Will Bungie use XBox live or the PSN?

Or will they have their own service? They will have their own servers so I suppose that they need neither of the console specific services.

If they do this then it really doesn't matter what platform you have as long as it can connect to IP addresses. So look forward to cross platform parties.

So look forward to cross platform parties.

IGN says not so: http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/02/17/destiny-quick-faq

Can PS3 and Xbox players all play together on the same servers?
No.

I bet the sticking point is; Lawyers!

Does that mean that there are two separate universes? Can you have the same character in each ghetto?

On the Xbox? Live for sure. Only EA has an alternative (that I'm aware of) on the platform.

Do they have a unique legal out clause? or are they simply the only company that bothered to set up the infrastructure?

Bungie have always invested in the supporting technology to create new gaming possibilities: file shares, render minutes, whatever. They have a LOT of experience in Internet services.

No idea offhand, but EA uses their own servers across PC, 360 and PS3 (even if there's no cross platform play).

I imagine it's cheaper/easier to just use Live/PSN.

so it's not clear what they gain by using the platform specific services for connecting players in the world. They still have to pay for servers and still have to connect to them.

No idea offhand, but EA uses their own servers across PC, 360 and PS3 (even if there's no cross platform play).

Which is why ME3's online play seems to be down roughly half the time…

It sounds like you guys are assuming that there's only one server a given game will talk to to perform ALL activities. That's not really how it works.

The most likely scenario is the one that already exists in other console games - Bungie's servers will take care of things specific to the game - the persistent universe, the minutiae of which world you're on, which enemies are present - basically any content or activity that is specific to Destiny. Whereas XBL/PSN etc. will handle things like messaging, inviting other players to join you, and matchmaking services.

This is the case in ME3 multiplayer. Bioware/EA's servers handle things related to ME3 specifically - purchasing of weapon packs, which enemies spawn into a match, balance updates to weapons/enemies/difficulty, etc. XBL is used to invite players, display player names, link to profiles (gamercards - ugh I hate that phrase), and so on. The fact that EA has servers doesn't mean they automatically do everything. And, notably, in ME3 I'm still not able to invite PS3 players, or interact with them in any way, because many of those functions are done through XBL. And even if it was technically possible, XBL isn't going to talk to PSN. I wish this weren't the case, but it is.

The only time we've ever really seen cross-platform gameplay with a console is with certain PC/360 games, and even then it's only when using MS's Live platform. Which still isn't going to talk to PSN.

The most likely scenario is the one that already exists in other console games - Bungie's servers will take care of things specific to the game - the persistent universe, the minutiae of which world you're on, which enemies are present - basically any content or activity that is specific to Destiny. Whereas XBL/PSN etc. will handle things like messaging, inviting other players to join you, and matchmaking services.

Bungie will be doing matchmaking seamlessly in the background; there are no lobbies and, uh, all that MP stuff that I don't understand.

The new part is that it happens in the background though, and then someone just pops in. As opposed to you waiting at a menu that says "searching for players" and then not starting play until said players are found. It's a change in the UI, and the flow of how other players show up. I don't think any of that necessarily means that the actual matchmaking isn't still using good ol' TrueSkill.

I could be wrong, of course. Maybe the matchmaking algorithm is all Bungie - I don't know, and they probably aren't going to be confirming or denying any time soon. But the details of precisely who is performing which services wasn't really my point. What I was trying to say was the fact that Bungie has servers doing SOME things does not mean they're doing everything.

For multiplayer I'd guess that instead of choosing Infinity then War Games you would fly your ship to Mars and enter one of the "contested zones" and before you know it enemies and friendlies are appearing in the structures ahead of you. Imagine if multiplayer matches were less start and stop timed affairs and more ongoing things you could wander into and have the game seamlessly place you where you needed to be to keep things balanced and fun.