"Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" had long been an iconic and immensely popular television game show. In the age of mobile gaming, Sony Pictures faced competition from a newcomer, HQ Trivia. To rise to the challenge and regain their position in the mobile gaming market, Sony Pictures decided to leverage their beloved "Millionaire" franchise. Their goal was to create a captivating and immersive live video game show experience for mobile users, allowing them to participate in the excitement of the show wherever they were.

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Problem Statement

Sony Pictures Games faced a complex challenge: Could they successfully create a mobile game that catered to millions of connected users spread across different regions of the United States? The game needed to seamlessly integrate live streaming and a time-based answering system, all while giving players the authentic feeling of being in a game show. However, achieving this goal was not straightforward. The existing network infrastructure and streaming protocols posed significant latency issues, resulting in an inconsistent experience for players. Some enjoyed swift connections, while others missed out on crucial questions. Sony Pictures Games needed a solution that could deliver the live stream as close to real-time as possible, ensuring a consistent and predictable experience for all players. The question was, could this be achieved without the need for building a custom network and protocol from scratch?

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Solution

The solution required Sony Pictures Games to collaborate with public Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) and encourage them to adopt an emerging specification for ultra-low latency video streaming, which was based on the Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP). At the time, no CDN had implemented this specification, and the only existing solution in the market, offered by Adobe, demanded custom hardware within a data center. Sony Pictures Games was reluctant to become a CDN operator solely for its own solution, so they sought an industry-wide answer.

To tackle this challenge, I was brought in to initiate discussions within the industry and leverage my professional network to drive the adoption of this technology, with a contract with Sony Pictures as the incentive. My first step was to draft a comprehensive Request for Proposal (RFP) on behalf of Sony Pictures. I then distributed this RFP to my extensive network of industry contacts, including major competing CDNs such as Akamai, Limelight, AWS, Microsoft, and Fastly. Additionally, I attended the National Association of Broadcasters conference in Las Vegas, where I engaged with numerous industry experts and companies.

During these discussions, I advocated for a solution tailored to Sony Pictures Games by defining specific criteria and requirements. I met with Product Managers and Architects from each CDN, facilitating detailed proposals and actively participating in the refinement of their solutions. This collaborative approach enabled CDNs to bid on the project and helped shape a solution that aligned perfectly with Sony Pictures Games' needs.

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After a thorough evaluation process, Akamai was selected as the CDN provider for the project, and several months later, the project began to take shape. Akamai demonstrated its commitment to meeting Sony Pictures Games' distribution needs by deploying the solution in iterative stages, ensuring it could scale effectively to meet increasing demand.

However, as with any complex project, challenges arose, and the final solution was not without its issues. To address these challenges, I provided valuable assistance to Sony Pictures Games in developing strategies to mitigate latency problems. This involved implementing components to monitor network health and playback diagnostics. Additionally, new gameplay elements were introduced to manage timing issues effectively, enhancing the overall user experience. My expertise and guidance were instrumental in resolving these challenges and ensuring the success of the project.

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Challenges

When I joined the project, it was evident that there were several key stakeholders who had legitimate concerns about achieving the project's ambitious goals within the desired timeframe. Their reservations were entirely reasonable, given that we were dealing with an emerging technology that wasn't yet widely available in the vendor community. Moreover, the project represented a significant investment for Sony Pictures Games.

I, too, had my doubts about whether we could align the project and vendor release timelines effectively. However, I was determined to explore the possibilities within the industry and assess the willingness of vendors to accelerate their plans. Through a series of meetings with key product managers and compelling demonstrations of their ongoing work, I gained confidence in the potential solutions available.

To provide our stakeholders with a clearer understanding of the situation, I arranged for these vendors to showcase their current work to other Sony Pictures Games stakeholders. This effort was aimed at providing context and demonstrating the feasibility of an accelerated project timeline. Ultimately, the commitment shown by these prospective vendors played a crucial role in instilling confidence among our key stakeholders regarding the project's potential for success.