Cloud Saves Should Be Standard For Next-Gen Consoles

I've gotten so used to Steam Cloud and Battle.net 2.0 saves with my games and I always wondered why other games don't do this on consoles.  Technically they do with their multiplayer side but for single player they really should let you do this.  I know for a fact that I'm not the only one who owns at least two of a console, and I know people here have friends who own the same consoles.  The idea of carrying a USB to constantly save on that is silly.    
 
So for the love of god, the bandwidth can't be that much...and Steam can do it with ease.  All I want is cloud saving, I want to be able to save on a server...go into another room and keep playing, or go to a friend's house and play my campaign there.  
 
It gets annoying when the theater room is being used, and I can't play GT5 on the PS3 in my room...as GT5 has protective saves.    
 
If Sony put Cloud Saves on PSN+, I'd be more than willing to pay the 50 bucks a year just for that.  That's how important it is for me, and it's something that Valve and Blizzard have gained my trust with.  

I'm... not sure what I think of it.  I don't use Steam or play online Battlenet, but MMOs always save server-side.  I've always liked that no matter how many times I've formatted or upgraded my computer, or whatever, if I go back to, for instance, EQ where I started in 1999, my characters that I made in 1999 are still there.  So I guess I'm for it.

I doubt this will happen.  It's a cool feature, but most people simply don't need it.  I didn't even know Steam and Battle.net 2.0 had my saves in a cloud.
 
Protected save files do blow balls though.

Completely  agree, man. A couple of my friends have PS3's, as does my brother, so it's a total fucking hassle when I go round to theirs and we can't carry on from where one of us had played to last. I recently went round to a friends with the intention of playing some BttF: The Game, but it occurred to me that I'd only get so far then have to replay it at home (despite loading my Steam Client to run the game).
 
P.B. Winterbottom is the only game I've ever played that asked me if I wanted to upload my profile to a cloud. 
 
As far as I'm concerned, where applicable, and obviously within server restrictions, cloud storage should ALWAYS be offered.  
 
@Spoonman671 said:

" I doubt this will happen.  It's a cool feature, but most people simply don't need it.  I didn't even know Steam and Battle.net 2.0 had my saves in a cloud.  Protected save files do blow balls though. "  

The weird thing is that the PS1 had cloud saves, in some form, but modern consoles don't. The hell, modern console makers?

"
@Spoonman671 said:

" I doubt this will happen.  It's a cool feature, but most people simply don't need it.  I didn't even know Steam and Battle.net 2.0 had my saves in a cloud.  Protected save files do blow balls though. "  

 So true. To get round the lack of cloud storage, my brother put his FFXIII saves on a flash drive and attempted to access them on his profile on my PS3. Why would the save be protected? It makes absolutely no sense, even in terms of trophies. "

Only if I can keep my local saves. What would happen, say, if I purchased a game years after it came out and near the end of its company's support, and so suddenly couldn't save my game anymore? I'd probably just stop playing console games, to be honest.

Definitely agree, at least keep recent back ups of saves in the cloud.  I still want the local saves, which steam lets me keep so as long as it's done intelligently I'm all for it.

I just want backwards compatibility and all my downloadble content to transfer to the next system, if  that doesn't happen I don't think I can continue playing video games the traditional way anymore. By traditional I mean with a console from the big 3. 

Probably will be the 'premium user' feature for XBL and PSN+.

" It gets annoying when the theater room is being used, and I can't play GT5 on the PS3 in my room...as GT5 has protective saves.   "

The weird thing is that the PS1 had cloud saves, in some form, but modern consoles don't. The hell, modern console makers?

"  And even if its just 20MB of cloud storage for a profile, that is enough for a good bit of saves and is probably not that expensive. "

" @Cameron:   There was an online service where you could upload your saved games online or something. I'm having trouble finding it, but I remember seeing a video of it on Classic Gaming Room, maybe. "

I agree that this would be a great feature for consoles, it would be nice to go over to a friends house, quickly log into to online profile, load character info, and be able to play co-op games with your own characters. Or, if you have 2 of the same console, you can start playing on one system, and continue playing on the other at the same save point.

I like the idea. At the very least, I'd like to be able to toggle or at least choose to save to the cloud, and still be able to choose to save locally or on a memory card/stick or whatever too.

Yeah, I think it would be a great option, but it shouldn't be the only option. You could still have the physical hard drive in the console, but then the cloud save system could be built into whatever the next gen iteration of on-line service is.

I personally don't have much of a need for Cloud Saves.

if its an option thats sewn into gold or something for convenience then sure i'm all for it. not sure how i'd feel if it was some kind of mandatory deal. i still like carrying my saves on hdd/usb stick.

" @Swaboo:   It wasn't GameShark, though; it was a separate third party thing. Damn it, I wish I knew what it was called. "

it would be a good feature man. it would be a good feature except i don't go out that much to use steam on another computer.

This should have been a standard ever since the Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony were able to update their consoles.  
 
EDIT: Then again, that's why Valve is working with Sony to add in Steamworks. Thank god for that company.

I don't see why they won't do this, maybe it'll be a PSN+ and Gold Feature later on or a next gen thing (still being a gold and + thing). They'll try make money out of it, but atleast have it. I know I'd love it.

" I like the idea. At the very least, I'd like to be able to toggle or at least choose to save to the cloud, and still be able to choose to save locally or on a memory card/stick or whatever too. "

It'd be convenient, but at the very least I'd be happy to be rid of whatever is preventing me from using saves on different consoles as a compromise. Your idea is more convenient, but I'm more than capable of carrying saves around with me on a thumb drive if I would only be allowed to use them elsewhere. If they're locked just to prevent achievement/trophy hoarders, than that's stupid. Those people can have their imaginary funpoints, I just want a more convenient experience for my money. Video games are meant to be entertaining, after all. Inconveniencing the audience is a pretty surefire way of hindering their entertainment.

I completely agree with the OP. Not having to worry about your game saves when a console/hard drive goes tits up really takes a lot of the sting away. 

I totally agree, but I don't like the idea of having to pay for the service.

to do it right the saved files would be saved locally then synced to the cloud, thats how steam works. so say 20 years down the road the game company did go belly up you still have the traditional saved files locally.   
 
I would love cloud saves and how memory is online these days wouldn't be to hard. "hell Google gives 7.5gigs worth of free storage on their email. 

Heck, most Steam games don't even have Steam Cloud support.  
 
I'm all for cloud-saving becoming a standard. It seems natural, especially on systems where bringing saves to another person's house isn't as easy as "unplug hard drive and take it with you."

If cloud saves were standard on ps3 I could upgrade my hard drive finally and actually use it how I want to.  I've had to delete saves and game data for ages now just to be able to play new games on the damn thing.
Right now my only options are buy a big pricey usb stick or a freaking second ps3, fuck that. 
 
If the next wave of consoles don't have big ass hard drives and cloud saves I will be pissed.

Someone would have to pay for the save file storage costs.  Who would it be?

" @heatDrive88 said:

" I like the idea. At the very least, I'd like to be able to toggle or at least choose to save to the cloud, and still be able to choose to save locally or on a memory card/stick or whatever too. "

I'd rather it do both... "