PS4's Cloud Service to launch early 2014

[Haze]

The PlayStation 4's cloud-based features will launch sometime in early 2014, Sony announced during its E3 press conference tonight.

Initially, it will allow players access to loads of "critically acclaimed" PS3 and PS4 games. This is pretty great as the PS4 won't be backwards compatible with PS3 discs.

The hardware manufacturer also confirmed that Vita games will be available on the service as well, but not right away.

Source: PlayStation 4's cloud service will begin in early 2014 • News • PlayStation 4 • Eurogamer.net

Wait, so this may be a dumb question, does this mean we can play PS3 games on the PS4 if they're purchased digitally?

EDIT: It will launch in the US early 2014 but unfortunately there is no timeline for outside the US as of yet. And to answer my own question:

We will start with the streaming of PS3 games to both PS3 and PS4, and that will quickly be followed by PlayStation Vita as a client device.

 

[DrRipley]

I'm a little ashamed to say that I don't even know what cloud-based features would entail or what that even means. -_- Usually, it takes something to get really well known and understood and used by many before I even begin to understand new technology, but if it's anything like OnLive though, I'd be really impressed. Nonetheless, what little I understand of it, I'm looking forward to, especially for Drive Club which sounds like a really good game to get into online multiplayer for me.

 

[Joker99352]

Does anyone even use the cloud service on, say, the 360? I noticed when they made it available, but I've never used it personally. I think it's a good idea for people with limited space on their hard drives, but I've personally never had an issue with running out of space. Then again, I don't buy anything on XBL or PSN aside from add-ons or DLC, so I don't use all that much space to begin with.

 

[Haze]

Does anyone even use the cloud service on, say, the 360? I noticed when they made it available, but I've never used it personally. I think it's a good idea for people with limited space on their hard drives, but I've personally never had an issue with running out of space. Then again, I don't buy anything on XBL or PSN aside from add-ons or DLC, so I don't use all that much space to begin with.

I don't use the cloud service at all on the 360. I did a while ago when I had to buy a new console and wanted to transfer my profile and all, but aside from that it doesn't really interest me. Then again, I'm old fashioned

 

[BlackSolaris]

Good to hear that we at least we have a date, if only for the USA, but that is a start. Also, was expecting to be released at the launch date, but i guess that like this they can measure how heavy of a hit their servers will take and prepare for it.

 

[lindbergh]

So, when you say cloud based features, that means that your games would be stored in an online storage system like Dropbox? Then that also means that we need an internet connection to play the games? Does that also mean that we need a PS plus account to use the feature?

Furthermore, I've never been thrilled about backwards compatibility on any console. Never been able to use the feature so it's not a loss on the PS 4.

 

[Haze]

So, when you say cloud based features, that means that your games would be stored in an online storage system like Dropbox? Then that also means that we need an internet connection to play the games? Does that also mean that we need a PS plus account to use the feature?

Furthermore, I've never been thrilled about backwards compatibility on any console. Never been able to use the feature so it's not a loss on the PS 4.

Hrmm. I don't know about PS Plus but am pretty sure yes, an internet connection is required to save to cloud. But it should be just an option.

 

[hotshot]

The idea of playing games online without having the need for the disk is pretty nice, but I'm not very optimistic that it will work very good when it's launched. Mostly due to the fact that I expect overcrowding and huge latency on such servers. It's one thing to store data on a server, but to stream and keep so many connections at a time is another thing. I hope this isn't just a lame marketing thing and it will be released in working condition.

 

[Xpress]

I know there are some pretty awesome games out there on the ps3 and i'm sure many will want to play them on the new ps4 .. I somehow have a thought that someone will find a way to get the old disks working rather than having to go through the cloud..

Would you have to pay for any ps3 games in the cloud that you fon't own in order to play them on ps4? If you did, then I hope the prices for those games are not 'as new' from the shops..
If they are then would it not be cheaper to try to find a copy of the old game on disk and get an old ps3 and go through that route?

I'malso curios as to what sort of details about yourselves (if any are required)would be stored on the cloud too?
I'm very cautious about what I put online... not just to protect my privacy but to also prevent a lot of junk coming my way that takes hours to deal with.. like spam emails for example..

just a few thoughts...

 

[Nymph]

I'm not so enthusiastic about the entire cloud concept, or at least based on what I had first heard of it. It essentially allows for the streaming of games, including, I believe, ps3 titles. Developers will also be able to update games live, including trophies and achievements. Apparently it'll also offload computations to their many servers. It doesn't sound all that bad, but the idea of things always fluctuating makes me think that we'll never get the satisfaction of fully completing a game again.

 

[Joker99352]

Maybe I'm just paranoid, but a cloud service doesn't sound that reliable. Also, I know they've revamped their security measures in the wake of the last hacking incident, but even that worries me a little bit too. But I also don't really care about the features they're talking about, so it may just be that. I suppose the reason it's taking so long to release is that they're making sure it actually works, which is good, but I'm still going to wait and see how it plays out.