PlayStation Now hands-on: you'll never think of gaming the same way again | TheVerge

The Verge: Sony has finally spilled the details on its Gaikai-powered streaming service PlayStation Now, and we wasted no time in giving it a try. PlayStation Now lets owners of Sony hardware (including PS4, PS3, Vita, and Bravia TVs) stream some of the company's greatest games — all from the cloud. The demo at Sony's CES show booth features four titles, including The Last of Us, God of War: Ascension, Beyond: Two Souls, and Puppeteer.

[AceBlazer13]

Good to hear it was decent. Kinda makes you wonder if console's days are actually numbered.

[iamnsuperman]

Well the article does mention some lag and the quality not being as good as disc based games. It seems we can do it with the current infrastructure but it is far from a viable way to use it as the primary platform. Problem is the infrastructure needs a major upgrade which is going to take decades due to it costing a lot (and also console requirements for stream will increase each generation)

[Phene]

Yeh I read an article saying latency will need to be low for this to shine, but thats expected with anything streaming. Wonder what the cost will be and the rental prices ...either way, finally nice to see promised features being implemented.

[frostypants]

@Phene: Latency is far less important with non-interactive streaming such as movies, because they can cache and synch it. Can't do that with games...there is no way to hide the latency.

[fanboybeatdown]

ok. I am glad I am not the only one here who noticed there was multiple references to bandwidth and lag issues.

The article states:

--"Yes, there's a slightly perceptible lag between button presses and the corresponding action onscreen"

--"In terms of graphics, the experience isn't perfectly on par with what you'd get from a PS3"

--"Sony emphasized that everything will depend on your bandwidth"

--"We noticed some visual artifacts on screen"

So.
If you have really fast internet, you can probably play ps3 games over gakai at reduced graphical quality with perceptible lag.
That's basically the story without all the gushing.

[RealtorMDandDC]

Well Engadget seems to disagree with you. And there was minimum lag. 5mbps is nothing, the average internet connection speed in the US is 18.2mbps.

Source: http://commercialobserver.c...

Currently we are streaming 1080p video content from PSN using PS cloud.

The infrastructure is here and would only get better.

[Rageanitus]

Nope just look at Onlive on PC..... the quality is NOT as good or even come close to a power house PC gaming rig.

Just look at Netflix it is satisfactory for certain content.... but many stil prefer watching on BD disc due to sound and pure native resolution.

[hankmoody]

Really curious about the pricing on this.

[SpiralTear]

I'm assuming it'll be a separate subscription service, but I'm hoping that PS+ subscribers will get some kind of discount at the very least.

However, since PS+ is almost required at this point and so many people have it, that hope is steadily fading.

[Conzul]

I find myself wishing that there would be a higher-priced PS+, giving us access to PsNow and VideoUnlimited and MusicUnlimited and trimmings. If it was a buffet-style subscription, I'd pay 10-20 /mo cus I wouldn't need Netflix anymore.

Never underestimate the value of getting everything in one place...

[cell989]

@Conzul I agree allow more PS4s per account to that package please. They need some kind of PS+ premium service with added feature as you mentioned Video Unlimited and Music UNlimited would be a good start

[ramiuk1]

i would expec thatif ps+ didnt get u online ps4 play but i think ps+ is already worth way more than we pay anyway.
im just wondering what will happen to the ps+ games if everything is avaible over psnow

[Joey_Leone]

Thats what im saying, now i have 3 services from sony alone that im going to be paying for, PS+ For online play (50$), to listen to my custom soundtracks (5$) and NOW this. What is sony trying to pull? Whatever it is, it stinks. Custom soundtracks used to be free along with the online. Microtransactions are taking over as well, remember when dlc used to be free? I might just quit.

[scott182]

I personally think ps+ is an amazing deal, it saves me money because instead of buying games I just download what comes out on plus. You make it sound like every time something comes out to buy you are forced to purchase it... If it works for you financially do it, if not don't!

[GTgamer]

mp3 support will come in the future so just wait I mean you have alot of devices that play music no ones telling you to use music unlimited :/ your getting mad about something your not forced to do.

[cell989]

Id like to add that music unlimited is actually pretty badass any song any time anywhere as long as there is internet its not grounded just to your PS4 I use it on my Iphone aswell, Pandora has become useless now.

[SpiralTear]

It seems that the Bravia TV streaming has some issues, but that's not necessarily indicative of Vita or PS4 streaming.

[Ripsta7th]

I hope im in dat beta :p Sony usually sends me alot of emails which i mever bother to read. Will start checking them

[nevin1]

I'll stick to the actual PS1,PS2,PS3 hardware for my BC needs.

[Joey_Leone]

Thats actually the smart way to play your old games, there is a handfull of idiot gamers that are willing to pay YEARLY out of pocket to play something they already purchased a decade ago.

[DanielGearSolid]

Yea... I'm sold

[Sayburr]

Looks like I will have to get a PS4...

[theshredded]

Yes beyond,puppeteer and ascension are available!!

[PSN-JeRzYzFyNeSt]

depending on the price i will get it but then again i don't play older games anymore

[DanielGearSolid]

Rpgs man! Rpgs!

[Spontogical]

Do you think they'll potentially put up every PS1, PS2, PS3 and PS4 title up for streaming in the coming years??

It really does sound like the PS4 will be the last traditional console in the industry - then again, Broadband connections across the world are still really poor on average.. only places like the US and China/Japan will do handsomely well with this.

Looking forward to seeing it rollout in the EU come 2015.

[Callediceman]

get me some Gran Turismo 6 on my ps4!

[theshredded]

Crap I have 1mb internet jajajaja
I hope they won't ditch bringing them into the store

[Godmars290]

MS talks about cloud gaming, shows no examples of their claims or what they intend.

Sony talks about cloud gaming, shows examples of what they intend as they officially announce it.

[OC_MurphysLaw]

MS has already shown streaming. Reports came out a while back I believe during the MS Build Conference when they showed off Halo 4 stream playing to a phone but there were no announcements or discussions of a service at that time, just discussing the tech. It's coming for sure but clearly they aren't ready to announce anything. I think MS also wants to see how Sony positions price on this service.

[Godmars290]

My point exactly. There is no publicized proof of what they want to do. No to few articles in regards to hands on. Sony's doing floor demos *NOW* while MS were the first to talk about and promote their cloud plans but any actual demonstration has been behind closed doors.

[mhunterjr]

We already knew this type of cloud gaming was possible. This, as impressive as it is, is really the same type of service Gaikai was already offering before Sony bought them.

What Microsoft is talking about is a more ambitious, and quite frankly, unprecedented, so it's no surprise that it would take longer for it to be consumer ready. There is a ton of technical hurdles they'll have to overcome to make their offering viable.

[Godmars290]

What MS's PR have been talking up has been dismissed by many outside of MS who know about cloud distribution. And they've yet to show anything publicly.

And really, the main point is if it could take them any amount of time as they make these promises, they might only deliver them into their next console. Do just what they've pretty much done with Kinect.

[mhunterjr]

Who cares what people outside of MS have dismissed. MS is one of the largest, most prominent, and most successful tech companies to ever grace the planet. And only they know what's going on in their labs., and they'll now a thing or two about networking.

Maybe their cloud ambitions won't pan out in the near future. Maybe they will. I don't own or know how to opporate a Crystal ball. That's not what my comment was about. It was about the lack of a public presentation... Which is perfectly understandable. They'll demonstrate it when it's ready. What Sony is presenting is already a proven technology. I'd be surprised if the DIDN'T have something to show relatively quickly.

It wasn't so long ago, that folks were claiming something like Onlive would be impossible, a few years later, we had Gaikai which lead us to playstation Now. History is littered with successful ideas that detractors rejected, right up until the day they were proven wrong. If there's any constant in technology, it's that tomorrow is coming.

[Godmars290]

Point is, that until MS actually shows something and then don't have to do damage control, all they're doing is promoting something they can't and wont deliver.

As for Online and Gaikai, no, that tech isn't proven either. Both companies though they released, they never reached a point where they were proven. They never made a profit and suffered lag issues. So Sony is going to have a few hills to climb.

But again, at least they're more proven than something not yet shown.

[mhunterjr]

No, the point is, everything is unproven, until it's proven. Unproven doesn't equal impossible. You are so sure that they 'won't deliver' . Well, the wright brothers had there detractors too...

As far as Gaikai is concerned, it 'proved' it viability to Sony. That's why they were purchased.

[Godmars290]

Given that all but the old claim that gives candy flavored BJs, I think that very least with no evidence of what MS will deliver through the cloud exactly, or when really, that it shouldn't be automatically accepted that it wont be less.

[MasterCornholio]

"No, the point is, everything is unproven, until it's proven."

I agree with you that until Microsoft demonstrates the benefits of Xbox Live compute it doesn't exist. People keep talking about how Xbox Live compute will increase the power of the Xbox One but so far Microsoft hasn't shown anything to prove that yet. So until they do its a bunch of hot air.

I'm glad that Sony demonstrated the Gaikai streaming technology because that proves that it exists. On top of that they will have a closed beta soon so there will be leaks on it. And finally Gaikai is coming out this summer which is fantastic because I hate it when firms anounce something but they release it several years later.

Good to see that Sony is extremely well prepared when it comes to their cloud streaming technology however Microsoft better do a good job with Xbox Live compute because it seems like a marketing tool more than a piece of useful tech for their system.

Shortened version: Sony proved their cloud technology and Microsoft didnt.

[mhunterjr]

@Godmars290 if your philosophy on life is assume things will never happen until it's publicly demoed, so be it... but that doesn't mean it's a rational way of thinking. some would prefer to be cautiously optimistic given the advances in tech. We wouldn't see square enix developing Flame Engine, which uses the power from multiple networked computers to process a game before steaming the results back to the user (ie cloud computing) or Nvidia developing and demonstrating cloudlight, which used hybrid, split code cloud based rendering, which is exactly on of the uses MS says that they would use it for. if there was a consensus in the tech industry that these things are impossible, why would others in the industry be working on the same idea? If these companies can do it, why would it be impossible for MS? It seems you only cite those who dismiss the idea because you don't want it to happen, or at least don't want Microsoft to be successful with it.

@mastercornholio. It's great that Sony is so far along with PlayStation Now. But I'd be surprised if they weren't, considering it's exactly what gaikai was already delivering before, but now it's exclusively on Sony hardware

[Godmars290]

@mhunterjr:
I don't think that when a company has proven itself to be dishonest by past examples that they can no longer be taken at their word.

MS hyped Kniect for years before actually releasing it to the public. Demoed it multiple times and showed off things like Milo as what it could do. Proceeded to fall flat on their face with many demos revealed - as they were shown - to be faked. Milo especially was thoroughly staged and eventually canceled. Kinect was finally released and likewise many of the games presented for it failed to deliver on excessive hype. With some even shown off to be worse for having Kinect as their only control method.

So no. After Kinect, after much of what happened with the XB1's roll-out with again MS saying one thing and doing another, they need to do more than simply talk up what they intend to do with their cloud servers.

[mhunterjr]

@godmars280

Nobody is disputing that they will have to demonstrate their product before it's released to consumers.

You came on here dismissing the feasibility of the technology, choosing to cite anonymous sources and folks with obvious biases, despite the fact that heavy hitters in the industry have already demonstrated that such technology is possible.

I'm glad you've admitted that you tirade was more about distrust of Microsofts PR than a discussion of legitimate technical limitations.

Kinect is not Xbox Cloud compute. To assume that Microsoft will not deliver because kinect has failed to impress you is not an assumption grounded in reason.

Based on what I've seen with Project Flare and CloudLight I know xbox cloud compute is possible and I'm cautiously optimistic, that MS has the talent required to pull off their vision; and I know for a fact that they have the capital and the infrastructure to pull it off.

I'm basing my stance on current evidence, and not grievances with MS' past practices.

[beerzombie]

You lie they showed Halo 4 streamed to a windows phone.

[bligmerk]

Hope they add Nino Kuni to the list. Didn't get it for the PS3 and now having a PS4, the PS3 is too slow to even turn on anymore. PS Now -- NOW!

[Jubez187]

Probably wont be great for twitchy games, but RPG's should be fine. But like he said, it depends on bandwidth.

[Mr_Luke]

I can forget about it. My connection is obscene, i could get input lag even if i tried to stream a Game Boy game. No wait, my net would be too slow for it, i couldn't play it at all.

[OC_MurphysLaw]

The only scary part of streaming to me is two fold: 1) per the article "the experience isn't perfectly on par with what you'd get from a PS3, but Sony emphasized that everything will depend on your bandwidth. " and that comes from an experience where the server running the games at CES was just down the hall from the booth. I think bandwidth and ping (two seperate things really) are both going to be hidden elements most wont think about.

2) ISP's are going to be put into a position where capping and offering levels of data caps may become a more common model which if you stream alot ....will probably cost a ton.

[hellzsupernova]

Was the server in the same building?

It wasn't running to gaikai servers?

It shouldn't take much more then streaming video should it, cause that's all your really doing.

I do agree though hopefully ISP don't screw down on consumers

[OC_MurphysLaw]

In the Destroid article they mention this: "Gameplay was very responsive and completely lag free. Sony told us that a Gaikai server from down the hall was running the game."

That doesn't mean it wont be great but certainly puts up a cautionary flag from my view given Sony emphasized that everything will depend on your bandwidth.

[hellzsupernova]

Ah I see. Hopefully they can pull it off then. Definite caution.

[LKHGFDSA]

I can't imagine it being a tolerable speed in Australia.

[ErryK]

The only reason I would ever get this is to play my PS3 and PS2 games on my Vita.

[frostypants]

Aw man...they just had to show the opening of TLoU in the photo. Now I'm gonna be stuck thinking about that and being depressed...

Anyways, they did confirm my biggest problem with cloud gaming: input lag. That's gonna be an issue.

[hellzsupernova]

Gaming is now a two horse race. Microsoft have stated they cannot do streaming yet which is strange given their cloud power.

It is now between Vavle and Sony that's it, Sony is the console space is shockingly prepared this gen.

I want the future where it is one system one account one achievement trophy system.

[Gh05t]

So much for a healthy competition. One system would be the opposite of a good idea. Having the ability to compete spurs innovation.

[hellzsupernova]

The innovation would then come from the game developers at the end of the day they still need the players. I play games I don't care what the platform is, if it has the most games that appeal to me I'm there

[Stevino321]

Wait, it is up now? I want to play my Infamous games again.

[webeblazing]

So can you stream games you brought on the store 4 free?

[Blacklash93]

The only way to really judge the quality of the service is going to be in the full-scale networking it's designed for, not convention demos.

Anyway, it's good to see that the picture quality is totally up to par. Hopefully they iron out the input lag, though, as that might make or break the service.

[Underworld]

I don't like the idea of being able to play Playstation games on other devices. Wouldn't this be better if it was just for PS4? It adds a big incentive for people to get a PS4 then. And wouldn't this affect PS3 sales too? What need is there to have a PS3? You no longer need one to play PS3 games. Can we even call games like The Last of Us and Uncharted PS3 exclusives anymore since you will be able to play them on almost any device?

The Playstation platform loses its exclusives with this except for PS4 exclusives. Why not just game on PC or even X1 and play the big catalogue of PS games on anything you want?

You will still need a 360 to play 360 games. But we can't say the same for PS3 games anymore.

I'm a big Sony and Playstation fan and it does sound cool, but i don't know if I like this direction. Why do people think this is good? Honest question.

[remanutd55]

I think if im not mistaken all the devices that the service will be available will be sony's.

[LKHGFDSA]

I wonder if it'll get hacked to work on other devices like remote play did.

[Underworld]

If it's only Sony devices then it's not as bad but not sure if it is or isn't. And I still don't like the idea of being able to play Playstation games on anything other than Playstation. And it still makes the PS3 redundant now. Which sucks.

If this is successful then what if Sony completely abandons consoles after PS4 and instead just has a streaming service to all devices? I would hate that.

[Drithe]

Gaikai service is THE WORST IDEA IN THE HISTORY OF GAMING FOR GAMERS!

What happens when the service goes out 5 years after the ps4 isn't made anymore? IF your system goes out THEN YOU CANT PLAY THOSE GAMES YOU PAID FOR ANYMORE!

Digital gaming, in the end, sucks for those who would go back 10 years later and play those old games, because you end up having to buy them OVER AND OVER again.

If I cant put the game disc in my hand then screw you, I just wont play it.

End of Line.

[Silly gameAr]

You can play those games on things other then the PS4 and if you want to keep playing disc that's your choice. No one is forcing you to try PSNow or anything else.

Stop with the dramatics.

[-Gespenst-]

Exactly. Don't people realize that this is pretty much a textbook strategy for a corporation wishing to assert a form of total control? To reach a state at which the same thing can be sold, repossessed and resold without protestation from consumers is pretty much the ideal of corporate power everywhere. Your consent is manufactured. You think that you think this is a good idea, but that idea was quite literally implanted in your head by marketing and advertisement - the sweeping rhetoric of "Putting the power in the player's hands" and "consumer choice." NO ONE will admit that in here of that I'm sure, but unfortunately it's still true. All these "visions of the future" we're being treated to are actually for the sole purpose of, figuratively, freezing time. Stupefying consumers enough so that they settle for the same. Triple-A companies work off of the same principle - they work to find a formula that they can run into the ground for years (Assassin's Creed, CoD etc.) It's not about creativity, it's about profit, and that corrupts or spoils the creative element - renders it disingenuous. It's not about innovation or creativity, it's about hiding behind those things whilst trying to devise the best and most stable way to generate enormous profit. It's one of the things that contributes to the enormous wealth divide that plagues this world.

[LKHGFDSA]

I just hope there won't be PS Now exclusive titles or content.

[AceofStaves]

The problem any game streaming service faces, be it from Sony or MS, is the poor Internet infrastructure we have in North America, not to mention the data caps, bandwidth throttles, and high prices of Internet access.

Unless we see marked improvements in those areas, I'm not sure how popular either of these services will become.

[tawak]

meanwhile in xbox1......................... ............................... ....

[chappykills]

Dunno about all of this..as long as the quality is there I'm sold..I played with onlive and while it was cool...but the picture really wasn't good.. Like SD quality..I have 100mbs..on a good day and 55mbs on a normal day..so if it doesn't look pretty with that..we all need google to show up in our town with there super fast internets lol

[RedDevils]

damn lucky bastard 55mbs I wish I have even 10% of that without it dropping lol

[chappykills]

Well used to have dsl with 1.5mbs with all the tablets and cell phones..along with consoles streaming netflix and Hulu..we had to get cable lol. I think it's a great idea but the worlds Internet isn't ready for this..Sony and mircosoft along with all the big company's need to stop the cable company's from limiting Internet at least during peek times..

[MrPoopyPants]

Knock knock. Who's there? Orange. Orange who? Orange you gald you like Sony, and Microsoft isn't ramming you with a banana?

[STORK]

There's a big black cloud over MS HQ ,and it's Sony piss$#g on them from a great height!MS are gonna be all washed out and hung to dry.

[DJ]

Wow, that PS9 commercial is looking way more plausible now.

[iistuii]

If I wanted to play old games I'd have kept my old consoles. I bought a PS4 to play next gen games, pointless for me personally.

[beerzombie]

I hope they make an app for Xbox one playing Last of Us would be coo.l

[MultiConsoleGamer]

It's definitely a game changer, but remember this is basically the same idea as OnLive.

[smokeyjoekenobi]

'there's a slightly perceptible lag between button presses and the corresponding action onscreen, but we still managed to slay numerous enemies in God of War's brutal style without it being a problem'

Slightly worried about this, after all this is a closed network demonstration, out in the wild it could be much worse.

[RealtorMDandDC]

I find it encouraging that Sony is hell bent on bringing back the WOW factor in gaming. This is a true game changer and exciting news.

[Thatlalala]

1. Needs to be cheaper gamefly.
2. Video quality must be at least on par with version.
3. I already pay for plus, really not digging two monthly subs.
Other than that, excited for what's on the horizon. Looks promising. Bold new world. (gaming world).

[Onenyte]

somewhere, just somewhere down the line i can see myself playing darksouls 2 on my ps4 ........

[Greaseball]

American's do make me laugh! "we'll have to wait 10+ years for 100Meg speeds to become available!

The UK has had it for almost 4 years!!

[zod]

Sony is showing their cloud demos in a very controlled environment..Don't expect such quality in your personal home environment..You need a good and stable connection with low latency to enjoy this service..

I hope they will add this as a part of PS plus..if they will charge extra for this then f**k it...

Also, MS also has it's own cloud service, called Azure..Which is quite advance..It's just they are not showing it coz of all the backlash happened last year..lol...I think they are waiting for Sony to show something and then launch their own service later....