PlayStation Now Streaming Service Unveiled at CES 2014

[StewShearerOld]

PlayStation Now Streaming Service Unveiled at CES 2014

Sony's PlayStation Now service will stream PlayStation games from across the years to a variety of platforms including smartphones, tablets and TVs.

Sony's 2014 CES conference was fraught with interesting news today. For PlayStation fans however, there were a couple of especially interesting tidbits. For one, it's been revealed that all those rumors describing the PS4 as being something of a sales monster were <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/131087-PS4-Sells-4-2-Million-Units-in-2013>pretty much true. Perhaps even juicier than that however was the official unveiling of PlayStation Now.

Set to launch fully in summer 2014, PlayStation Now will be a new service that allows customers to stream older PlayStation titles to a variety of hardware including the PS3, Vita, PS4 and even TVs, tablets and smartphones. Non-PlayStation products won't need to be made by Sony either, essentially opening up Sony gaming software to a plethora of potential new platforms. This will, of course, represent a significant expansion from the Gakai-based streaming service Sony <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/130132-PS4-Gaikai-Streaming-Service-Set-for-NA-in-2014>originally confirmed for a 2014 launch on PS4 and eventually Vita.

PlayStation Now will include games ranging from the original PlayStation right up to the PS3. To demonstrate the capabilities of PlayStation Now, Sony apparently will be featuring versions of The Last of Us, Beyond: Two Souls, God of War: Ascension and Puppeteer at CES that attendees can play on both PS Vita and Bravia HDTVs. The company also plans to launch a closed beta for the service on the PS3 by the end of January. There is currently no information regarding how much PlayStation Now will cost, but you can be certain we'll be watching and waiting to find out.

Source: PlayStation Blog




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[Irridium]

I would've liked them to demonstrate PS2/PS1 games instead of recent PS3 releases. Still, hopefully this gives people a way to play PS2/PS1 games.

 

[FinalDream]

This would have to be priced right. I still have a PS3/PS2 and a stack of old games and PSN purchases, since I guess it won't recognise my previous purchases on PSN, I don't fancy shelling out more money for games I've already bought several times.

 

[Dreadman75]

Was just over at IGN reading up on this same article. You would not believe just how many people in the comments there are acting outraged for whatever stupid reason, some don't even think this is a good idea.

Me? I just have one question: Will I have to re-pay in order to stream games I already own?

 

[Casual Shinji]

How would playing games via smart TV's work controller wise though, if you don't have a console?

I assume you still need to buy a PS3 controller, right?

Anyway, this has the premise of being very sweet.

 

[-Seraph-]

The prospect of this service is quite intriguing. If it's priced just right, I think I'd be game for it.

The idea of streaming and playing PS1/2/3 games to my vita (primarily PS3 titles) makes me a very happy gamer. As long as the latency and quality is good, this coupled with PS+ just makes for a killer deal. Dale Norht over at destructoid was playing Last of Us on the Vita and said it worked pretty damn good.

Though the real test of this services capabilities will come later. Hope it works out.

How would playing games via smart TV's work controller wise though, if you don't have a console?

I assume you still need to buy a PS3 controller, right?

Anyway, this has the premise of being very sweet.

Pff, it's obvious that you gotta use the TV remote to control your games, with some voice gestures thrown in for good measure. Like some next gen Colecovision.

 

[Roxas1359]

How would playing games via smart TV's work controller wise though, if you don't have a console?

I assume you still need to buy a PS3 controller, right?

Anyway, this has the premise of being very sweet.

I'd assume that the smart TVs probably have some sort of connector in them that would allow you to connect to it. That or you were to use the USB port because all smart TVs have at least one of those to my knowledge. If it's something to where you can sync the controller that'll be cool. I mean hell, to sync a Wiimote to a computer all you need is a Bluetooth dongle.

OT: Hopefully this turns out well, but I will remain cautiously optimistic about this little bit. It will be nice if it takes off, but I still have my PS2 and PS3 so if it doesn't work I'm not at too much of a loss.

 

[Jamash]

Me? I just have one question: Will I have to re-pay in order to stream games I already own?

Of course you'll have to pay to stream games, irrespective of whether you have them on disc or not.

The amount of bandwidth that will be eaten up by streaming games won't be insignificant and if Sony did allow people to stream game they already owned over the PSN for free, they'd be losing money hand over fist on bandwidth costs and server upkeep.

 

[heroicbob]

i wonder how much data this will chug doing this? i easily run through my 100gb a month connection

 

[Sniper Team 4]

Me? I just have one question: Will I have to re-pay in order to stream games I already own?

That is the key question, isn't it? I have a stack of Final Fantasy, Suikoden, Xenosga, .Hack, and many other old series that I would love to be able to play again without having to drag out my PS2. But if I have to pay to play games that I already own, then no thanks.
Unfortunately, I think this is going to be the case. There is no way for Sony to know you've already bought the game, especially older ones, and unless this service comes with a disc drive that can confirm the disc, I don't she now this is going to work. And if it does come with a disc reader, then why didn't they just make it b.c. to begin with?
Guess we'll have to wait and see.

 

[Roxas1359]

And if it does come with a disc reader, then why didn't they just make it b.c. to begin with?

In the PS4's case it is entirely different than the PS3 and the console's price would have skyrocketed. The PS3 uses Cell architecture, which to my knowledge no one has been able to emulate because it's so picky and annoying to deal with. Meanwhile the PS4 has x84 architecture. Basically this is a similar thing as to why the GameCube couldn't play N64 cartridges, the tech is completely different. Same thing goes with the Xbox One with the 360.
In the case of the consoles, the PS2 has multiple different parts acting at the same time when reading a PS2 disc, which is nothing more than a standard DVD drive, while the PS3 is just basically a Bluray drive. The drive isn't the main thing needed in the consoles, as the processing chips are more needed for true backwards compatibility.

The reason the Wii U has backwards compatibility is because Nintendo is still using the same technology that was in the Nintendo GameCube. They just slightly modify the discs and the drive that they made and put it in the new system. It's why the Wii U can recognize Wii discs, and the Wii can recognize GameCube discs. In fact, the Wii U can recognize GameCube discs, but is locked out because there is no place to plug in GameCube controllers. So Nintendo has it in the Wii U's OS has it so that it locks out GameCube and mini-DVDs in general. The tech is there, it's just locked out. In the case of the PS4, the tech's not necessarily there.

 

[Jackel86]

Was just over at IGN reading up on this same article. You would not believe just how many people in the comments there are acting outraged for whatever stupid reason, some don't even think this is a good idea.

Me? I just have one question: Will I have to re-pay in order to stream games I already own?

My question is even less optimistic than that. I'm sure games you own on disc won't entitle you to free streaming of that game (I'm not even sure they'd have a way to see if you own it), but what about digital PS3 games? Specifically, I never owned a PS3, so would they allow streaming of the PS3 instant game library for PS+ members? I could play those games for free if I had a PS3, but I don't, so I'm hoping there is some kind of overlap between the services in this regard.

 

[sethisjimmy]

Meh. I can't get excited for this.

As some have noted already at CES, the streaming noticeably degrades the quality and makes the controls lag, and obviously the requiring of an internet connection - and a good one at that - is a negative when compared with running the games on a real console.

I'm also doubtful that the library will be all that impressive. At best, they might be able to stream the library available as digital downloads on the PSN right now, ie; select PS3 retail and indie games, and a small portion of PS2 and PS1 games. At worst, they'll have to renegotiate the licenses for even those hundreds of games all over again, and the building of the library will be slow going.

Maybe I just don't get it because I already own a Sony console, which means I already have access to that library without streaming.

When I think of places where I would have a good enough internet connection to stream games on, I can only think of my home, where my PS3 is... So why would I want to stream? I feel like I'm being shortsighted or missing some key element here, but I just don't see why this would be advantageous.