Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) has recently acquired iSIZE, a UK-based company that specializes in deep learning for video delivery. The acquisition provides Sony with significant expertise in applying machine learning to video processing.
According to a blog post SIE has bought iSIZE, which specializes in improving the quality of video streams while reducing the amount of data required to deliver them. iSIZE’s technology could also be used to improve PlayStation first-party games. For example, it could be used to reduce the amount of time it takes to load games and other content.
For those who don’t know, iSIZE was founded in 2016 and has developed a suite of software solutions to optimize video. For example, the company built an AI-based perceptual preprocessing solution that allows conventional, third-party encoders to produce higher-quality video at a significantly lower bit rate. I think the reason Sony bought them is because it could help their gaming streaming services like PlayStation Plus Premium and Remote Play.
This could be Sony’s way to fight against Xbox’s Game Pass cloud experience. Game Pass allows remote play on mobile and other devices while in the cloud. I’ve used Sony’s and Xbox’s remote play, and Xbox is far better by a huge margin. Using Xbox Game Pass Cloud is like playing an Xbox on my phone.
With Sony’s Remote play, it’s like playing a game that doesn’t recognize your inputs until seconds later and won’t tell you what’s happening until far after that. So this acquisition should help Sony a lot in that aspect.
It is still too early to say exactly how Sony will use iSIZE’s technology, but we know that it will definitely make games a lot better. While AI may be the future of gaming, it would be better if it improved the technology rather than taking over jobs.
