Yesterday at CES 2014, Sony announced the upcoming launch of their new streaming service fittingly titled, PlayStation Now. With the PlayStation Now service, users will be able to stream popular and classic games from the PS3 library, first on PS4 and PS3 systems, and eventually on PS Vita as well. Seeking to move beyond the PlayStation console platforms only, most 2014 US models of Sony’s BRAVIA TV lineup will also support PS Now. Sony plans to eventually have the service expand beyond PlayStation platforms and Sony devices, allowing users to stream PlayStation games across several different Internet-connected devices. Some of the features taken from Sony’s blog are as follows:
- Play video games instantly across multiple devices, similar to the way you might stream TV, movies, and music.
- Stream full games to all of your compatible PlayStation devices including PS4, PS3, and PlayStation Vita as well as non-PlayStation devices, beginning with 2014 BRAVIA TV models and expanding to numerous other Internet-connected devices.
- Always play the most updated version of your game. With games hosted in the cloud, you can take your game with you – just log in with your Sony Entertainment Network account on a compatible device and your games and saved progress will be easily available.
With the option to rent the specific games you are interested in or take advantage of a subscription that will enable access to a range of titles, PlayStation Now seems to be a nice option along the same lines as Steam. PlayStation Now will begin a Beta program in the US at the end of January with an expected full roll-out in the US this summer.
