Sony showed a bunch of their new products at CES 2014 today, but the only one I'm really interested in is their new PlayStation Now service. When Sony bought the Gaikai online game service back in 2012, they promised to turn it into an online gaming service that would let you play all the PS1, PS2, and PS3 games on the PS4 - basically providing emulated backwards compatibility. Great news, it looks like they've made good on that promise and multiplied it by five. Not only will PlayStation Now allow gamers to play the current library of PS games on the PS4 but it will also allow us play on the PS3, PS Vita, Sony Bravia TVs, and mobile devices (not just Sony!) - including multiplayer, trophies and game chat.
PlayStation Now is currently in Alpha but is already getting great reviews by those lucky people getting some hands-on time. And even better, PS3 owners will be able to participate in the closed Beta at the end of this month. This will be a paid service (per title and subscription) but no pricing has been announced and it will require at least a 5 Mb connection for a smooth gameplay experience. Sony also has a very ambitious plan to launch the official service some time this summer.
So, this brings up the question as to how this will affect their console market because why should I buy a console when I can stream games through my tablet connected via HDMI to my big screen TV and play with a Bluetooth controller (DualShock 3,4)? I'm guessing that Sony is assuming the revenue generated from the service will account for the revenue lost from the possible decline in console sales. Regardless, I'm really looking forward to trying out PlayStation Now.
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