Playstation Now enables cloud streaming of games to all Sony platforms

[Zookster]

Just announced at CES:

Sony has just announced PlayStation Now, a new service for PS4, Vita, PS3, tablets, smartphones and Bravia TVs based on its acquisition of streaming outfit Gaikai. It represents a new subscription model for PlayStation users, and will kick off with a limited beta on PS3 starting later in January, with a wider US release slated for this summer. Games can be rented by the title or subscription and will support PSN features like multiplayer, online, trophies and messages, even when you're on the road. During his CES 2014 keynote, Sony chief Kaz Hirai said that it'll "enable streaming across your smartphone, Vita, tablet and PS4 wherever, whenever," even at the same time. To enable that, PS Now is tied to a brand-new cloud service, also just announced. There aren't any further details for now, but Sony will be showing off the tech here at CES 2014, so stay tuned for more details.

http://www.engadget.com/2014/01/07/sony-reveals-playstation-now-gaikai/?ncid=rss_truncated

Hands-on impressions:

Sony has finally spilled the details on its Gaikai-powered streaming service PlayStation Now, and we wasted no time in giving it a try. PlayStation Now lets owners of Sony hardware (including PS4, PS3, Vita, and Bravia TVs) stream some of the company's greatest games — all from the cloud. The demo at Sony's CES show booth features four titles, including The Last of Us, God of War: Ascension, Beyond: Two Souls, and Puppeteer. All running on a Bravia HDTV, and all running without a PlayStation 3 anywhere in sight. For our demo, we first booted up God of War. The game's loading time left a bit to be desired, but once it was running, things went on without a hitch. Yes, there's a slightly perceptible lag between button presses and the corresponding action onscreen, but we still managed to slay numerous enemies in God of War's brutal style without it being a problem.

http://www.theverge.com/2014/1/7/5284730/playstation-now-hands-on

I read in another forum that it doesn't look like you'll automatically get to stream games you already own on the other platforms free of charge. Pricing on this service is still TBA.

EDIT: More details on the PS Blog

 

[yourbeliefs]

I'll hold my excitement until we see some real world scenarios of this. The Bravia example hasn't convinced me. How much of a data hog is this stuff going to be? Streaming video eats up enough data, but what about streaming games? Also, how exactly is this supposed to work on my Galaxy S4? I doubt I'd be able to stream via cellular, and what do we do about all the buttons?

 

[tomcrown1]

It streams only to Sony platforms. Is Sony tablet Sony TV etc.

 

[king3pj]

http://www.satelliteguys.us/threads...s-PlayStation-Now-cloud-gaming-service-at-CES

I replied to Poke's post about this in the CES thread but I may as well copy it over to here where people are actually talking about it.

Depending on pricing this could finally get me to pack up my PS3. I don't think I would pay a subscription fee unless it also included PS4 and Vita games but the IGN article says you can rent on a per game basis too. Depending on how expensive it is to rent PS3 games and play them on the PS4 or Vita and how long they let you keep them I can see myself renting a few games I never got to.

If they made a rental download service similar to Netflix that was all you can eat PS4, Vita, PS3, etc... games playable on the PS4 and Vita I would be all over that. I would be willing to pay $60 per month or maybe even a little more if it included all games available on the PSN. Streaming from a remote server is fine for PS3 and older games but I would want the ability to download current gen PS4 and Vita games to those devices' internal storage at that price. This is all a pipe dream though. It looks like this is only for PS3 and older games.

 

[yourbeliefs]

Bad day to be a Gamestop shareholder..

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/131098-PlayStation-Now-Hammers-GameStop

 

[Kraven]

This might be a cool...am a junkie for older games so this could be very fun. Then again, it will all come down to price. Hulu, Netflix, AOD etc.. all these online
services are starting to add up.
I did kinda laugh when I read that Bravia TVs will be included as mine can't stream an 1hr episode off Hulu without stopping to buffer 9-10 times (my connection is fine, Ive been told by Sony that the TV isnt too strong on memory).


Cheers, K

 

[yourbeliefs]

It streams only to Sony platforms. Is Sony tablet Sony TV etc.

From IGN..

2014 model Sony Bravia televisions will support PlayStation Now, and PlayStation Now will ultimately scale to non-Sony devices as well.

 

[Zookster]

According to the PS Blog post, the PS Now program has both rental and subscription options. I recently bought both Heavy Rain and LA Noire on eBay for <$10/each. I would have been happy to rent them for ~$5 through the service PS Now seems to be proposing, except I don't care for the time constraints renting normally imposes. I typically like to do everything there is to do in a game that I really like, a process that can take 4-6 months as I jump around to different games in the meantime so I don't get burnt out, so renting normally doesn't work for me. It'll be interesting to see if renting is a flat deal like $5 for 5 days, if they offer tiered options (more time for more $$), or even newer games for a higher rental fee/older games for smaller fee.

 

[yourbeliefs]

Well, the controller question has been answered, sort of..

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/new...ts-Smartphones-and-TVs-Requires-a-DualShock-3

 

[JamesJ]

we need a price dang it, lol...I am really really interested in PSnow...looks good from my stand point.

 

[yourbeliefs]

Playstation Now will launch of "hundreds" of titles..

http://www.gamefront.com/playstation-now-will-launch-with-hundreds-of-titles/

 

[Zookster]

Playstation Now will launch of "hundreds" of titles..

http://www.gamefront.com/playstation-now-will-launch-with-hundreds-of-titles/

I haven't touched the PS Now Beta in weeks, even after they added a decent new set of titles. I only tried Dead Nation, Catherine, and Guacamelee. The graphics were sub-standard compared to playing off the actual disc or digital version (I directly compared Dead Nation), though performance/response seemed fine for single player/offline play. I kept meaning to try it again to see if it improved, but I still don't know under what circumstances I would consider renting a game when if I wait long enough, it will eventually become free for Plus members or sell for <$10. I'm really not their target market. I only signed up for the Beta because I was sent an invitation and heard The Last of Us would be one of the games (which I haven't seen available yet). It seems this service will be of more interest to PS4 owners who want to ditch their PS3, but still want to be able to satisfy an itch to go back and play a last gen game.

 

[yourbeliefs]

Catherine is good if you can get into it. Quite challenging but satisfying if you can get into that style of anime storytelling.

 

[Zookster]

Catherine is good if you can get into it. Quite challenging but satisfying if you can get into that style of anime storytelling.

I really couldn't get into. I was already failing miserably at the second set of puzzle blocks, and I knew it was only going to get worse ... much worse. The storytelling was OK. Might of enjoyed it more and gotten into it more if not for the other gameplay frustrations.

 

[yourbeliefs]

I really couldn't get into. I was already failing miserably at the second set of puzzle blocks, and I knew it was only going to get worse ... much worse. The storytelling was OK. Might of enjoyed it more and gotten into it more if not for the other gameplay frustrations.

Did you play it on Easy? I'd do that. That's what I had to do. You'll find enough challenge on that. Normal is quite a step up. Also if you get too flustered there's TONS of tutorial videos on Youtube.

 

[Zookster]

Did you play it on Easy? I'd do that. That's what I had to do. You'll find enough challenge on that. Normal is quite a step up. Also if you get too flustered there's TONS of tutorial videos on Youtube.

Good idea. Maybe I'll give it another shot, assuming I still have access to the free Beta games.

 

[yourbeliefs]

PS4 Beta invites go out tomorrow..

http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/05/19/playstation-now-ps4-private-beta-starts-tomorrow

 

[king3pj]

PS4 Beta invites go out tomorrow..

http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/05/19/playstation-now-ps4-private-beta-starts-tomorrow

Cool. I don't think I would probably use a service like this often but I hope I get a beta invite so I can try it out.

 

[Zookster]

It'll be interesting to hear what the graphics quality is like on the PS4. On the PS3 it was PS2-like.

 

[king3pj]

It'll be interesting to hear what the graphics quality is like on the PS4. On the PS3 it was PS2-like.

Since the games are running off cloud servers I would expect the graphics quality to be the same or at least very similar. I would think the image quality would depend more on your internet speed than the hardware you are running it on. That was a common complaint when I read about onlive game streaming too though. Supposedly the image is overcompressed and the visuals suffer.