Rumor: PlayStation Now launch games and price details revealed

The launch titles and the subscription price for PlayStation Now may have been leaked after the closed beta was released back in late January.


From Gameranx:

The leak apparently comes directly from one of the people given access to the beta, and one wonders if this is legit and Sony is out looking for the leaker now. In any case, we can take this with a grain of salt, but it may also give us hints on the direction of the service at the onset.

The leak seems to have revealed the subscription price of $ 49.99 [per year].

Gameranx also lists the entire launch lineup, featuring Beyond: Two Souls, Killzone 3, inFamous 2, The Last of Us, Puppeteer, Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time, and much more. They believe that there's a method to how Sony releases the games.

Aside from two exceptions (Shatter and Shadow of the Colossus), every game on the list was released in the last three years for PlayStation 3. That means the majority of the games that we will see available at the start of the service will likely be newer games.

The price comes in considerably lower per month, as we were expecting somewhere in the $15-20 range. This raises a lot of questions, such as what happens to PlayStation Plus? Payday 2 is on this list and it's also free right now on PS+. Why would people pay to have it as an option to stream when they can just have it for free? Or, would people just pay for streaming all those good games along with Payday 2 instead of waiting for random games to become free?

Considering it's the same price as a PS+ subscription per year and things don't change for that service, would you be willing to pay $100 for both services?

Image credit: Flickr

Michael Pachter: Saying Sony's first-party library is large 'is a stretch'

Game analyst Michael Pachter has something to say nearly every day, and he follows up his bashing of Sony's PlayStation Now but saying that they don't have a large amount of first-party games to make the service successful.

From Game Revolution:

On the latest episode of the Bonus Round, Geoff Keighly responded to Pachter's PlayStation Now bashing by bringing up the fact that the company has plenty of in-house content to put on the service. "But you know, Sony has a lot of first-party content," Keighley explained, to which Pachter replied: "A lot is a stretch. Thirty. They have thirty games."

THIRTY games? Apparently Pachter should at least look his information up on Wikipedia, which lists far more than 30 games on the PlayStation 3 list alone.

In comparison to the competition, Sony takes laps around it with exclusive content. Microsoft doesn't offer the vast library of exclusive games that varies in genre. Nintendo has been remaking the same games since the N64 era.

Also, that number is even more wrong if the entire catalog of PlayStation games dating back to the original PlayStation is in effect.

Of course, Pachter also said that PS4 and Xbox 720 One games would be 70 dollars brand new.

Michael Pachter: "PlayStation Now is a joke"

Games analyst Michael Pachter doesn't believe that Sony's new game streaming service, PlayStation Now, has any chance to succeed.


From Game Informer (via Forbes):

According to Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter, the entire service has “no prayer of working.”
“PlayStation Now is a joke,” he said in the latest issue of Game Informer (via.) “There is no publisher that is going to license content that’s less than two-years old because they would be concerned that they can’t sell as many copies if they make it available for subscription or rental.
“This has no prayer of working. None.”

Pachter is never shy when it comes to giving his analysis in the video games industry. He's been destroying Nintendo and the Wii U nearly since launch, saying that the company should "get out of the Wii U business" and he doesn't "know why [Nintendo president Satoru] Iwata is still employed."

Of course, Pachter isn't always correct in his predictions (incorrectly predicted retail launch prices for Xbox One, PS4) and some takes are extremely predictable and too harsh (3DS will succeed while the Vita will die a slow death).

File this one under "too harsh." We don't know what Sony has up their sleeve. The focus is to open up a library of games on older platforms to breathe life into them. Pachter may not believe third-party companies will sign up, but publishers like 2K and Capcom have given their games away for free with the PlayStation Plus program. Surely other companies will jump in and get a cut of that monthly subscription.

The question everybody is pondering is whether something this big can work all the time. Netflix has done a tremendous job improving their servers and outputting countless movies and shows in crystal-clear high definition on a wide variety of platforms. But that's just streaming a movie while Sony has to fight numerous issues in a streamed video game.

If PS Now is still able to take off, Spmu could see that kind of success.

Image credit: Flickr

Report: PlayStation 4 will soon emulate PS2, PSone titles

PlayStation 4 could be emulating PS2 and PSone titles soon, and potentially executing games in upgraded HD resolutions.


Digital Foundry (via Gamespot) reports that a source close to PlayStation Now reveals that Sony's new streaming service will focus exclusively on PlayStation 3 games. That means games for PS2 and PSone would be played directly on the PS4 using emulation technology. Here's how:

Sony's internal emulator is already used on the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita, but the incarnation in the works for PlayStation 4 is said to be aiming for the ability to run the games in native HD resolutions. This would offer a distinct visual advantage over the current PS1/PS2 upscaling, and open up visual options seen in emulators like PCSX2. Running classic PlayStation games locally on your PS4 would also mean that any of the potential downsides of streaming--such as input lag--would be non-existent.

GS also has a photo of Silent Hill 3 running in a native 1080p format through the emulator PCSX2. If all of this holds true, it could breathe new life into all of those classic PlayStation 2 games. It may not have the professional look of a truly remastered game (like so many Sony classics have been through), but it will be night and day better than simple upscaling techniques.

Now it all depends on how many games will be available and when for PS2 and PSone. If a great selection is available before next holiday season, the PS4 could start dominating the console market.

Image credit: Flickr

PlayStation Now requires DualShock controller

There will soon be a way to play PlayStation games without even needing a Sony device with PlayStation Now. However, in order to play the games, it will require a DualShock controller.

PS marketing vice president John Koller tells The Verge that a DualShock 3 will be required to use the new game streaming service. Standard controllers for PlayStation 4 and Vita will suffice.

Sony tells us a DualShock 4 will do for the PlayStation 4, and the PlayStation Vita handheld buttons can continue to work the same way they do now. Sony's new Bravia TVs will specifically require a DualShock 3 controller, though — and so will tablets and smartphones, according to [Koller].

This is a good move by Sony. They're smart to require the DS3 because the entire library can be played on that controller. Even people that don't own a PS3 will have to buy a DS3, and that will also extend the life of DS3 on the market.

While most in the gaming industry prefer the Xbox 360 controller as the ultimate controller, I believe the DS3 is the perfect controller for so many games. The layout is compatible for so many different genres of video games, and different generations of them.

Image credit: Flickr

PlayStation Now: Sign up for a chance at closed beta participation?

Sony launched a sign-up page for the newly announced PlayStation Now, but that doesn't mean anyone will have access to the closed beta program.

Here's the site that displays "PlayStation Now: Bringing Game Streaming to Consoles," and gives a brief synopsis of what the service is. Anyone can enter their full name, zipcode, and PSN ID (optional) to register.

According to GameSpot, those that sign-up will have a chance at participating in the closed beta, but it doesn't guarantee it. It's unknown exactly how Sony will do that.

Leaving your name, email, address, and PlayStation Network ID will allow you to receive "exclusive information" about PlayStation Now, but no other details are available.
Sony will offer a beta for PlayStation Now starting at the end of the month, but it's not clear how the company will choose participants. Signing up at this website does not guarantee you access.

I signed up in a matter of seconds, and all it says afterwards is "Thank you for registering" after clicking on the "REGISTER NOW" link. There has been no confirmation e-mail or anything sent to inbox or spam folder 5-10 minutes after registering.

Who knows what this will actually do, but it will be interesting to see how many spots Sony opens up for closed beta and when the announcement comes that it has launched.

CES 2014: First-hand impressions on the PlayStation Now

Here's a cumulative look at the first-hand impressions of Sony's PlayStation Now, announced at the Consumer Electronics Show at Las Vegas, from a variety of respected tech outlets.


[Also see: What is PlayStation Now?]

Overall, these testers were able to play three games on Sony BRAVIA TVs and the Vita: The Last of Us, Beyond: Two Souls, and God of War: Ascension.

Dale North from Destructoid found some issues in the technical quality of the Bravia set-up, but nothing out of the ordinary for something that's streamed. Overall, he came away very impressed.

...[E]verything I tried played wonderfully. Both the Vita and Bravia setups played well enough that there's really nothing to talk about here. It is actually easy to not be impressed because it works exactly as you'd expect. Responsive, lag free, and totally without incident -- flawless. It remains to be seen if we'll see as respectable performance over wireless and Internet connections. And we have yet to try mobile and tablet play.

Scott Lowe from IGN praised the Vita's streaming capability and was even more impressed with how Sony making their streaming service available on multiple platforms that aren't Sony-branded.

What surprised me...is Sony's embrace of non-Sony products for PlayStation Now. Although specific partnerships have not been confirmed, Sony has said that it will extend PlayStation 3 games to smartphones, tablets, or even TVs outside of its own family of products. It's a distinctly out of character for Sony, which has historically tied software and experiences to its own proprietary hardware.

Michael McWhertor of Polygon was impressed that the thing actually worked. Like others, he noted "lag input" and "compression artifacts," but everything was "more than playable."

Performance in games like The Last of Us and God of War: Ascension was impressive. Lag input was noticeable, seemingly more so on Vita when moving The Last of Us' Joel and waiting a beat for him to respond, but more than playable. Even the higher frame rate, faster paced action of Ascensionwas playable, though compression artifacts and more muted colors were present.

Image credit: Flickr 

Consumer Electronics Show 2014: Introducing the PlayStation Now

Sony has officially announced PlayStation Now at the 2014 Consumer Electronics Show, a new streaming service with that will allow gamers to play PS games on multiple platforms.


PlayStation Now is the result of Sony's acquisition of Gaikai a few years ago; Gaikai was previously a game streaming service over a browser, similar to how services like Netflix and Hulu stream movies and TV shows.

NBC News tells us that the streaming service will be available on both current Sony consoles and even TVs released this year. Also, the intention is to create a huge lineup of games - and players will just select one and play immediately.

PlayStation Now works on any PS4, PS3, and most 2014 model TVs, according to a Sony representative. Just select a game from the list, let it load up and play as normal. But the image you see is actually being generated by a console probably a few hundred miles away, then streamed to you live, like a movie on Netflix.
Right now, only a few titles are available — some high-profile games from the last year or two. But Sony told NBC News that it plans to expand the lineup considerably, including games from the original PlayStation console.

PS Now will also be available on the Vita, according to multiple hands-on reviews.

How will it work on new TVs? Likely any models that support Bluetooth technology, which is what the DualShock 3 and 4 controllers use. An interesting take on this is the representative's use of "most 2014 model TVs" and not specifically saying Sony's BRAVIA lineup.

UPDATE: IGN's Scott Lowe reports in his first-hand impressions that Sony has announced DualShock 3 support on BRAVIA TVs only.

CNET breaks down some information in bullet points. There will be "both rental and subscription plans" with PS3 games supported at launch; it's expected that older games will be launched later in the service. Players will be able to play multiplayer with gamers using the service and using the disc-based version. "Games will stream at 720p resolution" and "5Mbps broadband connection [is] recommended."

Multiple reports say that a closed beta will launch later in January and it will officially launch sometime this summer.

That's all the concrete information; nothing has been released as far as launch date, prices, and any deals for those that own a PlayStation unit and subscribe to PlayStation Plus.

However, the service was active on the CES floor, and there were plenty of first-hand impressions.

Image credit: Flickr