PlayStation Now

PlayStation Now
Developer
Type Cloud gaming subscription platform, subscription gaming platform
Launch date
  • NA: January 28, 2014 (PS3 US Closed Beta)[1]
  • NA: May 20, 2014 (PS4 US Closed Beta)[2]
  • NA: July 31, 2014 (PS4 Open Beta)[1]
  • NA: September 18, 2014 (PS3 Open Beta)
  • NA: October 14, 2014 (PS Vita and PS TV Open Beta)
  • NA: January 13, 2015 (PS4 Full Release)
  • UK: March 7, 2015 (PS4 Preview Beta)
  • EU: April 15, 2015 (PS4 Closed Beta)
  • NA: May 12, 2015 (PS3 Full Release)
  • JP: September 16, 2015 (Closed Beta)
Platform PC and PS4

PlayStation Now (PS Now) is a cloud gaming subscription service developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. The platform allows users to pay for access to a selection of PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 titles via a subscription, which can then be streamed to their PlayStation 4 and PC, with PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 4 titles being offered via the service also being available to download on PlayStation 4.[5]

Non-PlayStation devices will need a DualShock 3 or 4 or any XInput-compatible controller (such as an Xbox controller) to use the service. Sony believes that the games have been designed and best played with the DualShock interface in mind, but PlayStation brand devices can use their respective native game controllers.[6] Sony also recommends that players have a 5 Mbps internet connection at least to achieve what they consider good performance.[7] To implement the service Sony created a single motherboard equivalent to 8 PS3 console units into a server rack to allow the games to function, as opposed to Software emulation due to architectural complexity.[8]

On February 17, 2017, Sony announced to discontinue PlayStation Now on PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation TV, Sony Bravia televisions (modeled between 2013–15), Sony Blu-ray players and all Samsung televisions by August 15, 2017.[9]

On September 20, 2018, Sony announced that users on PlayStation 4 would be able to download PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 4 games offered via the service as Sony started to gradually roll out the new feature to subscribers.[5]

Launch

PlayStation Now was announced on January 7, 2014 at the 2014 Consumer Electronics Show.[10][11] At CES, Sony presented demos of The Last of Us, God of War: Ascension, Puppeteer, and Beyond: Two Souls, playable through PS Now on Bravia TVs and PlayStation Vita.[12] The closed beta began in the United States on January 28 with PS3, and on May 19 was extended to PS4.[1][2][11]

PlayStation Now was launched in Open Beta in the United States and Canada on PS4 on July 31, 2014, on PS3 on September 18, 2014, on PS Vita and PS TV on October 14, 2014, with support for select 2014 Bravia TVs coming later in the year.[2][13] At Gamescom 2014, SCE announced that PS Now would arrive in Europe in 2015, with the United Kingdom to be the first European country to access the service.[14] On December 24, 2014, Sony announced the PlayStation Now would expand to the other electronic brands.[15]

On CES 2015, Sony confirmed that PlayStation Now would arrive in the North America on PS4 as full release on January 13, 2015. On March 7, 2015, it was revealed that the PlayStation Now was accessible in Europe.[16] Official beta invites for Europe started going out to PS4 owners on April 15, 2015.[17] On February 15, 2017, Sony announced that the discontinuation of the service across several devices such as PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation TV, 2013-2015 Sony Bravia TV models, Sony Blu-ray player models, and Samsung TV models which took effect on August 15, 2017 with the 2016 Sony Bravia TV models compatibility discontinued on April 1, 2017.[18]

Games

Currently all of the games available to stream in PlayStation Now are PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 games. There are over 600 such games available to stream on the PlayStation service as of 2018, and new games are being added each month. Originally games were available to rent in one of four time-frames: 4-hour, 7-day, 30-day, and 90-day, however as of 2016 the service has switched to subscription only. There are two pricing options in North America for the subscription service: $19.99 for one month, and 3 months for $44.99, with 12 month year subscriptions offered occasionally as promotion. There are two pricing options in France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg: €14,99 for one month and €99,99 for 12 months.

As of 20 September, 2018, users can also download PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 4 games to their PlayStation 4.[5]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Reardon, Marguerite. "Sony goes all-in on cloud with game, TV streaming". CNET. CBS Interactive. Retrieved January 7, 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 Jamshidi, Peter (May 19, 2014). "PlayStation Now: PS4 Private Beta Starts Tomorrow". PlayStation. Retrieved May 19, 2014.
  3. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTIQzHga2So
  4. ↑ https://www.playstation.com/en-us/explore/playstationnow/
  5. 1 2 3 Dunn, Brian. "PlayStation Now Adds Downloading of PS4, PS2 Games". Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  6. ↑ Kubba, Sinan. "Sony on controller requirements for PlayStation Now". Joystiq. Retrieved January 12, 2014.
  7. ↑ Karmali, Luke (January 9, 2014). "PlayStation Now Recommends 5Mb/s Connection". IGN. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
  8. ↑ Richard Leadbetter (January 17, 2014). "Sony creates custom PS3 hardware for PlayStation Now". Eurogamer. Retrieved January 14, 2016.
  9. ↑ http://blog.us.playstation.com/2017/02/15/playstation-now-service-update/
  10. ↑ Peckham, Matt. "Sony Unveils 'PlayStation Now' Streaming Game Service at CES 2014". Time. Retrieved January 7, 2014.
  11. 1 2 Moriarty, Colin. "Sony Reveals its Streaming Service: PlayStation Now". IGN. Retrieved January 7, 2014.
  12. ↑ Neil Long (January 8, 2014). "Spotify, Netflix and Now, PlayStation: streaming finally trickles down to videogames". Edge Online. Retrieved January 9, 2014.
  13. ↑ "PlayStation Now". PlayStation. Retrieved May 19, 2014.
  14. ↑ "PlayStation Now gets all-you-can-play subscription plans". Retrieved September 1, 2016.
  15. ↑ "Samsung PlayStation? PS Now coming to Samsung smart TVs in 2015". arstechnica. December 24, 2014.
  16. ↑ "PlayStation Now Beta Currently Running in Europe". xtremeps4. March 7, 2015.
  17. ↑ "PlayStation Now Beta Invites Going Out". xtremeps4. April 15, 2015.
  18. ↑ "PlayStation Now Service Update". February 15, 2017. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.