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Sony: Partnership With Microsoft on Cloud Gaming Is Going to Be "Very Strong;" PS5 Lineup Reveal Teased

Sony is hosting its Corporate Strategy Meeting in Tokyo, and its executives provided more information about the PlayStation business.

twinfinite.net

Sony: Partnership With Microsoft on Cloud Gaming Is Going to Be “Very Strong;” PS5 Lineup Reveal Teased
Giuseppe NelvaMay 19, 2020
Home » News » Sony: Partnership With Microsoft on Cloud Gaming Is Going to Be “Very Strong;” PS5 Lineup Reveal Teased
Sony is hosting its Corporate Strategy Meeting in Tokyo, and its executives provided more information about the PlayStation business.

Interestingly, we got an update on the collaboration with Microsoft announced last year.

We hear that Sony is taking a long-term view on this partnership and is discussing the details of the collaboration with Microsoft.

Specifically about games, the discussion focuses on how streaming services from the cloud should be. According to executive vice president Toru Katsumoto, Microsoft’s Azure has “splendid” cloud technology and Microsoft has provided Sony with explanations about it.

Mutual understanding between the two companies is “deepening” following discussions over the past year.

One of the points being discussed is the “dark time” since gamers usually play at night, so there may be congestion of the servers during that timeframe, while during the day there are no issues. Due to this, how to use the servers effectively and efficiently is a relevant technical point on the table.

Katsumoto-san concluded by mentioning that on a mid-to-long-term basis this is going to be a “very strong partnership.”

We also learn that PlayStation Now reached over 2.2 million units by the end of April 2020.

On top of that monthly active users of the remote play feature in December 2019 were 2.5 times as many as those in December 2018.

We then the promise that Sony plans to reveal the lineup of PS5 games soon, with further confirmation that the production of both hardware and software is going on according to the company’s schedule with the aim to release the console during the holiday shopping season.

If you’re interested in learning more of Sony’s recent financial performance alongside an update of PS4’s shipment numbers, you can check out our dedicated article.

 

[SCB3]

People seem to forget that Sony/Microsoft are not a real rivalry, I hope Azure improves the PS Now experience, its been a little lacking for me

 

[Night.Ninja]

PS4 remote play is awesome

 

[SCB3]

PS4 remote play is awesome

I've had a lot of issues on Non Wired setups tbh, for example on iPad, although saying that, I also have issues with Steam link over WiFi as well

 

[Night.Ninja]

I've had a lot of issues on Non Wired setups tbh, for example on iPad, although saying that, I also have issues with Steam link over WiFi as well

WIFI is a mess wired is the only option.

 

[nikolino840]

Who Say that that partnership Is not Also for gaming?

 

[MCplayer]

well, not their only partnership
https://www.neogaf.com/threads/sony-and-microsoft-are-partnering-not-in-gaming.1542297/

 

[cormack12]

Katsumoto-san concluded by mentioning that on a mid-to-long-term basis this is going to be a “very strong partnership.”

 

[Hendrick's]

So when do we get Game Pass on PlayStation?

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

So who is chasing who?

 

[phil_t98]

funny fact its just the console warriors on here that don't get on. the actual companies get along better than we all do lol

 

[phil_t98]

So who is chasing who?

Sony chasing Microsoft on this one to use the cloud services Azure

 

[sneas78]

Ahh Yes.. God Of War 2 xsx exclusive. Honest think the big 3 should fight the new bleak streaming from amazon, google etc. I’d rather stream from my friends.

 

[cormack12]

PS4 remote play is awesome

I think It's complete ass.

I have 100Mbps and a 1Gbps switch. PS4 is wired into the switch.

• Running at 720p with standard frame rate is playable if I plug my laptop in via cat5.
• Drop it to wifi to a 802.11a or 802.11g and it starts to artifact and just get real choppy (this is within 3m of the access point and the consumer entry point) using the official Android app and/or the PC client. Speed test gets the 22Mbps (which is normal).
• I pull out the iPad which runs at 802.11n which gets the full 100Mbps to device, and the iOS app is even worse in terms of colouring, artifacting, bitrate banding and general choppiness.

Honestly, unless you have cat5 trunked or have an extra long cable as an enabler, it's complete wank. And if you're going to have the crutch of a cat5 then the Wii U gamepad still ouclasses it in every way.

 

[The Shift]

So who is chasing who?

Well one has to rely on the other one whereas if you flipped it around, not so much.

 

[Tomeru]

Well one has to rely on the other one whereas if you flipped it around, not so much.

MS are not the only company with servers.

 

[Grinchy]

I think It's complete ass.

I have 100Mbps and a 1Gbps switch. PS4 is wired into the switch.

• Running at 720p with standard frame rate is playable if I plug my laptop in via cat5.
• Drop it to wifi to a 802.11a or 802.11g and it starts to artifact and just get real choppy (this is within 3m of the access point and the consumer entry point) using the official Android app and/or the PC client. Speed test gets the 22Mbps (which is normal).
• I pull out the iPad which runs at 802.11n which gets the full 100Mbps to device, and the iOS app is even worse in terms of colouring, artifacting, bitrate banding and general choppiness.

Honestly, unless you have cat5 trunked or have an extra long cable as an enabler, it's complete wank. And if you're going to have the crutch of a cat5 then the Wii U gamepad still ouclasses it in every way.

Yep, I fucking hate remote play. I've spent more hours troubleshooting and attempting port forwarding and router settings to get it to not suck than I have actually using it.

And this is why I want a Wii U gamepad style companion device for PS5. Remote Play that's instantaneous and actually works.

 

[The Shift]

MS are not the only company with servers.

Yeah. In this relationship they are.

 

[Psykodad]

They are preparing for MS to leave the console business and become a 3rd party, so they can work towards GamePass/xCloud on PS5/PS6.

/jk

 

[Tomeru]

Yeah. In this relationship they are.

Ok sport.

 

[MCplayer]

waiting for horizon and death stranding to come on pc to then come to xbox

 

[darkinstinct]

MS are not the only company with servers.

But they may be the cheapest.

 

[The Shift]

Ok sport.

No worries champ

 

[DeepEnigma]

My stock portfolio will be happy if this transpires in fruition. Do it!

 

[TigerKnee]

So who is chasing who?

Well if we're going for overall profits, I think the whole world is chasing Microsoft

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Well look at that. Sony partnering with MS cloud for gaming finally admitted when last year it was a vague point about cloud. This is exactly what many of us said last year in that old article.

Good to see MS get the contract. The more Sony grows, the more cloud $ MS gets.

Just to show how hilarious this cloud issue was, last year when reports came out Sony/MS were partnering with cloud services internal Sony employees were supposedly blindsided and had low morale because Sony execs did a deal with MS.

Bunch of babies.

I hope people know that when it comes to electronics/tech, rival companies actually supply each other with components. TVs and cell phones can have chips from rival companies, but they all work together for the betterment of the products.

But I guess in gaming, even cloud services lead to a sulking corporate culture.

well, not their only partnership
https://www.neogaf.com/threads/sony-and-microsoft-are-partnering-not-in-gaming.1542297/

Wow. The bridge keeps getting built.

And video gamers think MS and Sony hate each other.

 

[Xplainin]

MS are not the only company with servers.

Microsoft, Google and Amazon are the big three.
Microsoft has by far the better game streaming knowedge at this point.
Its Sonys only option.
They cannot afford to even think about setting up their own server banks to the level required.

 

[Quasicat]

They are preparing for MS to leave the console business and become a 3rd party, so they can work towards GamePass/xCloud on PS5/PS6.

/jk

I know your joking, but I think this is part of Microsoft’s end game plan. They have already said that they want Xcloud on as many screens as possible using as many different controllers as possible. Being able to have Xcloud on Sony TVs would be a huge opportunity for them.

 

[DeepEnigma]

Microsoft, Google and Amazon are the big three.
Microsoft has by far the better game streaming knowedge at this point.
Its Sonys only option.
They cannot afford to even think about setting up their own server banks to the level required.

Right now they use AWS and OpenStack (Rackspace and NASA).

If they can get a better streamline venture with Azure, do it. Still don't care about cloud gaming or services personally, but as a stockholder I like where this is headed.

 

[Xplainin]

Right now they use AWS and OpenStack (Rackspace and NASA).

If they can get a better streamline venture with Azure, do it. Still don't care about cloud gaming or services personally, but as a stockholder I like where this is headed.

Same, I really couldn't care about cloud gaming. I barely get enough time to sit down, relax and fire up my consoles at home as much as I would want to.

 

[DeepEnigma]

Same, I really couldn't care about cloud gaming. I barely get enough time to sit down, relax and fire up my consoles at home as much as I would want to.

Seriously! My backlog am cry! At least the PS4 games I do have and yet to play/complete will help with backlog speed on the PS5 with instant load times

 

[ANIMAL1975]

Sony chasing Microsoft on this one to use the cloud services Azure

And Microsoft chasing on Sony to use the +6 years of online gaming streaming actual experience.

Yeah. In this relationship they are.

Are you sure? I remember that when they bought Gaikai and OnLive, it came with the personal, and the infrastructure...

 

[Psykodad]

I know your joking, but I think this is part of Microsoft’s end game plan. They have already said that they want Xcloud on as many screens as possible using as many different controllers as possible. Being able to have Xcloud on Sony TVs would be a huge opportunity for them.

Well, I wasn't entirely joking (quelle surprise), but I'd sub to GamePass if it was available to Playstation.
Would love to play Hellblade 2.

 

[down 2 orth]

Sony and Microsoft getting all cuddly on AI and cloud gaming deals... makes me very happy to be a PC gamer.

 

[phil_t98]

And Microsoft chasing on Sony to use the +6 years of online gaming streaming actual experience.

Are you sure? I remember that when they bought Gaikai and OnLive, it came with the personal, and the infrastructure...

this is where your wrong. stop the fanboy crap. this is where Microsoft know their stuff. why else would Sony be wanting to use Azure?
not everything is warrior fanboy stuff.

 

[EverydayBeast]

Give me Battlefield 6 cross-play Xbox One X and PS5 day 1

 

[Entroyp]

Well one has to rely on the other one whereas if you flipped it around, not so much.

Yea this cloud thing is not exclusive to MS you know...

 

[JLB]

So when do we get Game Pass on PlayStation?

And PSnow on xbox.

 

[Arkam]

This reads to me like Sony is thinking about moving away from Amazon for their cloud storage and maybe PSN's CDN. So they are seeing what MS has to offer (and probably using it to get discount from AWS). This has little to nothing to do with game streaming. Azure has little to do with that paradigm. PS Now, Xcloud and Stadia are using custom sleds in the data centers that are essentially consoles. Why would MS do that if virtualizing was even an option?

 

[xiseerht]

And yet , naive Xbox / PS will damn near fight each other to death online When Microsoft and Sony are looking at their comments and just laughing at them. Sony and Microsoft don't hate each other at all and are partners . Which is why console bloodbath wars online make no sense to me at all.

 

[Bryank75]

I'd have preferred if they shut down PSNow, stopped pursuing cloud gaming and just bought some big studios.... Capcom or someone and then announced that all 1st party and second party games will never go to another platform.

That is how you sell a lot of consoles, nobody cares about cloud gaming, look how fast Stadia died.

Improve PS+ instead. Job done.

28.3 billion in cash and just one overdue acquisition so far... I'm underwhelmed. They let Disney get Marvel and Star Wars for a steal while they were twiddling their thumbs... Sony are terrible at this stuff.

 

[Javthusiast]

Whatever, the only Cloud gaming I am looking forward to is FF7R-2.

 

[ANIMAL1975]

this is where your wrong. stop the fanboy crap. this is where Microsoft know their stuff. why else would Sony be wanting to use Azure?
not everything is warrior fanboy stuff.

No, the fanboy crap and warring is your response and attitude of someone who can't argue in a civilized manner and immediately jump the gun... So not wasting any more time with you... Phil

 

[Tripolygon]

this is where your wrong. stop the fanboy crap. this is where Microsoft know their stuff. why else would Sony be wanting to use Azure?
not everything is warrior fanboy stuff.

Scalability beyond their current 5 million clients capacity, Collocating their own servers in Azure data centers, exchange of ideas and technology etc. Why would Microsoft want to partner with Sony? For technology, exchange of ideas, patent portfolio in the game streaming service as well, this is a symbiotic partnership that reaches across different fields like imaging and deep neutral network research and implementation.

Sony owns the patent portfolio and took in a lot of the talents that pioneered game streaming from both gaikai and onlive. They are not lacking in that front.

You should take your own advice not everything is warrior fanboy stuff.

 

[Bankai]

 

[phil_t98]

Scalability beyond their current 5 million clients capacity, Collocating their own servers in Azure data centers, exchange of ideas and technology etc. Why would Microsoft want to partner with Sony? For technology, exchange of ideas, patent portfolio in the game streaming service as well, this is a symbiotic partnership that reaches across different fields like imaging and deep neutral network research and implementation.

Sony owns the patent portfolio and took in a lot of the talents that pioneered game streaming from both gaikai and onlive. They are not lacking in that front.

You should take your own advice not everything is warrior fanboy stuff.

Microsoft partner with Sony for cash simple as that

 

[Vawn]

People seem to forget that Sony/Microsoft are not a real rivalry, I hope Azure improves the PS Now experience, its been a little lacking for me

Especially Microsoft. Xbox is such a small part of Microsoft, they aren't about to not work with companies such as Sony because of how it might affect their video game department.

 

[phil_t98]

No, the fanboy crap and warring is your response and attitude of someone who can't argue in a civilized manner and immediately jump the gun... So not wasting any more time with you... Phil

here is the quote from when it was announced

"Under the memorandum of understanding signed by the parties, the two companies will explore joint development of future cloud solutions in Microsoft Azure to support their respective game and content-streaming services. In addition, the two companies will explore the use of current Microsoft Azure datacenter-based solutions for Sony’s game and content-streaming services. By working together, the companies aim to deliver more enhanced entertainment experiences for their worldwide customers. These efforts will also include building better development platforms for the content creator community."

its gonna stream Sony stuff off AZURE

 

[JareBear: Remastered]

People seem to forget that Sony/Microsoft are not a real rivalry, I hope Azure improves the PS Now experience, its been a little lacking for me

Good point.

Frankly, I am glad. Steaming games isn't close to where it needs to be yet, IMO, and it might take partnerships like this for that mode of consumption become truly viable for the masses.

 

[ANIMAL1975]

here is the quote from when it was announced

"Under the memorandum of understanding signed by the parties, the two companies will explore joint development of future cloud solutions in Microsoft Azure to support their respective game and content-streaming services. In addition, the two companies will explore the use of current Microsoft Azure datacenter-based solutions for Sony’s game and content-streaming services. By working together, the companies aim to deliver more enhanced entertainment experiences for their worldwide customers. These efforts will also include building better development platforms for the content creator community."

its gonna stream Sony stuff off AZURE

And that's how you should have addressed the conversation in the beginning... Have a nice day