NGP. With a do it yourself desktop the core logic of applications can be used but the entire GUI would need to be rewritten. The PS3 and certainly the NGP have the power and memory to do either case. Remember the PS3 did have full blown Linux support. An abbreviated custom theme desktop and OS with much of the not needed Linux kernel functionality stripped out should be snappier than what we had. With Cario properly OpenGL (or PSGL) supported, drawing should be equal to high end PC Linux. Closed platform Linux for multi-media, a Sony flavor of Linux.....

Why would they do the work to redesign the XMB?

Then, Sony should develop more first-party applications for their platforms. These apps would need to do useful things that will help consumers understand the value that Sony offers — these applications must be unique and memorable. It’s no mistake that some of the most-used applications on a platform like Android, for example, are created by Google. If Sony creates a platform and creates high-quality applications for it, they will, at the very least, earn the respect of consumers and developers.

And with Cairo supported XMB and GTK+ in the PS3, it's more a matter of cut and paste from existing Open Source libraries by a Linux guy ,Geoff Levand, the guy in charge of the webkit port to the PS3.

The XMB or something like it can be the default desktop with user config options. Overlay applications are possible for any user choice or version for the XMB.

Hold for PS4, why? 2011 is going to see stiff competition from Xbox360 MS with Windows7 and Silverlight5 and as mentioned in the ecosystem wars article, Sony needs applications that show the value of their platforms. What's the easy way to provide them, either choice above. And how can Sony differentiate it'self, it's starting this ecosystem with much more powerful hardware than Google started with Android, so why use the choices Google did and downgrade your OS to fit least common denominator hardware. That is the advantage of a game console or closed platform ecosystem, the hardware choices are choices, least common denominator hardware is not an issue....play up to your strengths.
 
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Why do you have only one topic of conversation, and no matter what thread you post in it's always about how Sony will be porting these open standards to PS3? You are already discussing this in the PS3 XMB update thread of yours, having already said exactly the same in the HTML5 thread. There's no need to say the same arguments in an NGP thread when the content is no different. I checked the thread title before hitting the Post Reply button and was surprised to see this was a PSS thread, not your XMB thread!

We get the argument! Repeating it adding more and more loosely related links doesn't change the fact Sony haven't announced anything like, or indicated anything like, a complete PS3 revamp nor an open NGP frontend. NGP itself isn't Android, which would have been the most obvious open platform to support if PSS is getting an Android flavour and Sony wanted an open platform. It hasn't been described as supporting any desktop apps or widgets. For all the speculation, the simplest observations show Sony aren't chasing this vision. and certainly whether Sony goes Cairo whatnot in NGP and PS3 has squat to do with PSS as a cross-platform development environment! Anyone looking in this thread should be seeing references to examples and quotes and demos regarding PSS adoption and implementation, and not speculation on how PSS on NGP means Sony are reworking their entire frontend engines to go Webkit.
 
Why do you have only one topic of conversation, and no matter what thread you post in it's always about how Sony will be porting these open standards to PS3? You are already discussing this in the PS3 XMB update thread of yours, having already said exactly the same in the HTML5 thread. There's no need to say the same arguments in an NGP thread when the content is no different. I checked the thread title before hitting the Post Reply button and was surprised to see this was a PSS thread, not your XMB thread!

We get the argument! Repeating it adding more and more loosely related links doesn't change the fact Sony haven't announced anything like, or indicated anything like, a complete PS3 revamp nor an open NGP frontend. NGP itself isn't Android, which would have been the most obvious open platform to support if PSS is getting an Android flavour and Sony wanted an open platform. It hasn't been described as supporting any desktop apps or widgets. For all the speculation, the simplest observations show Sony aren't chasing this vision. and certainly whether Sony goes Cairo whatnot in NGP and PS3 has squat to do with PSS as a cross-platform development environment! Anyone looking in this thread should be seeing references to examples and quotes and demos regarding PSS adoption and implementation, and not speculation on how PSS on NGP means Sony are reworking their entire frontend engines to go Webkit.

You have had an impact on my reasoning behind this and to use your arguments, PS Suite is not about open source as in FREE applications, it's about cross platform as in Open source standards allowing cross platform native language applications. I don't mean to imply an open platform either; you convinced me, native language and closed platform.

Cairo does have a place in PS Suite as do other GUI tool standards that might become a part of the Sony ecosystem and PS Suite, this includes webkit. This is the reason Cairo was chosen for the webkit port and it's mentioned in the Snap developer site. Pointing out as examples the two ways Cairo could also be used to create the NGP front end and how the XMB could possibly be rewritten using Cairo I believe is relevant and on topic.

"Cairo whatnot" and "libraries I've never heard of" give me the impression that I need to provide examples.

You are correct, going beyond that into a hoped for description of a closed platform Linux flavor desktop XMB is off topic.

PS suite will be used by Sony to port "included" free applications between platforms to show off the Sony ecosystem. A source for those is probably going to be Open source Linux. Mentioning how those could be ported given the two desktop or toolkit examples is also what I consider on-topic.

As Patsu has mentioned, there needs to be an easy to use and standardized UI theme on Sony platforms. Google has shown us with Google TV what not to do. This is going to be a big part of recommendations from Sony for PS Suite applications to various platforms. UI Theme should be a part of PS Suite also.

There is no black and white on-topic off-topic in many posts.

The best post in this thread is yours:

It's taking PlayStation from a hardware brand to an 'experience,' meaning a software layer. It'd mean Sony could potentially make money from Android devices from licensees to this SDK. And this SDK will gain added value from supporting the PS hardware range (needs a PS3 version tout suite), offering a potentially larger gaming base than any other Android SDK. It expands the market for Sony's first party titles from owners of their (often lossy) handhelds to lots fo mobile owners. Not sure how developers like ND creating a mobile version of Uncharted could cater for non-gaming phone iterfaces, but this is in principle a cosmic shift for Sony away from hardware vendor creating content to promote its platform, to content provider with platform's to promote its engine.

Now Sony's platform is PS+Android, where MS's is XNA and mobile 7. It only needs Apple to create a console and they'll be going head to head.

Also, is this a very independent Sony thing, or are they cahooting somewhat with Google? There were noises a while back of Sony getting friendly with Google. If PS4, or the PS hardware family including CE devices, goes Android, it'd be a good symbiosis for the two companies.

You only missed mentioning the NGP which at the time we didn't know was not an Android OS platform.

Your statement: "If PS4, or the PS hardware family including CE devices, goes Android, it'd be a good symbiosis for the two companies." I might have agreed with at the time but after more research; Android, according to multiple articles, is currently a clumsy OS designed for less powerful platforms and is not a good fit with a multi-media ecosystem . The efforts by Google to update Android with versions 2.3 and 3.0 for games (NDK) are allowing platform developers to port Cairo and Gstreamer to Android to support the more powerful hardware. Reasons mentioned by Google for not porting these libraries is they are not full open source, they are Gnu license but Google uses webkit which is GNU? This also impacts PS Suite - Android multi-media and applications.

The thrust of your post was, I believe, the same as the ecosystem war post; more first party applications and games are needed via a PS Suite channel.

from my post above:
2011 is going to see stiff competition from Xbox360 MS with Windows7 and Silverlight5 (mentioned by you) and as mentioned in the ecosystem wars article, Sony needs applications that show the value of their platforms. What's the easy way to provide them, either choice above. And how can Sony differentiate it'self, it's starting this ecosystem with much more powerful hardware than Google started with Android, so why use the choices Google did and downgrade your OS to fit least common denominator hardware. That is the advantage of a game console or closed platform ecosystem, the hardware choices are choices, least common denominator hardware is not an issue....play up to your strengths.
 
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Have you a quote from Sony or similar that PSS is Cairo based?

I have a GDC 2011 slide that NGP and PS3 are going to use the same libraries.
20110302-16595675-ngp-img4836.jpg


A quote that the PS3 is going to use Cairo for the webkit port.

Yes, we have a port of webkit that runs on PS3. It
is actually a generic Cairo/POSIX port. You can get
what we have for release here:

http://downloads.snei-opensource.com/pub/webkit/

It is now just javascript core, but we will be releasing
updates with more support in the coming months

The Snap developer program lists Cairo evolving over time to support Collada (game assets) and Gstreamer.

SNAP has a re-architected display model and backend based on Cairo evolving toward COLLADA over time. Our look and feel also includes navigation metaphors derived from standard Sony UX constructs such as our XrossMediaBar.

An understanding of whats happening with webkit and Firefox and reading.

Cario is a more powerful accelerated SVG library of calls than the Android Skia and Gstreamer is a more powerful multi media library than Android's Open Core.

Firefox uses Cairo and Gstreamer so that it can be easily ported to multiple platforms. Opera uses Gstreamer for the same reason but their own SVG I guess for speed. There were issues with Cairo and shader support a year ago.

I suspect that the NGP & PS3 GUI - desktop and applications will be Cairo based. Lectures at the last EU linux conference mentioned Gstreamer porting to Android platforms to support the multi-media. Links are in the HTML5 thread.

Also look at the last post in the Will the XMB desktop be browser based thread. GTK+3 Cairo based applications can run inside a Cairo based browser like Firefox, either as remote desktop or applications called from inside the browser. The effort to have an easy cross platform Webkit using Cairo and cross platform toolkit based on Cairo is also as a byproduct allowing applications to run on Cairo supported surfaces like desktops and browsers.

Also Quote that Ecosytem hardware platforms require SVG graphics, UIs will be designed with SVG graphics to easily PORT between differing resolutions and size screens.

Cairo port to Android https://github.com/anoek/android-cairo

Gstreamer to Android: http://labs.embinux.org/index.php/Android_For_OMAP3_with_Gstreamer_Integration
http://groups.google.com/group/openarmlab/browse_thread/thread/a963f563d6cdf52b

you don;t need the NDK to compile Gstreamer sources.
Take a look at the Rowboat project for Android. In Rowboat, they have
managed to port Gstreamer and TI's OpemMAX technologies.
Not only that, you can actually replace the existing PacketVideo's OpenCore
Multimedia framework with Gstreamer framework.

Texas Instruments is porting Gstreamer to Android to support it's chipset. Why would TI do that if they didn't feel it was needed?
http://code.google.com/p/rowboat/

Who might be interested in this project
Groups planning to use Android with OMAP35x, AM/DM37x and/or AM35x
BeagleBoard users with an interest in Android
Android OS and Android application developers
Everyone considering Android beyond handsets

Same for Cairo and Android, anyone considering Android beyond handsets (anything with advanced multi-media chipsets including 2011 Handhelds) There are many discussions and posts for Cairo and Gstreamer ports to Android.

Is that enough?

I suspect that 2011 Android platforms with the hardware performance of the Sony S1 or NGP will have killer front ends and advanced multi-media using Cairo and Gstreamer. Platforms that can output 720P video over HDMI will probably have Gstreamer for the multi-media. This was in the Gstreamer lecture.

As to PS Suite for PS1 games, there is no need for either Cairo or Gstreamer. Could they be used/required it's possible. Will the game have Gstreamer or Cairo support as includes...possible even probable. For the NGP virtual reality (Camera shows parking lot with dinosaur overlay), it's a perfect example of a Gstreamer - Cairo application.

Edit: Cairo contains Skia code, I don't know how much and the reasons for it's inclusion in Cairo may be for compatibility.
 
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Is that enough?
No! You're just presenting more tentative links. What has TI porting Gstreamer got to do with Sony's choices for NGP, other than the general market state? There's a far easier investigation that can be made. If Sony are releasing a unified front for NGP and PS3, they'd be telling us about it. They'd be saying, "NGP will feature app compatibility with the new PS3 experience launching alongside NGP this year. This revolutionary upgrade to PS3 wil allow blah blah blah." It doesn't make any sense whatsoever for Sony to have this unified new engine that you're tooting, and yet to be telling absolutely no-one. Hence pretty much all your evidence comes from what everyone else is doing. firefox uses such-and-such. TI are doing this and that. Opera uses widdle-de-dee, and Cairo's being ported to Android.

I suspect that 2011 Android platforms with the hardware performance of the Sony S1 or NGP will have killer front ends and advanced multi-media using Cairo and Gstreamer. Platforms that can output 720P video over HDMI will probably have Gstreamer for the multi-media. This was in the Gstreamer lecture.
Which has abosultely squat to do wiih NGP as a non Android device, and squat to do with PSS because, if NGP has all these systems you're talking about, Sony wouldn't need to create PSS! Furthermore a killer frontend can be written in any flippin' language and doesn't need Gstreamer or Cairo, although tusing these may be beneficial. But Sony could go friggin' UE3 for its frontends. They're just libraries of functions for common tasksm, with varying degrees of optimisation and cross-platform support. Sony have seen a need to create their own cross-platform media engine in the guise of PSS, instead of using all these other systems!
 
If Sony are releasing a unified front for NGP and PS3, they'd be telling us about it. They'd be saying, "NGP will feature app compatibility with the new PS3 experience launching alongside NGP this year. This revolutionary upgrade to PS3 wil allow blah blah blah." It doesn't make any sense whatsoever for Sony to have this unified new engine that you're tooting.

There is a serious misunderstanding here. Neither are an engine, it's "C" compatibility and both Gstreamer and Cairo are being used in CE, Embedded, Linux and Android platforms. There is talk of porting to iOS also.

Why, because they were designed to be modular and EASY to port to multiple platforms and give exactly the same result no matter what platform they run on. With Cairo and Gstreamer support on a platform webkit is easily portable to that platform with fewer resources being used. The same is now true for the GTK3 based toolkit and applications written with that toolkit. Cairo (in this case) is an upper level library of OpenGL C calls compiled to native language on the target platform and API callable by native language compiled "C" or javascript, Lua, Python etc.

The timing of the firmware 3.5 HTML5 javascript engine which has API hooks to cairo and the Lua Home client upgrade a few weeks later that uses fewer resources but adds allot of shader functions (fog, snow, shadows etc) makes me believe that Cairo is in the PS3 now. It's typical of upper level language libraries resulting in smaller application sizes; another reason for using Cairo.

"They're just libraries of functions for common tasksm, with varying degrees of optimisation and cross-platform support. " Yes they could use some other library of functions but SONY has told us they are going to use Cairo, Gstreamer and objective C in the Snap developer site. Objective C because the programmer is forced to manage resources in a resource limited platform. Cairo and Gstreamer because they are open source standards accepted and used by the CE and Embedded community.

Is there some reason why you don't believe the Sony Snap developer site information is accurate?

When I get information from two different Sony sources that Cairo will be used by the PS3 and NGP I tend to believe the source.
 
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Yes they could use some other library of functions but SONY has told us they are going to use Cairo, Gstreamer and objective C in the Snap developer site.
SNAP -
Sony’s Networked Application Platform (SNAP) is an experimental R&D project designed to leverage the open source community to build and evolve the next generation application framework for consumer electronic devices
A research project that's been put on hold. You're using that as a basis to believe that Sony are developing a new PS3 XMB and NGP interface on based on the gtrahpics libraries of GTK+ and Cairo, etc., and...tell me again what the @#£&*this has to do with PSS development? Are people wanting to code PSS apps supposed to be famliarising themselves with GTK+ and Cairo or something?
 
SNAP - A research project that's been put on hold. You're using that as a basis to believe that Sony are developing a new PS3 XMB and NGP interface on based on the gtrahpics libraries of GTK+ and Cairo, etc., and...tell me again what the @#£&*this has to do with PSS development? Are people wanting to code PSS apps supposed to be famliarising themselves with GTK+ and Cairo or something?

GTK+ no, that was an example.

Apparently SNAP is no longer on hold or will soon not be on hold and no longer experimental, you accessed the wrong page.

http://snap.sonydeveloper.com/about/ The home page still says on -hold but the other pages have been updated and contain allot of information I still haven't accessed.

EDIT:
snap.sonydeveloper
SNAP has a re-architected display model and backend based on Cairo evolving toward COLLADA over time. Our look and feel also includes navigation metaphors derived from standard Sony UX constructs such as our XrossMediaBar.
COLLADA is an open source standard file format for game assets.

"re-architected display model and backend based on Cairo evolving toward supporting COLLADA"

The above is a BIG statement, re-architected means they are going to change the way they display from what they use now to Cairo based. Back end means low level PSGL, so the basic backbone for graphics used on Sony products will be built on the upper level Cairo rather than low level GPU calls. And they expect that upper level Cairo to evolve to support the feature set needed by games.

PSGL is not OpenGL and Cairo may be a way to standardize graphics/GPU calls by supporting Cairo with Sony developed PSGL. The end result is Cairo on any platform be it PSGL supported or OpenGL or DirectX will produce the same results. PS Suite may use Cairo.

The Snap Developer program uses GNUstep derived open source libraries. Cairo is GNUstep and has been evolving with OpenGL as it evolved. It has now, as of January 2011, been released as a stable library. The GNUstep GUI toolkit is X11 based but the industry is moving to Cairo based GUI toolkits (GTK3 is an example) because they are scaleable Vector Graphics and with OpenGL or PSGL as a backend to Cairo, a Cairo supported webkit, Gstreamer binding with Cairo, Cairo/Pongo fonts and all graphics calls with the upper level Cairo results in an efficient total package for resource limited platforms. Now re-read message #135 above.
 
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I hope Sony will release Playstation Suite with stellar titles right off the batt. LOCOROCO and PATAPON could be a launch title, and it's very suited for smartphone or tablet touchscreen and motion sensing control scheme. And it's not that graphic intensive. It could be a hit like Angry Birds, and will create a lot of buzz for the Suite.

LocoRoco and Patapon are the type of games that should be released on the PS Suite. Creative and Addictive. Casual gaming at its best.

I forgot Echochrome.
 
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