 Sony snubs game retailers, offering a new Internet game streaming service direct to PlayStations, TV, smartphones, and even non-Sony devices.
Unveiled overnight at CES 2014 in Las Vegas, PlayStation Now (PS Now), Sony’s new streaming game service will hit the US mid year.
No word on a global rollout yet. Sony Australia was not available for comment at the time of writing.
PS Now is based on Gaikai’s cloud-based system, the company Sony purchased in 2012 for $380 million.
PlayStation Now stream games from the huge PS3 library, PS4 and PS Vita games, to consoles, smartphones, tablets, Sony 2014 BRAVIA TVs and expanding to “numerous other Internet-connected devices,” according to PS blog.
PS Now will expand beyond PlayStation platforms and Sony devices, eventually, the company confirmed. Gamers will be able to rent by titles for specific games, Sony also plans to also offer a subscription for access to a range of titles.
“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,” according to the PS blog.
Initial reports out of CES suggests that Now “actually works well”, says The Verge, with low latency – a common complaint with Internet content streaming.
GameStop to share instantly sunk after the announcement by Sony, in the US, closing 8% lower, and is a sure threat to tradition game retailers, if this web-based service catches on.
Sony Computer Entertainment president Andrew House also confirmed at CES 4.2 million PS4 consoles have been sold since they went on sale last month – outselling rival Xbox One by 1.2 million.
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