| Kotaku has learned that, earlier today, Sony informed developers of a new feature for the PlayStation 3: the ability to save games in the "cloud".
Cloud storage means that, rather than just keeping your save game data on your PlayStation 3's hard drive, users will be given the option to upload their saves remotely to a server that Sony runs. The advantage of this is that not only does it save the user space on their hard drive, but since it's tied to a PlayStation Network account, it can be pulled down to different consoles whenever and wherever the user desires. First rumoured all the way back in 2009, there is of course a catch: it'll only be made available to PlayStation Plus subscribers, not the great unwashed. Actually, there are two catches: Sony bundled the announcement with the clause that, because saving games to the cloud "will allow save data with the copy prohibited attribute to be copied into the online storage", developers are able to opt out and bar their games from using it should there be a concern. Sony will call the process "Online Saving", and it'll be made available as part of the PS3's upcoming 3.60 firmware update. We've contacted the company for further information, and will update if we hear back. |
I'd take it with a grain of salt, of course, but this fits with past rumors and that leaked Sony survey from before Plus was announced.
However, it seems this will be a per game feature, and probably only in new games. This is disappointing, given I had assumed it be more of a "sync all saves to server" deal, implemented on a general firmware level and game-agnostic.
What's best about cloud storage for me is that if your ps3 dies it's super easy to get back your saves. /has been screwed by that in the past
