PlayStation Now: Discover Sony's Game Streaming Service

Launched about 4 years ago, the PlayStation Now is the service of streaming of games for PS3, PS4 e PS Vita. Sony takes the lead in the current race in which many companies are offering their services and products digitally via streaming. But as this platform for the systems PlayStation does it work and what are its benefits? We will answer them in this matter.

Streaming games and PlayStation Now

O streaming real-time gaming isn't quite the fantastic dream it was until a few years ago. O Google, for example, with your project Stadia, is now experiencing AAA game streams for your browser Chrome.

A ecosystem is also planning a console Xbox only from streaming, with codename Xbox Scarlett Cloud; even the NintendoWith the hardware less potent than Nintendo Switch is taking action and is already thinking about the streaming.

And there are still huge hurdles with internet connectivity and game provision, which means that no one is able to offer impeccable service yet. Despite that, the PS Now currently offers the most complete platform for this type of digital service.

Essentially, the PlayStation Now is a monthly subscription service that allows you to stream legacy or current games from PlayStation, just like you would stream of a TV episode or online video. In short, a Netflix of games. But is the service worth the subscription?

PlayStation Now Advantages and Disadvantages

O PlayStation Now ( PS Now) has existed since 2014, when the Sony started its beta version of the service streaming in the US, Europe and Japan. The full public launch took place in late 2015, with the service being developed and improved in the following years.

A Sony maintained the same competitive price from the beginning: one month of service costs $19,99/£12,99, or a discount of $99,99/£84,99 for the year.

Unfortunately, the service is not yet available in the Brazilian store of PSN, however users of American, European or Japanese accounts can hire the service and use it here in Brazil.

signing the PlayStation Now, you have access to a wide variety of games, with the Sony having increased its offering from 80 titles at launch to over 650 currently. Its eclectic offering ranges from classic titles such as Ico, Shadow of the Colossus e Gravity Rush, and newer AAA games like the trilogy Batman: Arkham, The Last of Us, Heavy Rain, Borderlands 2 e Red Dead Redemption.

There's a lot to look at in the service, because just like the free games that come with a subscription to the PlayStation Plus, you are not getting the latest and most interesting titles.

For the most part, these are games that we've stopped buying at full price, and it's hard to shake the feeling that you're playing in PS Now for historical or curatorial reasons – so you know what came before the new releases that you're really excited to play.

Any owner of PS4 You can test the service for free for seven days before being charged for a month's usage, which means you can test how well your internet connection can perform the service before committing to payments.

some time ago the PlayStation Now added a new feature of download for games PS2 e PS4, meaning you could “save” games rented from the service to your hard drive and then play offline by integrating it into a service focused on streaming.

A service far from perfect

The current lack of download for the games PS3 is disappointing – as the largest section of the library and therefore the one in greatest demand, the PlayStation Now it still has a long way to go before it offers the convenience we're still hoping to see from it.

Enquanto or PlayStation Now certainly developed its library and ways to access its content, it also restricted its service in some ways as well. You can no longer use the PS Now No. PS3, PS Vita, PlayStation TV or any Smart TV supported, such as the line of TVs Sony Bravia. If you want to use the PS Now, you need a PS4.

It is naturally easier for the Sony concentrating your provision on one platform, as it is more important to have a service that works than one that you can find everywhere but disappears upon execution.

But the real potential for streaming of games is access and accessibility. To the Sony and ecosystem can offer a service with access to hundreds of games for a fraction of the cost of regular purchases, while outsourcing the hard work of processing and rendering to their own servers, there is a long way to go.

Unfortunately, at the moment, the games of streaming are still something you can only realistically do with above average internet speeds and a console PS4 current – ​​and for a strong selection of games, yes, but not everyone who will want to play.

And while players don't need a subscription to the PlayStation Plus, there will be very few players who will choose the PS Now – with its variable performance and limited titles – rather than association with the Plus, which offers very concrete returns like competitive online games and free monthly games at a much lower cost.