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Sony Announces PlayStation App for iPhone and iPod Touch

Not all are trolls; some are goblins

TrickyTree1984 said:
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-gb) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C148 Safari/6533.18.5)

Firstly, why are people who do not have a PS3 coming on here and calling the app lame. Stop trolling againt Sony.
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I have a PS3 and love it. Also love my Macs and iOS devices.

But for me, this app is lame. Turning a iOS device into a remote and/or wireless keyboard (yeah, yeah!)---that would be awesome. I still don't have a Bluetooth keyboard (I do have a BT remote) but hate one-trick pony hardware, so I am very relucant to buy one for the PS3. My iPod Touch already works as a remote for my Tivo, Boxee (on Mac), iTunes, and most of these apps are FREE. If I had an ATV, it'd work with that too.

So why not the PS3? Because apparently Sony is too busy writing Blog apps. Maybe their relationship with Google will go some where (e.g., GoogleTV on PS3). It Doesn't Do Everything, but if Sony opened their minds, it could.
 
Could be done

Dbrown said:
How is an iphone app supposed to be able to control a PS3?
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PS3 is protocol and wireless interface rich. DLNA, WiFi, BlueTooth. Also loads of dongles via USB available (EA Active 2 wireless, IR to BT), though I wouldn't want one of these.

I have an iOS remote for my Tivo HD---it uses my home lan, no dongle needed. I can shut off the TiVo from anywhere in the house, no line of sight needed. My kids HATE that. And Tivo doesn't even have native BT support.

There are possibilities.
 
Jon the Heretic said:
I have a PS3 and love it. ... Turning a iOS device into a remote and/or wireless keyboard (yeah, yeah!)---that would be awesome. I still don't have a Bluetooth keyboard (I do have a BT remote) ...
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You do know that you can plug in any cheap USB keyboard, right? The PS3 isn't locked-up proprietary crap like the Xbox. You can back up your game saves to any cheap USB thumbdrive, use any hard drive, etc. (File naming is kinda weird; haven't compared the contents with PC save files; suspect data would be big-endian.)
 
Dbrown said:
How is an iphone app supposed to be able to control a PS3?
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Wifi is the best option IMO. Sort of like the remote app for itunes on your computer, you could control music or movies on the PS3. That is the first thing that comes to mind.

Blutooth is another option.
 
Dagless said:
So if you read in a newspaper or blog about a films launch date, or watch/read an interview with an actor, do you count that as advertising?
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If the newspaper or blog is published by the company and devoted to the company's products, yes.
 
jbuck777 said:
Okay first off, PS2 games on ps3 wasnt emulation...it was a dedicated ps2 chip inside the ps3. Cutting off ps2 backwards compatibility on the ps3 was an effort to axe old hardware out of the ps3, thus driving the costs down a little more and making the ps3 cheaper for the mass public.

How many people actually play(ed) ps2 games on their ps3's.....I for one dont, I tried and the graphics sucked so much that it actually made me nauseous after a while...its like trying to play a game though privacy glass.

Trust me, if the desire of the mass's was for backwards compatibility on the ps3, sony would create an emulator (as its done for ps1 on the ps3...to play those awesome classics).
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You prove my point.

For a short period, some models of PS3 did use software emulation. Both hard and soft ware PS2-in-a-PS3 forms were supported early on, in all likelihood just as a marketing CYA to jumpstart buy-in while few PS3 games were available. Once the critical mass of PS3 users was established, hardware support was dumped as "too expensive", software emulation softened the blow, then all PS2-on-PS3 was killed outright.

Sony still sells PS2s because it's high-margin income. Sony's MO is selling hardware and licenses to use it, and making PS2s is easy for them at this point, and they can rake in more licensing fees from anyone still publishing PS2 games (though it is more residual income than anything new).

As you say, few people want the backwards compatibility. If you have a PS3, you play PS3 games. Same idea re: iOS - if you have an iOS device, you (to wit: a statistically meaningful fraction of the market) want iOS games, not PS2 games. The demand just isn't there.

AFAIK, Sony does not produce PS1s any more - so there is a small market for emulators, so they provide one because they can make a buck off it. So long as Sony is selling PS2s, they won't sell an emulator because they want you to buy a PS2 instead.

The other problem - not a trivial one - is medium. You can pop a PS1 or PS2 disc in a PS3 and it is physically capable of reading it; supporting what's on it is just a marketing decision. An official Sony PS* emulator for iOS would require not just selling the emulator, but building the non-trivial infrastructure to re-publish games as in-app purchases. Methinks Sony, given their sometimes odd marketing decision history, would see this as too much work and/or not within their "way".
 
the whole backward compatibility thing is only for people with old disks. PSN has a lot of "classic" games like FF7
 
Love It!!

Can't wait for this. The only thing I care about is seeing which friends are online playing. Now I don't have to go to the TV, launch PS3, sign in, and wait to see if anyone is online. Now if I can get a auto txt or email letting me know someone has logged in......
 
Sony makes these announcements and nothing ever happens, Remember the last one, they were releasing their Reader program for iphone and ipod, android in December...It is December isn't it?
 
As Touch Arcade's article on this notes "The free app is also going to be updated with "tons more features" in the future"....

"There are tons more features we are planning to bring to this app in the next few months so keep an eye on the PlayStation.Blog for further announcements early next year."
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maybe they shouldn't bother if this is the reaction it'll get. I don't see the problem, or the need for some of the excessive criticism. This is good news, as some people have said, if only for the fact that Sony are legitimising iOS despite it being a quasi-rival in some areas and a direct rival in others.
 
ten-oak-druid said:
Apple should buy SONY
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Prediction:

If Apple buys Sony, we WILL see Sega return with a console. And when that day comes, between Nintendo, Microsoft and Sega, Apple will bow out gracefully. Their experience in gaming leaves a LOT to be desired. At least Microsoft always had solid PC gaming to fall back to.

A smarter move has Apple buying a company like Steam to further their dependence on cloud-based media.
 
ctdonath said:
The other problem - not a trivial one - is medium. You can pop a PS1 or PS2 disc in a PS3 and it is physically capable of reading it; supporting what's on it is just a marketing decision. An official Sony PS* emulator for iOS would require not just selling the emulator, but building the non-trivial infrastructure to re-publish games as in-app purchases. Methinks Sony, given their sometimes odd marketing decision history, would see this as too much work and/or not within their "way".
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Yeah, if only they had some kind of Online infrastructure already where they sell PSOne titles. Something kinda of like a Playstation Network. :rolleyes:

And if only they had an emulator ready they could port, something like Bleem which they acquiered long ago. :rolleyes:

Methinks you make up problems that don't exist.
 
revelated said:
Prediction:

If Apple buys Sony, we WILL see Sega return with a console. And when that day comes, between Nintendo, Microsoft and Sega, Apple will bow out gracefully. Their experience in gaming leaves a LOT to be desired. At least Microsoft always had solid PC gaming to fall back to.

A smarter move has Apple buying a company like Steam to further their dependence on cloud-based media.
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If they buy Sony (which is sort of a fairy tale anyway), the expertise within SONY comes along with the purchase. So I would have to disagree on that one.
 
Let's all complain about what a free app has to offer at launch.

I love my PS3, love PSN, and need a way to see who's online while I'm on my hourlong commute home from work. This sounds great, and I think the world will continue to spin while I wait for a North American launch.
 
ten-oak-druid said:
If they buy Sony (which is sort of a fairy tale anyway), the expertise within SONY comes along with the purchase. So I would have to disagree on that one.
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You need a history lesson my friend.

  • Microsoft bought Danger, the makers of the Sidekick. The Sidekick, at one time, was one of the HOTTEST devices for teens and young adults. Microsoft proceeded to basically kill it off unintentionally.
  • GameStop bought FuncoLand, Electronics Boutique, and Babbages - the three largest competitors. Funco had the largest older-game supply. EB had a good PC game stock. Babbages had good stock of accessories and consoles. Years later, GameStop has none of the above.
  • Fry's Electronics bought out Incredible Universe. IU was the best place to go for general electronics and a consumer experience that was basically a giant technology playground. Fry's remains essentially a giant warehouse full of poorly organized stuff and horrific lines.
  • HP bought Palm. WebOS is an outstanding operating system in desperate need of solid hardware. The Palm Pre was a hardware nightmare; the Palm Pre 2 which is forthcoming is essentially the same hardware with a faster processor - same crappy keyboard.
  • Microsoft bought WebTV. Not only did they not improve upon the device, they increased the price for the same level of delivery. Died before its time.

Assuming that an acquisition of Sony automatically means that Apple will actually use the gaming knowledge to their advantage is a terrible thing to do. Most people who acquire other companies do so because the companies are at least somewhat popular or they have technology they might be interested in but it doesn't mean that the acquiring company will have the expertise or the foresight to leverage that technology. That's the problem. Only two companies have done those types of acquisitions and actually used and improved on the acquired technology: Adobe and Google.
 
Large corporation in computing and gaming sector recognises the strength of competitor and future of industry. And then in an effort to survive offers private parts in offer of submission!

As the smartest of the Japanese players, Sony has made the only move it could under the circumstances.

When people say there isn't a war between MS and Apple, they miss the bigger picture. With gaming from other platforms moving to iOS, this world too will again polarize.

Sure, eventually MS will get some useable gaming experience on a mobile device, and maybe that device will be their own, maybe it won't.

But by that time Apple will have a large proportion of their own, and other platform gamers carrying and paying only for the Apple device, loaded with the app [bought at the App Store of course], while MS is still playing about with the old device lock-in model...

I don't play games, but anyone can tell that this is about convenience [one device] and revenue streams.
 
For all those interested, the App is now available in the European Store.

You can log in to your PSN account with full access to your friends list and trophies. If you go into your own profile you can view a list of all the games you've played (with nice little icons) and the trophies you've obtained so far.

You can also access the latest news on PlayStation.com and the PlayStation.Blog directly from the App.

It has (what seems to be) a full, searchable list of European game releases for all Sony consoles to date, along with news on the peripherals they'd love to sell you.

Nothing ground breaking, but it looks nice and it's free. I suppose it's an easy way to check on the new PSN releases on a Wednesday, and see who's skiving work to play Black Ops online.

:apple:
 
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