PlayStation Now Is Best Left for Later

PlayStation Now is one of the more interesting streaming projects in the gaming sphere right now, promising to deliver PlayStation 3 games not only to game consoles, but directly to TVs as well. Now that the program has entered open beta, what it offers is exciting, but the service is still very far from a product that will really wow either experienced or neophyte gamers.

PlayStation Now gets one key thing wrong right off the bat: It's not easy to find. There's no main menu shortcut to PlayStation Now, so users will instead have to rely on an advertisement in their feed (which, for us, was buried under our friends' recent activities) or access the PlayStation Store manually. This is not difficult, and not likely to dissuade any fans from checking it out, but it's still a few more steps than it needs to be.

PlayStation Now in the future will become a strong for is the future, yet it will take some time to perfect as Sony will attempt to accomplish.

[spacedelete]

with companies remastering games like its no ones business theres really no point in PlayStation Now. all of the best last gen games will be remastered. unless you want to stream FIFA 2008 or something stupid like that.

[pwnsause_returns]

it doesnt have to be Fifa 08. there are a bunch on gems that will probably not get a remaster, even though they are good games. take a game like Folklore. not many people played that game, and i thought it was pretty good.

PS now has a future, but everything starts small. as soon as people get better internet speeds or finally get internet in their homes (god knows when with these greed ass bastards like comcast), the library of PS3 increases with the introduction of PS2 and PS1 games, oh and of course when sony fixes their pricing (a subcription service pls) then PS now will eventually succeed.

[Abash]

Even with all the remasters there are this gen, it still doesn't come close to the amount of PS3 games that have been released and will continue to release.

There are literally hundreds of PS3 games that justify PS Now because they won't get remastered, and that's not even taking into account PS1 and PS2 games that will be added later

[ThatOneGuyThere]

Folklore was one of my fav PS3 games

[spacedelete]

so your going to pay a subscription for old games everyone has forgotten like Folkore ? why not just buy or keep your PS3 ? why must people be so determined to not own a PS3 ? it wasn't even a bad console. just go on ebay, buy a cheap console and a copy of the game which will probably be cheaper than a year of the subscription.

[pwnsause_returns]

Well, I'm not talking about me, did I?

I have a PS3, so PS Now for me right now is not worth it.

but for those who never owned a PS3 (AKA almost half of the PS4 install base that where former 360 owners who never owned a PS3) folklore would be one of those gems they can stumble upon. and Folklore was just an example that i presented, cause i know there are people out there who never played it. keep in mind this game came out during the time when the public was trashing on the PS3.

you gotta stop thinking about your situation and think about the situation that others are in. If i where a 360 owner who just switched to a PS4 but also wanted to Play PS3 games, PS Now is pretty much the best solution they can get as it stands, UNLESS YOU HAVE MONEY TO DUMB AND ALSO BUY A PS3.

and also like I said in my previous comment:

PS Now's System works, ive tried it once to see its capabilities, and it works. looks almost as good as playing the physical version of the PS3 (Played FFXIII, via wired with 100mbps download/10mbps upload) Did not encounter any hitches along the way, with super mininal input lag for that matter, in fact i didnt even feel the input lag between the time i press a command to the time the service receives the command.

of course not many people have the speeds that i have, and eventually those people who are crippled at the moment will get their speed upgrades when their ISPs allows it.

But again, this services succeeds or fails depending on how many upgrades and the type of services it offers to the User (subcription, better image quality, less input lag, etc.)

So its Sonys job to make sure they give its fans and incoming customers what they want, like again a good subscription service to us, instead of us renting games on the amount of time we can play it for an exaggerated amount of money.

[Gatsu]

Yeah I know, after some successful remasters like TR or TLoU we'll start getting a lot more of them probably. But PS Now game library will get bigger though, just need to wait for the price adjustment to become better. Remasters or PS Now which one to choose...

[ThatOneGuyThere]

one you can rent for 7 bucks and beat in a week. one you can buy for 50 and beat in a week. For single player story games, PSNow is a fantastic deal.

[caseh]

@ThatOneGuyThere

It goes both ways, I can buy DOA5 (physical copy) for £5 and own it outright or I can rent it on PSNow for 4 hours for around the same price.

There is nothing fantastic about it with the current pricing structure considering the PS3 is now a legacy system and the price of games has plummeted with the exception of one or two.

[GryestOfBluSkies]

not easy to find? its right on top of the playstation store list.

my only problem with it so far is that my internet has gone out several times when using it. i dont know if its a psnow issue, or if my isp is limiting my streaming. either way i dont plan on using it solely because of this issue.

[gangsta_red]

It's a good attempt but definitely needs improvement. I hope Sony can manage this better in Beta than they did Home. That thing was in the beta stage for ever.

[ThatOneGuyThere]

i really wish home was available on the PS4 with morpheus support

[gangsta_red]

Yea, I think Home would be really cool for PS4, especially with the added social features the PS4 sports it really does make sense to have it on that system.

[RantandRave]

This was a very well written article and I applaud the author even though I disagree on some things.

Sony is working with the publisher for more titles and lower pricing/subscription based model.

I would recommended a hard wire connection if possible because that will correct the "lag/graphics" issue.

I'm enjoying PS Now "sooner" then "later"

[caseh]

"I would recommended a hard wire connection if possible because that will correct the "lag/graphics" issue."

Unless some kind of technology magically appears that supersedes fiber optic then no matter how you're setup at home or what provider you are with, the latency will always be there.

[ThatOneGuyThere]

changing from wifi to LAN drastically helps your latency. Thats all he was saying. Nobody is saying PSNow is a 100% lag-free experience. However, you quickly adjust because the latency is very, very low. After a minute of playing it really does feel "lag free".

[Zenith4k]

I don't mind ps now never had a ps3 so looking forward to playing some games especial ico series finished the first one twice been looking forward to 2 and there are countless other games I haven't played. So for less than a 10 pound note I'm happy ( I know prices will variety)

[gamer1138]

Back up! Is it true Sony recommends a wired connection for PS Now? I haven't had a wired connection to my console in almost 4 years! It's worrying that the quality of the stream isn't always that great and is a problem that will vary wildly. Some will tell you they have no problem while others will say it's unplayable. The vast majority will fall somewhere in the middle. The big question is why would I rent a game with spotty performance when I could just go and buy a used copy for a fraction of the price, have no performance issues and get to keep it forever and play at my own leisure? That is the question Sony needs to answer.

[ThatOneGuyThere]

they arent targeting people who OWN PS3s. Dear lord, man. It really isnt that difficult to understand. PSNow is going to be marketed towards TV shoppers. Do you want the samsung tv? or do you want the sony tv with the ability to play a catalogue of PS3, 2, 1 titles? As a grandparent, or non-gamer, if you want to provide entertainment for company (the entire reason for buying the TV in the first place), you will naturally want the TV that brings you the complete package. Its a fantastic marketing opportunity for sony that might bring their TV market share back. Also, It will be a selling point for the vita TV to transform any TV into a smart sony tv. the PS4 open beta is for stress testing, pricing testing, and performance testing. thats all.

[gamer1138]

Going out and buying a PS3 is a better investment than PSnow. Two major reasons. 1. You own the game and can play it at your leisure rather than paying an obscene amount of money to rent it. 2. You're not reliant on the internet or subject to input lag.

I thought the actual reason for PSNow was to offer backwards compatibility on PS4?

Those tv shoppers will sure be pissed when they see how much it costs to rent a game on this service. I guarantee you hardly any of them will ever use it and there goes that business opportunity because the real money is from the rentals.

Still didn't answer my original question about wired vs wireless connection.

[S2Killinit]

enjoying the heck out of PSNow as we speak.

[RantandRave]

@gamer1138

"The big question is why would I rent a game with spotty performance when I could just go and buy a used copy for a fraction of the price, have no performance issues and get to keep it forever and play at my own leisure? That is the question Sony needs to answer"

I'm not trying to be a jerk but Sony doesn't have to answer anything they haven't already answered or addressed before.

PS Now is a streaming service for PS4, TV, Mobile Etc.

If you want to buy the disc then do so and play it on they system you purchased it for.

Mentioned within a Sony email from beta testing(Important points to review).

These prices are ultimately decided on by the participating developers and publishers. Your feedback during this next phase of the Private Beta is extremely important, as we will be monitoring it closely.

Please give us your feedback in these Private Beta Forums or email us at [email protected] om and help shape the future of PlayStation Now.

[Elda]

No need for PS Now I own PS3,4 & Vita...if I need to buy a old PS3 game I'll buy the disc for discounted price to own.Though the best thing about the PS Now is in the future you'll be able to play PS3 games on your Vita,tablet & smartphone.

[blueboyahs]

The question is I have dead island : riptide purchased digitally. Can i play it through ps now for free?