Sony’s game-streaming service PlayStation Now will become available on nearly all Sony devices, but not just yet, the company announced at CES 2014 in Las Vegas.
In a move that will greatly please gamers, owners of a PS4, PS3, Vita and even Sony TVs, tablets and smartphones will soon be able to stream their favourite games through Sony’s new service, PlayStation Now which will be launching first in the US this summer.
Huge server rooms will stream the game over broadband to users through a compressed video and data file which will then react to your movements on your tablet for example, or through the controller of a PS3/PS4.
This will allow owners of the PS4 to be able to play some of the PS3’s most critically-acclaimed titles like last year’s The Last of Us.
The games will be available to either rent or sign up for a subscription which will give users access to a range of titles for a flat-fee.
The move is likely to be massive blow to Sony’s largest competitors, Microsoft’s Xbox One, who despite saying they are working on a streaming service, have yet to indicate any form of release date.
Speaking at the launch at CES 2014, Sony’s CEO Kaz Hirai certainly sees this as an industry-defining moment by saying: “”The tethers that have constrained consumption for decades … soon dissolve.”
With a Sony Network Entertainment account, you can log on to your PS4 and play the latest title and then leave the house and hop on a bus and continue where you left off on your tablet; provided you have a good 3/4G signal of course.
Longer wait for Europe
There will be disappointment for Irish gamers however as Sony has yet to decide when it will be launched in Europe for what is perceived by the Japanese company as broadband issues.
In its statement following the CES launch, Sony said: “Unfortunately, we’re not quite ready to confirm launch plans for PAL territories. 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.”
The service has been almost two years in the making after Sony’s acquisition of the successful cloud gaming company Gaikai in 2012 for $380m.
