Xfire: a Glimpse of Sony's PS3 Online Plans?
Viacom chat poses more questions than answers
Sony has been coy on the subject of its online gaming plans, to date offering promises of a service that will live up to those already in existence without offering the gaming community any concrete details on how actual gaming will be managed and maintained.
Reports emerging last night suggested that part of the answer seemed to come, somewhat surprisingly, from a Viacom teleconference transcript, in which the firm's executives note that Sony has signed an agreement to use the firm's recently acquired Xfire online match-up service. The comments read: "Now in addition to the strong organic digital performance, the assets we've acquired are also performing very well. Xfire continues to grow users. It just crossed the 4.7 million registered user mark and has added 500,000 since we closed in May. Importantly, Xfire just signed a deal with Sony to create a version of their platform for the new PS3, which will now enable Xfire to extend its reach further into the huge console gaming market."
However, Sony Computer Entertainment America responded to the chatter generated from this transcript, stating "We can confirm that Sony Online Entertainment is in talks with Viacom and Xfire for a single, specific PS3 game. However, there are no announcements at this time regarding any discussions between SCEA, Viacom and Xfire."
Sony Online Entertainment's Chris Kramer has gone on record with 1UP over this matter, telling the publication, "SOE has been in talks with Xfire about potentially including some of their technology in Untold Legends Dark Kingdom, our PlayStation 3 launch title. This proposed deal is completely separate and independent from the PlayStation Network Platform (PNP), and is something that SOE was examining specifically for Dark Kingdom. More information on Xfire and Dark Kingdom will be coming soon... We're in talks with those guys [Xfire] about implementing the technology, but cannot discuss how we'd be implementing the technology."
Mike Cassidy, CEO of Xfire also told 1UP, "Xfire is not part of the PlayStation Network Platform. We are in discussions with Sony Online Entertainment, but I cannot comment any further."
So what is Xfire? Gathering pace with PC users since launch, Xfire was founded in 2003 by Dennis "Thresh" Fong (World Champion of Quake) and Mike Cassidy (former CEO of Direct Hit) as a server and game-agnostic way of matching up players online. According to its own blurb, Xfire is "...a new, free tool that automatically keeps track of when and where gamers are playing PC games online and lets their friends join them easily. It works regardless of game type, server browser, or gaming service that a player is using. Xfire eliminates the hassles of running multiple programs like IRC, instant messengers, or in-game friends lists to keep track of when and where a gamer's friends are playing. It supports the best and the latest online PC games including server- and non-server-based First Person Shooters, Real Time Strategy, and Role Playing Games."
It runs a console (pictured) that keeps track of all pertinent information and has gathered, as Viacom points out, a healthy 4.7 million users. However, it leaves all management of games, cheating prevention, patches and basically everything except the actual meeting-up (and some communication options) to the game's publisher. It's clear the service lags behind the currently deployed version of Xbox Live, and though it offers only a fraction of Live's functionality some similarities exist though; Xfire uses friend lists that monitor who you know and what they're playing. Users are also able to use one-click join function with supported games, letting subscribers jump into play with the minimum of fuss. One of the more popular features is the server-browsing function that gives users an overview on a per-game, per-server basis. A popular feature is the automated statistics manager that takes an XML feed of player stats, game play time etc, much the same way Xbox Live does.
This leaves us with a troubling question; why would Sony Online Entertainment licence a product to carry out functions that are core to the PNP service? Xfire brings to the party what Playstation front man, Ken Kutaragi, claims to be "basic functions". In recent months SPOnG has been hearing rumblings of concern from the developer community regarding the lack of progress and direction on the PlayStation Network Platform. If Xfire isn't being licenced for wider use, its inclusion in Untold Legends calls into question whether PNP will be complete come PS3 launch. At the moment, nobody is saying much either way.
As ever, we'll bring you further news on the PlayStation Network Platform's functionality as we get it.
Reports emerging last night suggested that part of the answer seemed to come, somewhat surprisingly, from a Viacom teleconference transcript, in which the firm's executives note that Sony has signed an agreement to use the firm's recently acquired Xfire online match-up service. The comments read: "Now in addition to the strong organic digital performance, the assets we've acquired are also performing very well. Xfire continues to grow users. It just crossed the 4.7 million registered user mark and has added 500,000 since we closed in May. Importantly, Xfire just signed a deal with Sony to create a version of their platform for the new PS3, which will now enable Xfire to extend its reach further into the huge console gaming market."
However, Sony Computer Entertainment America responded to the chatter generated from this transcript, stating "We can confirm that Sony Online Entertainment is in talks with Viacom and Xfire for a single, specific PS3 game. However, there are no announcements at this time regarding any discussions between SCEA, Viacom and Xfire."
Sony Online Entertainment's Chris Kramer has gone on record with 1UP over this matter, telling the publication, "SOE has been in talks with Xfire about potentially including some of their technology in Untold Legends Dark Kingdom, our PlayStation 3 launch title. This proposed deal is completely separate and independent from the PlayStation Network Platform (PNP), and is something that SOE was examining specifically for Dark Kingdom. More information on Xfire and Dark Kingdom will be coming soon... We're in talks with those guys [Xfire] about implementing the technology, but cannot discuss how we'd be implementing the technology."
Mike Cassidy, CEO of Xfire also told 1UP, "Xfire is not part of the PlayStation Network Platform. We are in discussions with Sony Online Entertainment, but I cannot comment any further."
So what is Xfire? Gathering pace with PC users since launch, Xfire was founded in 2003 by Dennis "Thresh" Fong (World Champion of Quake) and Mike Cassidy (former CEO of Direct Hit) as a server and game-agnostic way of matching up players online. According to its own blurb, Xfire is "...a new, free tool that automatically keeps track of when and where gamers are playing PC games online and lets their friends join them easily. It works regardless of game type, server browser, or gaming service that a player is using. Xfire eliminates the hassles of running multiple programs like IRC, instant messengers, or in-game friends lists to keep track of when and where a gamer's friends are playing. It supports the best and the latest online PC games including server- and non-server-based First Person Shooters, Real Time Strategy, and Role Playing Games."
It runs a console (pictured) that keeps track of all pertinent information and has gathered, as Viacom points out, a healthy 4.7 million users. However, it leaves all management of games, cheating prevention, patches and basically everything except the actual meeting-up (and some communication options) to the game's publisher. It's clear the service lags behind the currently deployed version of Xbox Live, and though it offers only a fraction of Live's functionality some similarities exist though; Xfire uses friend lists that monitor who you know and what they're playing. Users are also able to use one-click join function with supported games, letting subscribers jump into play with the minimum of fuss. One of the more popular features is the server-browsing function that gives users an overview on a per-game, per-server basis. A popular feature is the automated statistics manager that takes an XML feed of player stats, game play time etc, much the same way Xbox Live does.
This leaves us with a troubling question; why would Sony Online Entertainment licence a product to carry out functions that are core to the PNP service? Xfire brings to the party what Playstation front man, Ken Kutaragi, claims to be "basic functions". In recent months SPOnG has been hearing rumblings of concern from the developer community regarding the lack of progress and direction on the PlayStation Network Platform. If Xfire isn't being licenced for wider use, its inclusion in Untold Legends calls into question whether PNP will be complete come PS3 launch. At the moment, nobody is saying much either way.
As ever, we'll bring you further news on the PlayStation Network Platform's functionality as we get it.
Companies:
Sony
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