No need for hard drives, PlayStation 3 to add cloud game saving

By Jeffrey Van Camp January 31, 2011

Memory cards are already a thing of the past, but soon you may not even need a hard drive to save your games. Sony is telling developers that the PlayStation 3 will soon be able to save games to the cloud, reports Kotaku. The new service means that PS3 users will be able to upload all their game data to remote servers, making it accessible on any PS3 they log into with the same PlayStation Network account.

sony-playstation-network-cloud — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Unfortunately, the new service will only be available to PlayStation Plus subscribers, Sony’s equivalent of Xbox Live premium accounts. Developers can also opt out of the new service, should they not want their games to allow cloud saving. Players can also opt out of the service, should they desire. The service will be called “Online Saving” and be included in Sony’s upcoming 3.60 firmware update.

The service takes Sony yet another step deeper into cloud computing. How long before the major console manufacturers begin backing up almost everything to the cloud? It may only be a matter of time before we see companies pop up to compete with OnLive, the only game streaming service currently on the market.

Still, the benefits are immense. Game consoles routinely crash, are broken, or are lost due to theft or natural disaster. Having a remote backup of all game saves means that more room is available on the PS3 to save other things and gamers can rest assure that their high score in Resistance can be stored forever.

The 3.60 firmware update should be available in the coming weeks.

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Jeffrey Van Camp

Former Digital Trends Contributor

As DT's Deputy Editor, Jeff helps oversee editorial operations at Digital Trends. Previously, he ran the site's…

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