Online storage for PSN+ members arrives tomorrow

[KidCactus]

In response to overwhelming demand from the PS3 community, we are pleased to announce that Online Storage for Game Saves will be available to PlayStation Plus members from tomorrow, 10 March, allowing you to store your game saves for peace of mind and easy access from any PlayStation 3 system in the world.

After downloading PS3 System Software Update 3.60, Plus members will have access to 150MB of space and will be able to store up to 1000 PS3 game saves.

To do so, simply highlight the game save you want to store in the [Saved Data Utility (PS3)], press the triangle button to bring up the options, select “copy” and then select “Online Storage” as the destination. In turn, you can access your Online Storage list via [Saved Data Utility (PS3)] when signed into PlayStation Network on a friend’s PS3 and download your stored game saves to carry on your game from where you left off.

If the developer has chosen to implement copy protection on their game saves, you can still copy those files to Online Storage but there will be a 24 hour period, after each save, before you can then download them on any PS3.

http://blog.eu.playstation.com/2011/03/09/online-storage-available-to-playstation-plus-members-from-tomorrow/

This is awesome, especially that even the copy protected saves can be backuped! :)

[frederec]

Interesting, but not quite as good as I'd hoped. I thought maybe you could save games directly to the servers. But still, this means we could keep from losing things like Demon's Souls saves and the like.

This is the thing that might get me to subscribe to Playstation+.

[Dukefrukem]

W000000000000000000t

[KidCactus]

Interesting, but not quite as good as I'd hoped. I thought maybe you could save games directly to the servers.
That would of course be the optimal solution, yes.

[LarsenNET]

Awesome, my Demon's Souls saves will finally be protected. This should force Microsoft's hand. I could see getting a PS3 version of a game over 360 because of this.

[Dukefrukem]

This must be why the PSN is going through an 11 hour maintenance window during the day today.

[KidCactus]

Too bad the PS1/PS2 saves can't be transferred, though. :(

[Mike Kelehan]

Does the 24 hour period really do them any good?

[LarsenNET]

Too bad the PS1/PS2 saves can't be transferred, though. :(

That does suck but I know you can backup PS1 saves to a PSP, not sure about PS2.

[Dukefrukem]

That does suck but I know you can backup PS1 saves to a PSP, not sure about PS2.

Maybe that's what the NGP is for? ;)

[LarsenNET]

Does the 24 hour period really do them any good?

I think it would somewhat prevent "cheating". For example in Demon's if you die twice you lose any accumulated souls permanently. If you had a backup of your save you could be a bit more aggressive and just restore a save if you screwed up. This would make you wait a day which would take forever to get anything done in the game.

[Yeti2005]

http://blog.eu.playstation.com/2011/03/09/online-storage-available-to-playstation-plus-members-from-tomorrow/

This is awesome, especially that even the copy protected saves can be backuped! :)

This is good news but I've had the ability to backup copy protected saves for months now.

I think they said newer games will allow you to directly save to the "cloud" which is awesome. Kudos to Sony for pushing console feature set forward.

[KidCactus]

I think they said newer games will allow you to directly save to the "cloud" which is awesome.
They haven't mentioning anything like this in this announcement or on the online storage user guide they posted on the official PS forum.

[menage]

Interesting. I actualy wanted to install a new HD in my 40G PS3 for a LONG time. But since I have a corrupted file on there I'm not able to backup my data correctly anymore. I already stored a lot of gamesaves on an external source. But yeah, Demon's Souls and such keep forcing me to keep this one.

Or maybe I should just kick it off since I haven't played it in a long time anyway and start over. Sometimes I need to let shit go:D

[rein]

I'm fine without saving directly to the cloud. I would be worried about corruption or a network hiccup causing me to lose data.

[Gorvi]

If it's confirmed that this works with Demon's Souls, and I can get my old PS3 to boot up for even 5 minutes, this will get me to subscribe to Plus.

[Yeti2005]

They haven't mentioning anything like this in this announcement or on the online storage user guide they posted on the official PS forum.

I just read it off Joystiq so I guess it's not official.

As part of the $50 per year subscription, members will get 150MB of space in "the cloud" for up to 1,000 save files. Copy-prohibited files can even be backed up, with the caveat that users can only restore files that have been deleted from their systems once per 24 hours.

Future titles will offer the ability to save directly to PSN, Sony says, bypassing your local HDD entirely. The new feature is being introduced in PS3 firmware v3.60, which rolls out tomorrow, so factor the obligatory download into your game-playing schedule accordingly.

[Abyssion]

Too bad the PS1/PS2 saves can't be transferred, though. :(

You could always transfer them to a memory card (http://www.amazon.com/PlayStation-3-Memory-Card-Adaptor/dp/B000K1GZIU). >_>

[Gorvi]

PS1/PS2 saves shouldn't be copy protected in any way, so you can transfer those to your PSP or (I think) just about any other USB storage.

[KidCactus]

Oh, I thought you couldn't do that, silly me.


I just read it off Joystiq so I guess it's not official.
Cool, strange why they didn't announce that too. Unless Joystiq has misinterpreted this from the PR:

When the new feature launches, most PS3 titles will be compatible with online storage for game saves, and moving forward new titles will have the capability to offer the storage option.

[OldJadedGamer]

There is a catch. If you save remotely you must continue to pay for PSN+ or your save file will be deleted after 6 months. Also, save file space is limited to 150mb where some games can take up 100megs just on their own.

[Gorvi]

There is a catch. If you save remotely you must continue to pay for PSN+ or your save file will be deleted after 6 months. Also, save file space is limited to 150mb where some games can take up 100megs just on their own.
100MB save files? Typically they're only 1-2MB each, if that.

[rein]

100MB save files? Typically they're only 1-2MB each, if that. Do you really think OJG is going to let a positive Sony news story slide without throwing in a negative comment? That would be like me passing up posting in a thread about Xbox Live Gold. :p

[LarsenNET]

100MB save files? Typically they're only 1-2MB each, if that.

It still is somewhat limiting. It says support for 1000 saves but if each averages 1MB you get 150 which is still a lot but if they get to 4-5MB you will run out pretty quick.

[KidCactus]

There is a catch. If you save remotely you must continue to pay for PSN+ or your save file will be deleted after 6 months.
A catch? You think you would be able to use a service you pay for even after you stopped paying? :confused: Do you keep getting magazines after you've cancelled a subscription?

[Gorvi]

It still is somewhat limiting. It says support for 1000 saves but if each averages 1MB you get 150 which is still a lot but if they get to 4-5MB you will run out pretty quick.
Well, that was a guess. There are more than a few 500kb saves as well, probably some less than that. But yeah, saying you can save 1000 files but limiting to you to 150MB worth of data is a bit weird.

[OldJadedGamer]

Do you really think OJG is going to let a positive Sony news story slide without throwing in a negative comment? That would be like me passing up posting in a thread about Xbox Live Gold. :p

It's not a negative comment, it was a fact about the feature that was left out of the OP that people should be aware of. Jesus, why does everything have to be feast or famine? It's good information to have if you're looking at the service and to be a better informed consumer to see everything about it. I think the potential that your save files could be deleted is a pretty big deal.

100MB save files? Typically they're only 1-2MB each, if that.

Right, all games are different but for instance my Afrika save file is over 100megs. Not sure about others, I just remember this one as it took a long time to transfer to USB.

[Dukefrukem]

Do you really think OJG is going to let a positive Sony news story slide without throwing in a negative comment? That would be like me passing up posting in a thread about Xbox Live Gold. :p

XBL Gold? you mean the service he pays for just because his friends have it? The service that just raised their prices to $60 a year? The service that doesn't offer a fraction of what PS+ offers?

Yeh that service.

[KidCactus]

It's not a negative comment, it was a fact about the feature that was left out of the OP that people should be aware of.
The only thing you posted that wasn't in the quote (but still in the blog post linked) was "the catch", which is just silly to call a catch unless you want to spin this in the most negative way possible. Of course you can't continue using this feature if you stop paying for it, that's common sense.

[Yeti2005]

XBL Gold? you mean the service he pays for just because his friends have it? The service that just raised their prices to $60 a year? The service that doesn't offer a fraction of what PS+ offers?

Yeh that service.

Please don't turn this into a PSN+ vs. Xbox Live discussion. People on both sides are obviously happy with whatever service they're paying for and it's "worth it" to them for their own reasons.

So what's the next feature for PSN+? Sony obviously wants to add more features to entice more people. Party chat / cross game chat? Clan support? Dedicated servers for certain games?

[Gorvi]

Please don't turn this into a PSN+ vs. Xbox Live discussion. People on both sides are obviously happy with whatever service they're paying for and it's "worth it" to them for their own reasons.
Seconded. Then again neither has shown that it's worth it to me, and even with this I'd probably just grab a 3 month sub to recover my Demon's Souls save and let it lapse. :p

[Dukefrukem]

If you like, we can change the topic to how much better HD-DVD is over Blu-ray?

[/my point]

[rein]

It's not a negative comment, it was a fact about the feature that was left out of the OP that people should be aware of. Jesus, why does everything have to be feast or famine? It's good information to have if you're looking at the service and to be a better informed consumer to see everything about it. I think the potential that your save files could be deleted is a pretty big deal. I thought my post was an obvious joke. Apparently you didn't see the comment about myself in there but whatever. Continue your crusade.

[OldJadedGamer]

I thought my post was an obvious joke. Apparently you didn't see the comment about myself in there but whatever. Continue your crusade.

I have the 3 different iPad 3G plans in my head right now and I'm trying to balance each feature versus each con so I'm still in that mode. Look at the good and bad of a feature and seeing if it's worth the investment. Same thing here with this cloud save thing. Btw, is there really a point to this besides backing up save files that are locked and shouldn't be to begin with. All saves can be backed up to a USB.

If you like, we can change the topic to how much better HD-DVD is over Blu-ray?

[/my point]

How about not changing the topic to some fanboy rant and talk about the feature being added.

[KidCactus]

Look at the good and bad of a feature and seeing if it's worth the investment. Same thing here with this cloud save thing.
But one could also argue that the ability to actually keep the saves online for six months even after you've stopped paying for the service is a pro and not a con. ;) It's a half full/half empty glass, I guess.

[Norse]

If the service meant that all the local saves were automatically synchronized with a server I might have subscribed to PS+. A step in the right direction.

[LarsenNET]

Here are a few of my save sizes for reference.

AC: Brotherhood - 3.1MB
AC: Brotherhood Profile - 2.5MB
Castlevania: LoS - 435KB
Read Dead - 186KB
Heavy Rain - 4.2MB
Heavy Rain Profile -143KB
Demon's Souls - 3.5MB
Dante's Inferno - 1.2MB
inFamous - 117KB
GoW III - 217KB
GoW III Preferences - 74KB
FFXIII - 453KB
AC II - 2.5MB
AC II Profile - 2.3MB
Ninja Gaiden Sigma 356KB
Uncharted 2 - 235KB
Uncharted 2 Profile - 99KB
WipEout HD - 820KB
Heavenly Sworrd 3.7MB
Batman AA - 363KB
MGS4 - 173KB
MGS4 System Data - 67KB
Uncharted: 256KB


Interested how some vary so much. Good to see that most are small.

[rein]

Here are a few of my save sizes for reference.

AC: Brotherhood - 3.1MB
AC: Brotherhood Profile - 2.5MB
Castlevania: LoS - 435KB
Read Dead - 186KB
Heavy Rain - 4.2MB
Heavy Rain Profile -143KB
Demon's Souls - 3.5MB
Dante's Inferno - 1.2MB
inFamous - 117KB
GoW III - 217KB
GoW III Preferences - 74KB
FFXIII - 453KB
AC II - 2.5MB
AC II Profile - 2.3MB
Ninja Gaiden Sigma 356KB
Uncharted 2 - 235KB
Uncharted 2 Profile - 99KB
WipEout HD - 820KB
Heavenly Sworrd 3.7MB
Batman AA - 363KB
MGS4 - 173KB
MGS4 System Data - 67KB
Uncharted: 256KB


Interested how some vary so much. Good to see that most are small.
Thanks for posting this. I was going to look through mine when I had time tonight to get an idea of how useful this will be for me as a back up. I'm trying to figure out what games have 100 mb save files. :confused:

[frederec]

The only ones I've really noticed are the Fallout games, since they get progressively larger the further you get in the game. I think some of my saves in New Vegas were getting close to eight megs towards the end. Definitely bigger than six.

[OldJadedGamer]

I was wrong, Afrika is over 400megs. WTF did they do to that save file?

[Dukefrukem]

Here are a few of my save sizes for reference.

AC: Brotherhood - 3.1MB
AC: Brotherhood Profile - 2.5MB
Castlevania: LoS - 435KB
Read Dead - 186KB
Heavy Rain - 4.2MB
Heavy Rain Profile -143KB
Demon's Souls - 3.5MB
Dante's Inferno - 1.2MB
inFamous - 117KB
GoW III - 217KB
GoW III Preferences - 74KB
FFXIII - 453KB
AC II - 2.5MB
AC II Profile - 2.3MB
Ninja Gaiden Sigma 356KB
Uncharted 2 - 235KB
Uncharted 2 Profile - 99KB
WipEout HD - 820KB
Heavenly Sworrd 3.7MB
Batman AA - 363KB
MGS4 - 173KB
MGS4 System Data - 67KB
Uncharted: 256KB


Interested how some vary so much. Good to see that most are small.

Since Heavy Rain is the largest on your list and Heavy Rain was produced by Sony that means this is still an awful awful idea.

[Psykoboy2]

The update is live and I'm downloading it now (in 3D).


*That last part was for Dukefrukem

[KidCactus]

Now I have uploaded all the save files I feel I really want to keep (going through them all made me realize just how many of them I could delete instead), and I have about 100 MB left on my storage account. The largest file was 5095 kb and the smallest one only 47 kb, most of them clocked in under 1 MB.

It would be interesting to know what the hell the Afrika developers have done, since their save files can be hundreds of MB.

[Gorvi]

Any news on if the Demon's Souls save can be uploaded?

[KidCactus]

Any news on if the Demon's Souls save can be uploaded?

I haven't had any issues with any of the other copy protected saves I have at least, so I can't think of a reason the DS saves wouldn't transfer just as fine.

[Gorvi]

I haven't had any issues with any of the other copy protected saves I have at least, so I can't think of a reason the DS saves wouldn't transfer just as fine.
Oh, I figured, just that line in the PS Blog post about "most" saves copying makes me hesitant.

Does it let you upload multiple save files for the same game or does it overwrite them?

[LarsenNET]

If MS does this they are going to have to give a lot more space. I took a look at my saves and each Halo save is 11MB. For the Orange box you have a save for each game (Portal, HL2, Episode 1 & 2). Each one is 21MB. Bioshock is also 11MB each.

[KidCactus]

Does it let you upload multiple save files for the same game or does it overwrite them?

It works just as the local files, so yes, you can.

Uploading lots of saves is a chore though, since you can't select several and upload, you have to do one save at a time.

[Gorvi]

I'll have to check my save files, but when I backed up every save I had last year (Demon's Souls aside :() when I got my slim they all added up to 91MB. I don't know why I remember that, but I had them all copied over to my PSP. Of course, now I've got a 14+ months more worth of games.

And thanks for the answers, KidCactus. :)

[rein]

Oh, I figured, just that line in the PS Blog post about "most" saves copying makes me hesitant.

Does it let you upload multiple save files for the same game or does it overwrite them?
Maybe it's Afrika they are talking about when they say "most." I understand they are saving images but damn. I suppose now I can see where OJG was coming from but Afrika appears to be the exception and not the rule.

[Yeti2005]

It works just as the local files, so yes, you can.

Uploading lots of saves is a chore though, since you can't select several and upload, you have to do one save at a time.

That seems like a weird restriction (one at a time vs. multi select). I wonder sometimes who does the UI design/review of these features (I'm not just talking about Sony either).

[KidCactus]

That seems like a weird restriction (one at a time vs. multi select). I wonder sometimes who does the UI design/review of these features (I'm not just talking about Sony either).
Yeah, that is odd, especially since there actually is a Copy Multiple function available in the XMB, when you copy images back and forth between the internal HDD and external devices.

But it is not only when copying to the online storage, the same goes for copying saves to external devices.