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Sony trademark PS Cloud name

Published on 31st March 2009 by Georgina Graham

We aren't yet sure what the PS Cloud might be exactly, but the rumours are already running rife.

Sony's new registered trademark 'PS Cloud' has ignited rumours that the company is working on it's own OnLive-like streaming service for the PS3 and PSP.

According to recent filings with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Sony has trademarked the name PS Cloud, possibly indicating that the company are themselves exploring the hot topic of cloud computing, where software can be streamed from remote servers.

Registered by Sony Computer Entertainment Japan, PS Cloud could be similar to the OnLive system which was recently announced at GDC or Valve's Steamcloud, which hosts game saves on outside servers.

Although Sony currently employs this technology, allowing the PSP to remotely control games and films on the Playstation3 the Cloud name suggests a more global version of the idea, possibly letting players stream content from one platform to another. Another rumour is that the system could allow users to back-up PSP saves and account settings to a PS3, or vice versa.

Cloud rendering has been a bit of a hot topic since the announcement of OnLive, with many people claiming that the technology is infeasible or won't be able to compete all that well with traditional gaming setups.

Have you heard any rumours about PS Cloud, or do you just want to share your thoughts on OnLive? Let us know in the forums.

5 Comments

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p3n 31st March 2009, 11:31

Ironic being their console hardware is the least in need of offloading processing tasks!

liratheal 31st March 2009, 12:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by p3n
Ironic being their console hardware is the least in need of offloading processing tasks!

QFT.

Also, I hope that should this progress further than this, that they don't call it PS Online, because.. It sounds awful.

The Jambo 31st March 2009, 14:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by p3n
Ironic being their console hardware is the least in need of offloading processing tasks!

OR That the PSP can offload the rasterization to the PS3 ;-)

devdevil85 31st March 2009, 18:04

Sounds interesting........for the PSP2, maybe?

jsheff 31st March 2009, 23:20

After all the problems and controversy with the PS3's pricing, especially in the "current economic environment"/"credit crunch"/"recession" (choose your preferred media term), utilising a system similar to that of OnLive would be a marvellous idea, and a complete turnaround.

Look how successful the Wii is at it's price point, and how the Xbox 360 picked up once it dropped below £200. If Sony could release a console at a price point of around £50 (or free with a subscription) with the power of something worth a lot more remotely accessed in a rendering farm somewhere, I think they'd seriously be onto a winner. Not sure how many OnLive patents they'd have to licence to do so though!