Data Backup Digest

Available as part of their PlayStation Plus program, an auxiliary service that grants gamers a few additional perks for a monthly fee, the cloud servers designated for the Sony PlayStation 3 network allow each individual the ability to store up to 1 GB of game save information online. Since most saved games only require a small amount of space, usually a couple megabytes or less, users are able to store many saved game files on their personal cloud.

Benefits

The largest benefit of Sony's PlayStation 3 cloud storage service is obviously file security. Not only do their servers allow you to upload and download your saved games, but they also give you the option of automatically uploading your game data on a regular schedule. Sony's version of the automatic backup feature seen in many operating systems of today, the service actually works quite well when it comes to backing up your data.

Another benefit comes in the form of the amount of hard drive you will free up by using Sony's servers to store your files. Because most of the hard drives used in PlayStation 3's are rather limited in terms of capacity, this is an excellent way to preserve hard drive space for other files, including downloaded games, additional content and other digital media.

Finally, the PlayStation 3 cloud storage service lets you access your personal cloud from any PS3 console as long as you are signed in under your account. This grants you the ability to access your files from a friend's house, a second console in another room or on a brand new replacement console.

Usage

Users who do not want to take advantage of the automatic cloud backup option will still find it easy to backup their files manually. As long as your account has an active PlayStation Plus membership, you will be able to access the cloud directly from the PlayStation 3's XMB. Choose "Saved Data Utility (PS3)," which is found under the "Game" tab, and then scroll through the list until you find the data you want to backup. Once highlighted, press the Triangle button to open the options and select "Copy." From there, simply mark the destination as "Online Storage" and let the system take care of the rest.

Finding your previous saves on your personal cloud is also a breeze. Follow the steps above to open up the "Saved Data Utility (PS3)" tab and select the folder labeled "Online Storage" to browse all of your cloud data. Highlight the file you wish to retrieve, press Triangle to open the file options and select "Copy." The data will be copied to your PlayStation 3 hard drive for immediate use.

Restrictions

There are a few restrictions associated with Sony's cloud storage service. Obviously the service is only compatible with Sony PlayStation 3 data files, so you won't be able to backup any videos or music. Secondly, some files are only downloadable once every 24 hours, and some game files are not even compatible with the cloud at all. This is a result of the copyright protection placed on such data by the game publishers themselves.