Games By James Plafke Jan. 8, 2014 2:26 pm
Yesterday at CES 2014, Sony announced PlayStation Now, the result of the company’s purchase of Gaikai’s game streaming technology back in 2012. For a long time, everyone wondered when Sony would show off the fruits of its Gaikai labors, and we all assumed the streaming tech would be used to put a form of backwards compatibility into current-gen consoles. Rather than show off something desirable but expected — such as streaming an original PlayStation game that isn’t resource intensive — Sony went right after our heartstrings and streamed the PS3 masterpiece,*The Last of Us, which is arguably the best-looking last-gen console game. Not ready to call it day, Sony streamed that PS3 game to the PS Vita, and now thanks to sister site IGN, we have a clear view of what PlayStation Now can be.
Along with Vita streaming, Sony revealed that PlayStation Now will not only come to the PS4 and PS3, but certain models of Bravia TVs as well, allowing you to play video games on your TV without the need for a game console. However, as people that remember OnLive will note, it’s impossible to play a streamed game when there’s even a small bit of latency. In any game that requires precision actions (meaning, most games), if your button press isn’t delivered to the streaming servers right when you press it, it can and will ruin the experience. As we can see from the video below, latency is barely noticeable — if noticeable at all.
Of course, streaming high-end games shouldn’t be difficult for a game streaming service — after all, the company would have the hardware powerful enough to run the game. The reason why a*TLOU stream is exciting is because it hints that Sony won’t just relegate PlayStation Now to streaming forgotten games from old consoles. Instead, it’s streaming one of Sony’s premier titles, which isn’t even a year old.
We don’t yet know what the pricing — or even the full library — will look like, but Sony did say that the a subscription fee will be offered, as well as a rent-a-title structure. PlayStation Now is targeted to release this summer, and if it can run games without latency in a common household with standard internet speeds, it could be a giant hit.
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Along with Vita streaming, Sony revealed that PlayStation Now will not only come to the PS4 and PS3, but certain models of Bravia TVs as well, allowing you to play video games on your TV without the need for a game console. However, as people that remember OnLive will note, it’s impossible to play a streamed game when there’s even a small bit of latency. In any game that requires precision actions (meaning, most games), if your button press isn’t delivered to the streaming servers right when you press it, it can and will ruin the experience. As we can see from the video below, latency is barely noticeable — if noticeable at all.
Of course, streaming high-end games shouldn’t be difficult for a game streaming service — after all, the company would have the hardware powerful enough to run the game. The reason why a*TLOU stream is exciting is because it hints that Sony won’t just relegate PlayStation Now to streaming forgotten games from old consoles. Instead, it’s streaming one of Sony’s premier titles, which isn’t even a year old.
We don’t yet know what the pricing — or even the full library — will look like, but Sony did say that the a subscription fee will be offered, as well as a rent-a-title structure. PlayStation Now is targeted to release this summer, and if it can run games without latency in a common household with standard internet speeds, it could be a giant hit.
More...
