The PlayStation 4 may not be the most important part of Sony's gaming strategy anymore. At CES 2014, Sony has just announced PlayStation Now, a service that will bring streaming PlayStation games not only to PS4, but also PS3, PlayStation Vita, and even televisions, tablets, and smartphones.
It's the company's public-facing brand for Gaikai, the cloud gaming technology it purchased in June of 2012, 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. The full service will let users rent games or pay for a subscription that will let them "explore a range of titles." 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.
Gaikai works on practically any device — even smartphones — because the games don't actually run locally at all. Cloud gaming services work more like a YouTube video, where powerful servers in remote data centers actually run the games, and stream compressed video frames of that game running to your local devices. They send the input from your touchscreen or game controller to the cloud. It doesn't necessarily require an extremely fast internet connection, but it does require one with very low latency, so that the time between you pressing a button, and the time you see the reaction, is as short as possible.
Originally, Gaikai only streamed PC games to the web and to televisions, racking up deals with Samsung and LG to bring games like The Witcher 2 to their devices, but when Sony nabbed the technology it apparently figured out a way to have those servers emulate legacy PlayStation 3 titles as well. We haven't yet heard how, but it's one way to run PS3 games on PS4. Right now, games from previous PlayStation systems don't work if you stick them in the PS4's disc drive.
In addition to games, Sony also announced a cloud service aimed at television, which will offer live TV, video on demand, and even DVR recording functionality.
Update: Sony says that the PlayStation Now service will first roll out on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3, followed by the PlayStation Vita handheld, and that "most 2014 US models" of Sony's Bravia TVs will support PlayStation Now. The service will stream full games, acccording to the company, and save your games in the cloud. You'll be able to rent titles or pay for a subscription service.
European rollout may take a while, though. Sony writes that it is "not quite ready to confirm launch plans for PAL territories" yet:
"When it comes to broadband provision, Europe is a considerably more complex region, with a huge number of different providers and varying connection speeds from country to country. In short, we need a little more time to ensure a smooth and successful roll-out."
Update 2: In a press release, Sony writes that PlayStation Now will support online multiplayer, trophies, and messages.
Comments
This is a megaton
By Jigolo on 01.07.14 12:45pm
This is great news! I’m not even a PS4 user, but I’m really glad to see this, finally! I wonder when it will launch, and how reliable it will be. I also wonder what games they’ll bring on-board. I know Microsoft is also working on streaming…and this is precisely why we need competition! Let these two go at each other for decades, it’s the users who win in the long-term.
By sdrawkcab on 01.07.14 12:47pm
Personally I am not really interested in legacy Microsoft games, but Nintendo!
That would be awesome. Also very unlikely :(
By grahamstevens on 01.07.14 12:59pm
You’re not interested in ANY Xbox/360 exclusive? Seriously?
By DavidShefchik on 01.07.14 1:50pm
Not many, perhaps 3 or 4 Xbox exclusives. Some classics, but most are multi platform and so on PS4 (just my opinion).
By grahamstevens on 01.07.14 2:00pm
I’d love to see Gears of War, Halo, Fable, Fusion Frenzy, Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge, Kameo, Limbo, Trials, Call of Duty 2, Alan Wake, Geometry Wars, and several other games that were exclusive to the Xbox/Xbox 360 on demand. Cloud computing is the right way to quickly add backwards compatibility. There are possible restrictions that come into play with cloud computing and running games of larger size in real time, but overall it would be easier than developing software to emulate older consoles, especially if you’re wanting to emulate multiple consoles.
By kingraven24 on 01.07.14 8:35pm
Gears of War, Halo, Fable, Limbo, Trials, Call of Duty 2, Alan Wake, Geometry Wars are all on PC, so you don’t really need that streaming.
By Nomad_Sou1 on 01.08.14 1:23am
I’m referring to Franchises. Close to all of the Halo games are Xbox specific. Same with Gears of War franchise. But not everyone gaming on consoles has a game-worthy PC to compliment it, and nobody in a position to make these calls would truly assume otherwise – that is, if they aren’t bad at their job.
By kingraven24 on 01.09.14 7:30pm
Why would you need that when Nintendo not only offers backwards compatibility but tends to release everything as downloads anyway?
By Iconoclysm on 01.07.14 11:21pm
This was one of the things that sold me on the PS4, instant access to a back catalogue of games only rivalled by Nintendo.
By WayAway on 01.07.14 1:13pm
Boom!! Last of Us DLC on my PS4?!?!
I already sold my PS3.
By oghowie on 01.07.14 1:35pm
That there is the selling point
By Cats-R-Friend on 01.08.14 7:41am
I read this headline and began twerking compulsively out of pure joy.
By backporchprophet on 01.08.14 12:47am
Gif or it didn’t happen.
By kayzee on 01.08.14 5:39am
By LordTwinkie on 01.08.14 7:19pm
I love you both.
By backporchprophet on 01.08.14 11:43pm
I wish I never asked.
By kayzee on 01.10.14 7:31am
Lol i wonder what the search term was to find that little web gem.
By backporchprophet on 01.10.14 7:31pm
I want
By pkssauce on 01.07.14 12:45pm
how do I get in that closed beta?
By pkssauce on 01.07.14 12:47pm
Given the state of online launches lately, it sounds like the open beta begins in the summer of 2014.
By mousegnome on 01.07.14 1:05pm
They said beta late this month with it rolling out in the summer.
By talonjh on 01.07.14 1:18pm
It was a joke about how the launch will be shaky like every major online launch in videogames over the past 12 months.
By mousegnome on 01.07.14 1:22pm
Oh, sorry. The thought had crossed my mind that it was a joke.
By talonjh on 01.07.14 1:43pm
If you get the chance, can you ask if PS4 owners can put their PS3 games into the PS4 and stream them should they still have the real copy.
By ExynoZ on 01.07.14 12:45pm