Sony is set to launch PlayStation Now in North America, with the roll out of a full Open Beta to PS4 owners next month. The Open Beta will be available from July 31st, supporting over 100 games, including Dead Space 3, God Of War Accession, MGS Ground Zeroes and Ultra Street fighter 4.
The PlayStation Now beta has been available on the PS3 since January, but Sony has finally extended the beta to include the PS4 too. The PlayStation Now beta launched on the PS4 on May 20th, but is limited to North America like the PS3 beta. Beta codes were sent out to chosen gamers this week, to allow them to take part in the beta.
If you signed up to take part in the PlayStation Now beta and live in the UK, start checking your inbox. Sony is starting to send out invites to access the PlayStation Now closed beta, allowing you to try out the service before the full launch this summer.
Eurogamers reports that Sony has developed new PS3 hardware to provide the PlayStation Now service coming to North America this Summer. In addition, leaked slides and Eurogamer’s sources confirm that the service will also be coming to Europe, but not until early 2015. Sony’s engineers have managed to shrink the equivalent of eight PS3s onto a single motherboard, housed in a slimline server cabinet.
PlayStation Now is set to change the way we game when it releases in North America later this year. As long as your Internet connection is up to the task, you’ll be able to stream PS3 titles to your PS4 and PS Vita. In an interview with Polygon, Sony recommends a minimum 5 Mb/second connection to use the service.
Speaking to CVG following the announcement of PlayStation Now, SCEA’s marketing VP John Koller has revealed that the streaming service won’t give users access to games they already own on disc for free. When asked if the PS4 would detect PS3 games in the drive and unlock it via streaming, Koller responded with “We… uh, initially, no. So, we’re saying no to that right now.”
Following Sony’s announcement of PlayStation Now yesterday at CES 2014, a number of hands-on videos have appeared on YouTube showing the service in action. Leveraging Gaikai’s advanced cloud streaming features, the hands-on video below shows Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us (PS3) running on a PS Vita, and God of War: Ascension (PS3) bring streamed to a PS3.
At CES 2014 in Las Vegas today, Sony announced a new service called PlayStation Now (PS Now). PS Now will lets gamers stream popular hits and classic games from the PS3 library, first on PS4 and PS3 systems, followed by PS Vita using Gaikai technology. In addition to PlayStation platforms, most 2014 US models of Sony’s BRAVIA TV lineup will support PS Now.
