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PlayStation Now (PS Now) was a standalone video game
subscription service The subscription business model is a business model in which a customer must pay a recurring price at regular intervals for access to a product or service. The model was pioneered by publishers of books and periodicals in the 17th century, an ...
the first on consoles developed by
Sony Interactive Entertainment Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), formerly known as Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE), is a multinational video game industry, video game and digital entertainment company wholly owned by multinational conglomerate Sony. The SIE Group is ma ...
. The service offered
cloud gaming Cloud gaming, sometimes called gaming on demand or gaming-as-a-service or game streaming, is a type of online gaming that runs video games on remote servers and streams them directly to a user's device, or more colloquially, playing a game rem ...
for
PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...
,
PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...
, PlayStation 3,
PlayStation Portable The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PAL regions on September 1, 2005, ...
and
PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...
games that could be played on
PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...
,
PlayStation 5 The PlayStation 5 (PS5) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 4 in April 2019, it was launched on November 12, 2020, in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, North Ame ...
and
Microsoft Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
computers. In addition, PlayStation, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable and PlayStation 4 games could be downloaded to play locally on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. With the expansion of the PlayStation Plus service to offer additional tiers in May-June 2022, the standalone PlayStation Now subscription was shut down, but its services were incorporated into the PlayStation Plus Premium tier. No games could be downloaded to a PC. Downloaded games could be played without an internet connection, but internet connection was required for verification every few days. Non-PlayStation devices required a DualShock 3, 4, DualSense, or any
XInput In computing, DirectInput is a legacy Microsoft API for collecting input from a computer user, via input devices such as the mouse, keyboard, or a gamepad. It also provides a system for ''action mapping,'' which allows the user to assign specif ...
-compatible controller, such as an Xbox gamepad, to use the service. If members intended to stream their games, Sony recommended that players have a minimum of 5 Mbps internet connection to achieve good performance.


History

PlayStation Now was announced on January 7, 2014 at the 2014 Consumer Electronics Show powered by technology from Gaikai. At CES, Sony presented demos of '' The Last of Us'', '' God of War: Ascension'', ''
Puppeteer A puppeteer is a person who manipulates an inanimate object, called a puppet, to create the illusion that the puppet is alive. The puppet is often shaped like a human, animal, or legendary creature. The puppeteer may be visible to or hidden from ...
'', and '' Beyond: Two Souls'', playable through PS Now on Bravia TVs and PlayStation Vita. The closed beta began in the United States on January 28 with PS3, and on May 19 was extended to PS4. To implement the service, Sony created a single motherboard equivalent to 8 PS3 console units into a server rack to allow the games to function, as opposed to software emulation, due to architectural complexity. PlayStation Now was launched in Open Beta in the United States and Canada on PS4 on July 31, 2014, on PS3 on September 18, 2014, on PS Vita and PS TV on October 14, 2014, with support for select 2014 Bravia TVs coming later in the year. At Gamescom 2014, SCE announced that PS Now would arrive in Europe in 2015, with the United Kingdom to be the first European country to access the service. On December 24, 2014, Sony announced that PlayStation Now would expand to the other electronic brands. On CES 2015, Sony confirmed that PlayStation Now would arrive in North America on PS4 as full release on January 13, 2015. On March 7, 2015, it was revealed that PlayStation Now was accessible in Europe. Official beta invites for Europe started going out to PS4 owners on April 15, 2015. On February 17, 2017, Sony announced it would discontinue PlayStation Now on PlayStation 3,
PlayStation Vita The PlayStation Vita (PS Vita, or Vita) is a handheld video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 17, 2011, and in North America, Europe, and other international territo ...
, PlayStation TV, Sony Bravia televisions (modeled between 2013–15), Sony Blu-ray players and all Samsung televisions by August 15, 2017. On September 20, 2018, Sony announced that users on PlayStation 4 would be able to download PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 4 games offered via the service as Sony started to gradually roll out the new feature to subscribers. On January 23, 2019, Sony announced that the service would be launching in Spain, Italy, Portugal, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Sweden later in the year. A beta for these countries launched in early February and the full service launched on March 12, 2019. On April 22, 2021, Sony announced that support for 1080p streaming would start rolling out during the week. On December 3, 2021, Bloomberg reported that Sony was working on a new subscription service codenamed "Spartacus". The service would be a merger of the company’s current services, PlayStation Plus, and PlayStation Now, with the company reportedly set to keep the Plus branding. The service would include three tiers: the first would include all the benefits that PlayStation Plus would include, the second would expand upon the first by including a catalog of titles, and the third one would expand upon the first two by including game trials as well as a catalog of games from the
PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...
,
PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...
, PlayStation 3, and
PlayStation Portable The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PAL regions on September 1, 2005, ...
. On March 29, 2022, Sony officially announced the merger of the two services under the Plus branding. The merger took place over May and June 2022.


Games

PlayStation, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable and PlayStation 4 games on PlayStation Now could be streamed to PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC. As of 2020, there were over 800 games available, with over 300 of them available for download to PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. New games were added every month. After a 7-day free trial, there were three pricing options available for the subscription service. A separate subscription fee for online multiplayer was not required for PlayStation Now games. The three pricing options gave access to both single player and online multiplayer components.


Availability

PlayStation Now was available in Europe (including Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom), North America (Canada and the United States), as well as Japan.


References


External links

* {{Software digital distribution platforms Cell BE architecture Computer-related introductions in 2014 Cloud gaming services PlayStation (brand) Subscription video game services