PlayStation Now: Cloudy Tomorrow

Sony are launching the closed beta of their PlayStation Now service in the United States later this month. A sign of things to come in future? The dawn of the age of the true virtual console? More like the continuation of the Gaikai dream in many ways. But for the UK, it may still be some time until we reap the rewards.

"Unfortunately we're not quite ready to confirm launch plans for PAL territories," read part of the disclaimer on the European PlayStation site. "When it comes to broadband provision, Europe is a considerably more complex region, with a huge number of different providers and varying connection speeds from country to country. In short, we need a little more time to ensure a smooth and successful roll-out."

A tough pill to swallow for some parts of Europe, that pride themselves on being light years ahead of the States as far as broadband goes - though UK's still some way behind its neighbours.

But rolling out a service like this isn't just about broadband connections. There needs to be testing done and the infrastructure needs to be in place. Even if Gaikai was founded in the Netherlands, their focus was on the US for many years and that groundwork means PlayStation Now will hit that market first. The positive of that? Hopefully a bunch of teething issues will be shed along the way as Europe gets its turn at a later date.

Last year when talking to SCEE president Jim Ryan about the promise of streaming PS3 games to PS4 (as well as PS3 and PS Vita, nothing else was announced at that point), he shrugged it off and made it sound like it was far off in the future in this region, especially when asked about anything beyond PS3 titles (if you remember, the concept of streaming PS4 titles was mentioned in February last year). With Sony remaining mute on a potential timeline for when these services will arrive in Europe, it's pure speculation at this point to say anything, but we'd be surprised if PlayStation Now launches proper in Europe before the end of the year.

Reports from CES are positive with a serving of "there is noticeable latency" on the side. Not surprising, and not something you'd want in say a fighting game. You were able enjoy PS3 titles like The Last of Us and God of War: Ascension on Bravia TVs (starting with the 2014 models) and PS Vita. Clearly it won't be the same exact experience as playing the games from harddrive or disc, but for many it will be close enough (broadband allowing). Some artefacts may betray the compression, but this is likely not as big an issue as latency between input and on-screen response.

But PlayStation Now isn't meant to replace the need for a console, it's meant to complement it. At least in its infant state, much like Netflix isn't a replacement for any other way of enjoying movies and TV content.

The idea that people will be able to play multiplayer on PlayStation Now against traditional console players sounds strange. But if the latency only affects the player on PlayStation Now negatively we suppose it would be acceptable to traditional console players.

Slapping the PlayStation brand on the experience is Sony's big gamble - if players will experience something that's subpar and underwhelming it will risk cheapening the whole brand. And this is probably why we'll have to wait until Sony have done everything in their power to ensure a great experience before it launches in Europe.

The real shock announcement was the fact that Sony for the first time ever plans on taking PlayStation titles to non-Sony devices. We're still to hear any solid details or partnerships in this regard, but if Sony truly wants to go big you have to assume they are targeting a range of Android devices as well as iPhones and iPads.

Does this imply DualShock 3 or perhaps more likely in the long run DualShock 4 controllers compatible with other smart TVs and tablets? Probably, but details on these things are likely held back until announcements are made about partnerships. This is likely way off in the future - 2015 and beyond. But PlayStation Now, in spite of its name should not be seen as a quick fix to thwart complaints about the lack of backwards compatibility.

Then there is the question of third party and pricing. Sony did not adress the business model for PlayStation Now nor did they confirm or deny third-party games on the service although it seems implied. And why wouldn't third parties want to be on PlayStation Now - even if it's only a trickle of revenue, it's money they would otherwise not have made on older titles.

As for pricing and placement, some theorise that PlayStation Now will be part of PS Plus. It may be an extra benefit added to the PS Plus proposition, but there are reasons for maintaining these services separate. Especially if Sony plan on aggressively moving onto non-Sony devices in the future. Launching it as a free extension of PS Plus would also somewhat limit the potential longterm earnings. Perhaps you'll get PlayStation Now for an extra five dollars a month as a PS Plus member while non-members will pay ten? It's just guesstimations at this point.

Microsoft may not have formally announced their intent for a similar service, but it stands to reason that Microsoft, whose business is firmly centered around software rather than hardware, would look to create something along the lines of PlayStation Now with Xbox Live. There's a lot of interest in the cloud, and a lot of potential.

This is a longterm move for Sony. They invested $380 million in Gaikai back in 2012. That wasn't a move made with the next couple of years in mind. It was a move designed to reach a broader audience and potentially set up a future where PlayStation no longer refers to a piece of hardware. There was a time not so long ago where gamers would scoff at the notion of an arcade quality experience at home, perhaps streamed games are in a similar position to that of home consoles in the late 80's. There is still a lot that needs to happen to make cloud gaming matter though...