PlayStation Now! Play PS1/PS2/PS3 games on PS4, Vita, and PC!?

[Kyanbu The Legend]

I've heard rumors about Sony planning on doing this to negate the losses from their consoles (Vita and PS3 mainly). But it seems there's some truth to it afterall.

Source: http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-ces-2014-sony-launches-playstation-now-streaming-game-service-20140107,0,780003.story#axzz2plQbJQ2Q


By Dawn C. Chmielewski
January 7, 2014, 11:44 a.m.
Sony Computer Entertainment used the high-visibility stage of the 2014 Consumer Electronics Show to announce a new Internet streaming service that will deliver games beyond the video game console.

Sony will offer popular PlayStation 3 games via the Internet to the latest video game console, the PlayStation 4, and to the PlayStation Vita handheld device.

The service ultimately will reach beyond traditional game systems to allow game play on Internet-connected TVs, smartphones and tablets, said Sony Computer Entertainment Chief Executive Andrew House in remarks made during a keynote presentation Tuesday in Las Vegas.

PlayStation Now will stream on smartphones or other devices.

ON LOCATION: Where the cameras roll

House said PlayStation Now will be tested in parts of the United States later this month, with the service launching this summer.
Sony is demonstrating game play of four popular titles -- "Beyond: Two Souls," "Gods of War: Ascension," "The Last of Us" and "Puppeteer" -- on the PS Vita and Sony Bravia TVs on the trade show floor.
"PS Now will allow users to engage in the world of PlayStation, whether they're existing fans or have never owned a PlayStation platform," House said in prepared remarks.

Video game industry analyst Michael Pachter of Wedbush Securities expressed skepticism about PlayStation Now. He said a similar service, OnLine, which allowed people to rent games or play with a subscription fee, never caught on -- attracting only 300,000 subscribers.

"It seems unlikely that a more narrowly focused product like PlayStation Now will succeed where OnLive failed — which was the latter’s inability to secure much content," said Pachter. "The publishers will be reticent to license to Sony without a big guarantee, and I don’t know if Sony is willing to commit to any guarantees."

News of the service came as the Japanese electronics giant reported it sold 4.2 million PlayStation 4 game consoles over the holiday season.
Some 9.7 million PlayStation 4 games also were sold over that same period, with top titles including "Call of Duty: Ghosts" from Activision Blizzard and "Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag" from Ubisoft and "Battlefield 4" from Electronic Arts.


http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-ces-2014-sony-launches-playstation-now-streaming-game-service-20140107,0,780003.story#ixzz2plQhoGhK



Other Sources:
http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/01/07/sony-reveals-its-streaming-service-playstation-now

http://www.theverge.com/2014/1/7/5284294/sony-announces-playstation-now-cloud-gaming

http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2014/01/07/playstation-now-video-game-streaming-service-brings-old-games-to-your-tv-ps4/

http://kotaku.com/sony-announces-game-streaming-service-playstation-now-1496385001


FINALLY My Xperia Play can now play actual Playstation games!

And it only took them 2 to 3 years to allow this!XD

[Aldurin]

This is great for bringing back the classics. I'm hype for this.

Also an error in the article.

four popular titles -- "Beyond: Two Souls,"

[phil_]

OnLiveOnlive promised lag free video games over the internet no matter where you were and on any device. This thing says you can play Playstation games on your computer maybe. I predict that a service that offers something actually physically possible might have a slight edge in attracting early adopters and general consumers over a service that offered something obviously and completely impossible.

[Bells]

The idea that you can rent these games is something i actually really liked to hear. But i still need to wait for the pricing structure. And just how large will this library actually be...

I like this, specially being that the only Sony console i have right now is a PSP... i would love to play some of my favorite games on my PC... that being said, game streaming is one of those future-things that depends on the user just as much it depends on the service provider... so this will probably require some beefy internet connections and i imagine anything requiring more reflex and precision to be a dead end... so don't expect Devil May Cry, Bayonetta or any fighting games really... "latency zero" for game streaming and input uploads is not 100% impossible... but it's not so easily achievable as to justify building a whole service for it...

[Yumil]

Onlive promised lag free video games over the internet no matter where you were and on any device. This thing says you can play Playstation games on your computer maybe. I predict that a service that offers something actually physically possible might have a slight edge in attracting early adopters and general consumers over a service that offered something obviously and completely impossible.

What's funny is this service is exactly like on live, a cloud based gaming service. This is the whole reason Sony bought gaikai a few years ago.

[Flarecobra]

Though it seems Europe gets boned by this, because they use PAL.

[Kyanbu The Legend]

I'm sure Europe will get it eventually.

[Locke cole]

Onlive sounds absolutely amazing, so I am totally on board with more companies doing such services.

[greed]

Though it seems Europe gets boned by this, because they use PAL.

I don't think that applies anymore. They can run NTSC stuff on any Euro or Australian TVs made since 2000 I believe and HD sidesteps the issue completely, that's uniform regardless of region.

[Magus]

I actually liked OnLive the few times I've used it, though the lag is certainly present/noticeable. I've played several demos using it, so it serves that purpose (they're all free). If the lag hadn't been so all-encompassing it might have gone over better (there is literally a split-second delay in your button presses, not simple slow-down of the game itself or what have you). Keep in mind this was on high-speed DSL, so better internet connection would probably make it more viable.

That this doesn't promise the moon does indeed bode well, though I'm confused as to why this in particular has the power to "bring back the classics", when the PS Network has I think a couple hundred PS1 titles, more and more PS2 titles, etc. It's not as if it's not possible right now to play basically most PS1 games that were even moderately successful.