PlayStation Now 1

Sony’s cloud streaming service PlayStation Now is real. As is becoming customary for the company, the platform holder made the shock announcement without any real build-up during overlord Kaz Hirai’s enthralling CES keynote earlier this week, virtually shaking the industry out of its seasonal slumber. Even more alarmingly, the technology appears to work, as a selection of live demos from the show floor have evidenced over the past few days. But while we know a lot more about the Japanese giant’s vision of the future as a result of this week’s consumer electronics show, how much are you willing to pay to pump classic PlayStation games to your consoles, televisions, and tablets?

For those of you that missed the reveal, the abovementioned online innovation is the end-result of SCE’s acquisition of Gaikai in mid-2012. Founded by development legend David Perry, the firm originally offered on-demand PC demos via your web browser. It shut down its existing operations almost immediately after the PlayStation maker’s buyout, opting to work with the manufacturer in relative secrecy. The Earthworm Jim creator briefly re-emerged during last year’s PlayStation Meeting to discuss in wishy-washy terms the promise of the PlayStation 4’s cloud network, before stepping out of the limelight again until this week.

Subscribe to Push Square on YouTube152k
Watch on YouTube

Granted, it wasn’t actually Perry that got to make the PlayStation Now announcement – that privilege fell to group president Andrew House – but, from what we understand, he’s still pulling a lot of the strings behind-the-scenes. And the product that the Northern Irish entrepreneur is pioneering is a bold one, bringing Sony’s stable of interactive software to a wide roster of devices that expands beyond the humble console. It’s been described as the Netflix of gaming in some mainstream media circles – an accurate analogy, seeing as the platform holder hopes to have you stumping up a subscription fee to play titles such as The Last of Us on-demand.

PlayStation Now 2

But while the vision sounds as grand as the hardware no doubt required to power it all, there remains a dollar-shaped elephant in the discussion: the price. The firm’s been fairly candid with technical specifications, roll-out plans, and more, but it’s still failed to address the issue of cost. We know that you’ll be able to ‘rent’ individual games or pay a subscription fee for full access, but other than that, we’re being kept in the dark until the service’s full summer release date. The company has said that you won’t get a discount if you already own a specific game for your PS3, so this is not the backward compatibility solution that some speculated. In fact, it’s something entirely original.

However, perhaps the Netflix comparisons may be apt. The popular movie and television platform currently charges $7.99 (£5.99) per month for unlimited access to its library of media, but would you be willing to pay that much for PlayStation Now? We suspect that your response will depend upon the type of content available on the service, which is set to start with PlayStation 3 games but expand to all three generations of Sony consoles eventually. It looks like a reasonable figure on paper, but will the platform holder be able to make it profitable at that sum? After all, there’s more than merely video streaming at play here – server farms need to render unique interactions for each user.

Perhaps you’d prefer if this was tied into your existing PlayStation Plus subscription, allowing you to stump up for a ‘Deluxe’ iteration of the premium offering in order to unlock on-demand content in addition to the usual roster of perks? Or maybe you’re only interested in game rentals, and want to know whether it’s going to be cost-effective for you to stream a specific title, as opposed to buying it at retail? Seeing as the official costs don’t appear to be decided, we figured that it would be fun to hold a little poll. Fill out the survey below, and then dive into the comments section. Who knows, maybe even Sony will be keeping watch to take note of your feedback.

Do you intend to invest in PlayStation Now if the price is right? (82 votes)

  1. Yes, I’m really looking forward to subscribing to the full on-demand catalogue67%
  2. I may rent the odd game, but won’t pay for a subscription18%
  3. No, I’d rather play my games natively rather than stream them from the cloud15%

Please login to vote in this poll.

What would you consider to be a good monthly subscription price? (87 votes)

  1. I wouldn’t pay a cent more than $4.99 (£2.99) per month26%
  2. I already pay $7.99 (£5.99) for Netflix, so that sounds right46%
  3. I’d be happy to pay $14.99 (£9.99), but no more than that23%
  4. I would be willing to stump up $19.99 (£12.99) or more5%

Please login to vote in this poll.

Would you expect a discount as a PlayStation Plus subscriber? (88 votes)

  1. Yes, I’d expect a reduction as I’m already paying for another Sony service72%
  2. It would be nice, but I wouldn’t necessarily anticipate it25%
  3. No, I don’t think it’s right to expect a saving as these are different options3%

Please login to vote in this poll.