Sony announces ‘PLAYSTATION NOW’ STREAMING SERVICE. GAMES. EVERYWHERE.
Sony has announced PlayStation Now, which will allow you to stream PS1, PS2, and PS3 games to all sorts of fucking devices. Tablets and your PS4, your Television, pretty much insanity.
Sony’s Gaikai-based video game streaming service is called PlayStation Now, announced Sony executive Andrew House during the company’s CES 2014 keynote today.
PlayStation Now will give users “instant access to the games they loved from previous generations,” said House, the president and group chief executive officer of Sony Computer Entertainment. The service will stream PlayStation, PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3 games over the internet to PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita, as well as non-PlayStation devices such as televisions, smartphones and more.
[Polygon]
[more…]
It appears to be the company’s public-facing brand for Gaikai, the cloud gaming technology it purchased last June, which the company previously said would bring PS3 games to the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita later this year. Sony says the technology is already working here at CES, with attendees able to try critically acclaimed action title The Last of Us here in Vegas. Sony will launch a closed beta in the United States at the end of the month, and plans to roll out the service more broadly by the end of this summer.
“The tethers that have constrained consumption for decades… soon dissolve,” said Sony CEO Kaz Hirai.
[Sony’s Press Release]
In addition to PlayStation platforms, most 2014 U.S. models of Sony’s BRAVIA® TV*2 lineup will support PS Now. Eventually the service will expand beyond PlayStation platforms and Sony devices, allowing users to stream PlayStation games on numerous other Internet-connected devices.
SCE’s vision for PS Now is to enable users to instantly enjoy a wide range of full games on the Internet-connected consumer electronics devices they use every day. The accessibility of PS Now means, for example, that PS4 users in the living room can continue playing a game on a PS3 system in their bedroom. Or PS Vita users can enjoy instant access to a game wherever there’s Wi-Fi connectivity, such as outdoors, then can switch to a supporting BRAVIA® TV’s big screen and play the same game after arriving home.
PS Now will offer choice to gamers with how they want to access content. Gamers can rent by title for specific games they are interested in, or they can choose a subscription that delivers additional value with the ability to explore and play many games available across a wide variety of genres. In addition, the service will support many popular PSNSM features such as online multi-player, Trophies, and messages.
“We are thrilled to deliver entertainment experiences only possible from PlayStation through our new streaming game service,” said Andrew House, President and Group CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. “PS Now will allow users to engage in the world of PlayStation, whether they’re existing fans or have never owned a PlayStation platform.”
During the 2014 International CES held in Las Vegas from January 7, attendees can visit the Sony booth to have a hands-on experience with the PS Now service for the first time ever. Attendees can enjoy four blockbuster PS3 titles, BEYOND: Two Souls, God of War: Ascension, The Last of Us and Puppeteer from SCE Worldwide Studios, on PS Vita or BRAVIA® TV.
Prior to the official launch, SCE will begin a beta program on PS3 systems in certain regions of the United States from the end of January. Additional information about PS Now will be available at http://us.playstation.com/playstationnow
Initial thoughts. Pretty fucking impressive, but maybe I”m a Luddite. My only consternation is that you can’t buy even the pseudo-rights to stream a game whenever you want. (I’m not dumb enough to really feel confident in acquiring the “rights” to such an ephemeral object.) Seems like Sony wants to push everyone into purchasing the subscription model. Which sort of makes sense I suppose, since I’m nowinterested in it depending on price.
Bolded some text throughout for emphasis, too. What do you folks think?