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[213372bu]

A company that is trying to push servers for gaming will allow the biggest platform to access a service in which said company will continually profit. Surprise.

I mean, Azure will be used for businesses, but they are really pushing server-side rendering and more. They'd be losing a huge chunk of money if they wouldn't allow companies to use their servers. Without doing so, lots of AAA multi-plats wouldn't want to try working around Azure if it would only be for Xbone.

 

[Dazza]

Don't think anyone ever thought otherwise.

This, I'm surprised this even needs stating

 

[rob305]

Good guy MS?

 

[Jobbs]

Isn't this kind of ordinary?

Like.. Blu-ray was made by Sony, right? Don't all game consoles use it?

 

[Ghost Slayer]

Isn't this kind of ordinary?

Like.. Blu-ray was made by Sony, right? Don't all game consoles use it?

Blu-ray license is hold by a group of companies, Sony is one of them.

 

[Ushay]

Suddenly everyone is liking the idea of cloud compute. Never change GAF.

I figured Azure was a a separate entity to gaming entirely so it makes perfect sense they treat any and all clients the same.

 

[LewieP]

So how exactly is access to Azure (aka "the infinite power of the cloud") a selling point for their Xbox hardware?

 

[LiquidSolid]

Good guy MS?

No. Business guy MS. Cloud computing is a competitive market, they'd be stupid to turn Sony away if they were interested in using Azure.

 

[bombshell]

This should be common knowledge, but I guess it's news to some in this thread.

So how exactly is access to Azure (aka "the infinite power of the cloud") a selling point for their Xbox hardware?

It never was for well informed people.

 

[LewieP]

It never was for well informed people.

Indeed, I'm just surprised to see Spencer throw a big component of their marketing strategy for the Xbox One under the bus.

 

[ginger ninja]

Sony needs to move PSN to Azure

Sony should move it to Amazon cloud which is superior to the rest anyway. But I guess that easier said than done.

 

[Speedy Blue Dude]

Well yeah, I don't imagine Satya would be happy turning down a free Paycheck from Sony or EA if they wanted to use Azure. It's free money, and Azure is an important part of Microsoft right now, probably more important than Xbox.

Don't even know why someone would have to ask

 

[Saint of Killers]

Would it be anti-competitive/illegal to keep someone from using it?

 

[LewieP]

Don't even know why someone would have to ask

Because MS have repeatedly claimed that access to Azure servers is an advantage unique to their Xbox hardware.

This was obviously a disingenuous claim, but they still made it.

 

[timmyp53]

Would it be anti-competitive/illegal to keep someone from using it?

No. Sarcasm?

 

[Dargor]

Would it be anti-competitive/illegal to keep someone from using it?

I don't think so, its a service that they own, they can sell it to whomever they choose to.

But its in their best interest that as many businesses buy it, even if they are competing against them in certain areas.

 

[4Tran]

Indeed, I'm just surprised to see Spencer throw a big component of their marketing strategy for the Xbox One under the bus.

This kind of decision isn't Spencer's call. Cloud computing can be a major business for Microsoft, and they're not going to jeopardize it in some petty rivalry with Sony. Things might have been a bit different in 2014 but Microsoft is resigned to the Xbone's market position nowadays.

 

[LiquidSolid]

Sony should move it to Amazon cloud which is superior to the rest anyway. But I guess that easier said than done.

It's easier done than said. They already use AWS.

 

[Dargor]

Sony should move it to Amazon cloud which is superior to the rest anyway. But I guess that easier said than done.

Aren't they already their client?

ps: beaten ^

 

[DieH@rd]

Azure is 1000000000000 times more important to MS than entire Xbox business.

Sony should move it to Amazon cloud which is superior to the rest anyway. But I guess that easier said than done.

They already do.

 

[Alx]

So how exactly is access to Azure (aka "the infinite power of the cloud") a selling point for their Xbox hardware?

It's probably cheaper for (some) devs, also the Xbox SDKs probably have good support for everything "cloud" related. Or they will.
It's not really about having an exclusive know how, but having the intent to push it. Xbox Live had many selling features that were perfectly feasible on other platforms, but didn't appear there for years.

 

[Wowfunhappy]

Fun fact: Apple's iCloud uses Azure.

 

[score01]

News flash. They probably use computers with Windows and Office at Sony.

Phil Spencer and Nidala are reported to be OK with allowing this to happen.

 

[unapersson]

Suddenly everyone is liking the idea of cloud compute. Never change GAF.

I figured Azure was a a separate entity to gaming entirely so it makes perfect sense they treat any and all clients the same.

Nothing has changed, everyone could always use cloud services. The whole thing has been weird from the start.

 

[daxter01]

Well yeah, I don't imagine Stoya would be happy turning down a free Paycheck from Sony or EA if they wanted to use Azure. It's free money, and Azure is an important part of Microsoft right now, probably more important than Xbox.

Don't even know why someone would have to ask

she works for MS now?

 

[LifeBrandRobot]

Makes sense, Xbox isn't Microsoft's only business.

 

[Saint of Killers]

No. Sarcasm?

Nope xD I just thought keeping competition from using a service you provide would be anti-competitive.

I don't think so, its a service that they own, they can sell it to whomever they choose to.

But its in their best interest that as many businesses buy it, even if they are competing against them in certain areas.

Makes sense.

 

[Jafku]

Well yeah, I don't imagine Stoya would be happy turning down a free Paycheck from Sony or EA if they wanted to use Azure. It's free money, and Azure is an important part of Microsoft right now, probably more important than Xbox.

Don't even know why someone would have to ask

Stoya eh?

 

[Chocolate & Vanilla]

Thank god Microsoft have finally decided to let other companies use the Internet.

 

[krang]

I can't imagine Sony ever actually using it for an exclusive, though. For marketing reasons it probably wouldn't do them many favours.

 

[hydrophilic attack]

This shouldn't be news to anyone. But due to the way MS touted the cloud as this exclusive feature, some probably thought it was exclusive

 

[4Tran]

I can't imagine Sony ever actually using it for an exclusive, though. For marketing reasons it probably wouldn't do them many favours.

Sony already buys server time from Amazon and Azure doesn't offer much more than AWS does. There isn't much reason for Sony to switch.

This shouldn't be news to anyone. But due to the way MS touted the cloud as this exclusive feature, some probably thought it was exclusive

Microsoft doesn't care about that any more. Their plans for Xbox have changed.

 

[00ich]

If MS uses Azure to prerender/assist physics in crackdown they need some kind of special Azure service and api and a matching physics engine. They are not saying they are sharing that and Sony probably can't compete with the verticality of being a gaming platform owner, software developer and server farm owner.
So "power of the cloud" (if existent) could still be an MS exclusive.

 

[krang]

This shouldn't be news to anyone. But due to the way MS touted the cloud as this exclusive feature, some probably thought it was exclusive

The difference is the cost.

 

[KurtSloane]

As others have stated, PSN us on AWS, no need for Azure.

It's just empty PR, Sony would not move sideways just because Phil said they could.


Lol at everyone thinking it will happen like Sony where waiting on the go ahead from Phil Spencer.

 

[Smirfu]

Does this mean that the PS4 has always had the same potential benefits as the Xbox One from the power of the cloud(tm)?

 

[Theorry]

But Azure is dedi servers also right?

 

[leeh]

If MS uses Azure to prerender/assist physics in crackdown they need some kind of special Azure service and api and a matching physics engine. They are not saying they are sharing that and Sony probably can't compete with the verticality of being a gaming platform owner, software developer and server farm owner.
So "power of the cloud" (if existent) could still be an MS exclusive.

I'm pretty sure the Xbox also can move the results of cloud compute into RAM without using any CPU time, which will surely help in that application. What's the point of using CPU's elsewhere if you've still got to use your own to place the results into RAM?

Sony use AWS anyway, its just Microsoft have the advantage of in-house.

But Azure is dedi servers also right?

The whole cloud buzzword stems from DC's using SaaS tech. Basically servers which can be started in a couple of seconds with pre-defined templates which can re-act to load dynamically and scale up/down depending.

 

[eerik9000]

Like.. Blu-ray was made by Sony, right? Don't all game consoles use it?

Not exclusively Sony, but they own a large number of related patents and get a good share of licensing money.

 

[Footos22]

Indeed, I'm just surprised to see Spencer throw a big component of their marketing strategy for the Xbox One under the bus.

Spencer has nothing to do with their cloud business.

 

[Speedy Blue Dude]

she works for MS now?

Stoya eh?

Oh god I meant Satya, Nadella Satya.

Guess you can tell where my mind is lol.

 

[saunderez]

Makes sense. It's a revenue stream just like all their other clients of Azure.

This. And if Microsoft don't offer it they'll just go to Amazon or one of the many other cloud computing providers. Why would they pass up a buck just because Sony competes with them in an unrelated market segment.

 

[killer rin]

Of course, Microsoft loves money, and Azure is a big money maker for them

 

[Theorry]

The whole cloud buzzword stems from DC's using SaaS tech. Basically servers which can be started in a couple of seconds with pre-defined templates which can re-act to load dynamically and scale up/down depending.

Oke. I find that way more intresting then that other stuff people talk about when Azure comes up. I would love for Sony to use it. But i dont think it will happen. Wich sucks. We probably are gonna be stuck again with p2p with Uncharted 4.

 

[Rembrandt]

This is common knowledge. They just won't get the benefits that exclusive titles get (free/cheaper pricing), iirc.

 

[leeh]

Oke. I find that way more intresting then that other stuff people talk about when Azure comes up. I would love for Sony to use it. But i dont think it will happen. Wich sucks. We probably are gonna be stuck again with p2p with Uncharted 4.

Sony use AWS, which is the exact same tech. Its just the advantage on being in-house and the cost benefits that provides them to simply allow a greater amount of servers. Their early investment into XBL with the subscription has allowed them to get to this size over the course of many years. Whereas, unfortunately Sony don't have the same advantage, and every investment into online last gen will of been paid off from alternative revenue streams since they didn't have a subscription model since later in the gen.

There'd be no difference in the choice between AWS and Azure for Sony.

 

[TheChaos0]

I thought it was a common knowledge, Azure is just a Microsoft product, it's not an Xbox product. There's nothing exclusive about it; anyone could use it for anything. It not a holy grail either, it's just cloud compute, you could use Amazon AWS for the same purposes.

 

[Theorry]

Sony use AWS, which is the exact same tech. Its just the advantage on being in-house and the cost benefits that provides them to simply allow a greater amount of servers. Their early investment into XBL with the subscription has allowed them to get to this size over the course of many years. Whereas, unfortunately Sony don't have the same advantage, and every investment into online last gen will of been paid off from alternative revenue streams since they didn't have a subscription model since later in the gen.

There'd be no difference in the choice between AWS and Azure for Sony.

So you say in the future it would be more common to see PS4 exclusives to get dedi servers also? Through AWS.

 

[John Wick]

Looking at Phil Spencer's activity on Twitter, ShockersDual reports a statement from the head of Xbox about Microsoft Azure platform, aka the power of the cloud that was used for Titanfall and the upcoming Crackdown 3.



Please lock the thread if this is common knowledge, but this is new to me. I think some people could find it strange from a console war perspective, but this illustrates once again how Microsoft gives priority to its global business, not the little battlefield that is the console war for them.

We knew that already with Minecraft. Despite spending 2,5 billion dollars to acquire Mojang, Microsoft kept the game running on PlayStation platforms and even added it recently to Wii U.

This should also put to rest any crazy theories (if they are still alive ?) about Microsoft buying the Havok technology to get some exclusive tools, or prevent rivals Sony and Nintendo to access the middleware. This is obviously the opposite and it's a global business strategy again here : the more people will use Havok outside Microsoft, the more Microsoft will be happy.

How is this new to you OP???
MS is a business, it's cloud services are a business. What did you think they put a special clause preventing Sony from using its cloud platform?

 

[leeh]

So you say in the future it would be more common to see PS4 exclusives to get dedi servers also? Through AWS.

Really hope so, and I can see it happenening. The more money they get from PSN subscriptions, the higher their AWS budget can be, which will allow for dedi's in games for 1st parties.

I'm sure Sony will be working towards it since its a major point of their competitor.