Sony is about to revolutionize the gaming world with another new online service. Check it out!
Ever since the
release of the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis, gamers have pined for backward compatibility or the ability to play games from their old
system on their new system. Sony has stepped up to the plate, big-time, with
the announcement of Playstation Now.
It's an online
service that allows to you instantly stream Playstation games from the past
three system generations. If you feel like playing the classic "Twisted
Metal 2" with friends, but don't want to dig out your dusty PS1, memory
cards, and controllers, it's not a problem. Just pay a rental fee, or subscribe
to Playstation Now, and it'll come to you right over your PS3, PS4, or Vita.
Since it's streaming, it won't take up any of your precious hard drive space.
The thing that
tantalizes me most about Playstation Now is Sony's promise that, in the near
future, this service will be available for tablets, smartphones and even Sony
Bravia televisions. That's right, stream God of War: Ascension right
to your TV without your console present. Sony also claims that the service will
be available to non-Sony televisions down the road.
I was a bit puzzled
last year when Sony purchased streaming content provider Gaikai for $380
million. "Okay, you have loads of cloud storage capabilities. Now
what?" Well, here's the answer.
The beta for
Playstation Now will start at the end of January, and Sony expects it to be
fully functional and available to all consumers by this summer. As of now, no
price has been announced for the Playstation Now subscription service or
whether it will be tied together with Playstation Plus, Sony's Xbox Live
Arcade-like service.
The only games
announced so far are The Last of Us, Beyond: Two Souls, God of War: Ascension
and Puppeteer, all PS3 games. But the list is expected to grow exponentially by
the time the service launches. Personally, I can't wait to stream Okami HD
right to my PS3.
Time will tell if
Playstation Now can deliver everything it promises, and I haven't been able to
find out how much bandwidth you'll need to stream PS3 games. But at first
glance, PS Now looks like a game changer, providing the backward compatability
we've all wanted for decades. Now I need to find something else to whine about.
-Tom McDaniel