"That's why you will want to play Battlefield 3 on the PS3"
By Jayross 52 Comments
"That's why you will want to play Battlefield 3 on the Playstation 3"
(Jack Tretton at Sony's E3 2011 Press Conference)
So when Electronic Arts came to us asking for us to raise the bandwith caps on Battlefield 3 in order to deliver the best Battlefield experience on the Playstation 3, there was no way I could say no.
And with that, I would like to announce that the Playstation 3 version of Battlefield 3 will support up to 64 players!
A simple bandwith test will be performed when you launch the game to determine your connection. If it meets requirements, and over 60% of connections in the United States do, then you will have the option to join 64 player matches.
And that's why you will want to play Battlefield 3 on the Playstation 3!
[End Speech]
Alright, so you might have read that knowing it was total bullshit. Well, of course it is bullshit because it is in the future. So it is future bullshit.
But maybe after E3 2011, it wouldn't be bullshit.
The Playstation Network and Sony have less restrictions:
Electronic Arts has a close relationship to Sony, and Sony is also much more open about it's platform. Valve announced Steamworks support for Portal 2.Although we aren't quite sure what that means. Maybe if you buy a retail version of Portal 2 for the PS3 and link it to your steam account, you will be able to download it on your Mac and PC? Maybe saves will be synced to the cloud? Does this allow Valve to patch in updates quickly, and maybe even free, addition content?
Electronic Arts also announced that Medal of Honor on the PS3 would include another Medal of Honor game. Dead Space 2 will include an HD-version of Dead Space extraction with move support.
Final Fantasy XIV, the Final Fantasy MMO, is being released on the PS3 and PC. Square Enix wanted to have it on the 360, but was not able to because of Microsoft's control over Xbox Live. Sony is releasing DC Universe Online, an MMO on the Playstation 3. They also released MAG with 256 player support, so essentially an MMO.
Sony is obviously giving gamers a lot of reasons to use the PS3. Whether you want an MMO, a shooter with high-player caps, games that have additional bonuses, or even games that will be supported by Valve directly.
Electronic Arts should talk to Sony
Electronic Arts should negotiate a deal with Sony to raise bandwith caps for Battlefield 3. DICE has stated that they had 90 people playing a LAN match on Bad Company on the 360, so console hardware can handle it.A bandwith test might have to be introduced to ensure a good experience when playing online. I am not sure how much bandwith would be required for 64 people matches, but I am sure it is not out of reach for most people that have a broadband connection.
Electronic Arts is obviously going to have to do some serious work to ensure that all of their servers are fully optimized for a lag-free environment. They have a big task in front of them when it comes to that.
I believe this works to Sony's advantage since MAG, despite being a very good game, wasn't quite the system seller that they had hoped it would be. While it is true they have Killzone 3, it wouldn't hurt to have Battlefield as well.
I don't know anyone who would buy Battlefield 3 for their 360 if they knew they were only getting half of the experience by having half the playercount.
What do you think of this idea? Do you work for Electronic Arts? Are you hiring? PM me!
Let me know what you think.
Thanks,
Jayross