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While the PS5 and the Xbox Series X Consoles continue to dominate the conversation about games, there is more to these systems than just their hardware. Since direct purchase of games is seemingly out of date, both Sony and Microsoft offer subscription services that give you huge libraries for a manageable monthly fee: PlayStation Now and Xbox Game Pass, respectively. However, while Microsoft has put Xbox Game Pass front and center in promoting the Xbox Series X, Sony has been almost silent on how PlayStation Now could benefit the PS5.
Sony’s attitude is puzzling, given that PlayStation Now is a good service and has the potential to be even better. However, even though Xbox Game Pass offers fewer games, there is a credible argument that it is still the best service, offering newer games, wider availability, and more consistent features. There has also been a marked improvement in recent months, while PlayStation Now has offered pretty much the same since its inception.
PlayStation Now could be a major selling point for the PS5, if only Sony relied on the service’s huge library, excellent functionality, and reasonable price. Here’s how the service could make significant improvements over the next generation of consoles.
A pioneer of streaming
In a way, PlayStation Now is the unauthorized origin of mass market cloud gaming. When the PlayStation 4 came out, fans were disappointed to learn that backward compatibility would be essentially impossible. The PS3’s CPU had a radically different architecture than the PS4, so there was simply no way to run PS3 games on the system.
Sony’s proposed interim solution was something that no other major game company had tried before: streaming full games over the Internet. Rather than having to change the architecture of the PS4, Sony realized that it could meet consumer demand (and hopefully make money) by running PS3 games remotely and then streaming them directly to the PS4 from the devices. players. The service, called PlayStation Now, launched in 2014 with about 20 PS3 titles; Now, there are more than 700 games, representing selections from PS2, PS3, and PS4.
In other words, Sony intended PlayStation Now to address a backward compatibility issue. Instead, the company accidentally spearheaded the launch of cloud games. Now Google, Nvidia, and Microsoft have comparable services, although PlayStation Now still has them all better when it comes to how many games you get for a flat subscription fee.
Where PlayStation Now falls short
PlayStation Now has a stellar selection, including the Batman: Arkham series, Red Dead games, Bloodborne, Control, Infamous series, Ratchet & Clank PS3 entries, Hollow Knight, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, and more. And if you don’t like them, there are literally hundreds of other options, from big-name blockbusters, cult classics, and beloved indie dishes. Games come and go at a somewhat unpredictable cadence, but that’s not exclusive to PlayStation.
The service costs between $ 5 and $ 10 per month, depending on how many months you are willing to pay in advance. As long as you have a reasonably strong internet connection (at least 5 Mbps down, although something more in the 25 Mbps range wouldn’t hurt), the service works flawlessly on both PS4 and PC.
So why is Sony downplaying this service and making it so difficult to use?
First, Sony doesn’t make it easy to figure out what games are on PS Now, or what those games might look like. The official PlayStation Now page does not mention the game selection, shuffling players to a “Latest gamesInstead. At the time of writing this article (September 11), this page was already out of date for weeks, announcing that certain games would be available only until August 31.
When you click “See all games”, all you get is a simple list of white text on a black background: no box art, no game descriptions, no links to individual game pages, and no indication of how long a game. available. The browsing experience is better on the PS Now app, but I wonder how many people have logged out before signing up for the seven-day free trial (which, as the free trials progress, is pretty stingy).
Sony has also worked hard to limit the availability of PlayStation Now, rather than expanding it. Previously, the app was available on PC, PS3, PS Vita, PS4, Sony Blu-ray players, and various smart TVs. Now, only PC and PS4 remain. While I don’t think many people are clamoring to play PS Now on PS3 or Vita these days, the integration of smart TVs was a far-sighted feature, and it’s disappointing that Sony (and consumers) didn’t take full advantage of it. Similarly, there is no PS Now app for smartphones or tablets, where it could naturally fit in with apps like Stadia and GeForce Now.
Downloading games via PS Now is also a confusing process. You can download games to improve performance, but only on certain PS4 titles, and only on a PS4. You can’t download anything to PC and you still have the option to stream all PS4 games. It’s a confusing and inconsistent system that doesn’t take full advantage of the available hardware.
There’s also the general feeling, justified or not, that Sony just doesn’t put as much effort into PlayStation Now. It hasn’t received any major updates since the ability to download PS4 games last year. We know the functionality will be available on the PS5, but it doesn’t seem like PS Now will take advantage of the PS5’s more powerful hardware in any significant way. Similarly, nothing is known about the PS5 titles coming to PS Now, either immediately or in the future.
Why Xbox Game Pass is successful
By contrast, Xbox Game Pass is a much more comprehensive service. Pay between $ 10 and $ 15 per month, depending on the options you want (PC gaming, streaming games on Android devices, etc.), then choose from a library of more than 100 titles that you can download on your Xbox One. an Xbox One or PC, download games; on an Android device, it streams them. The save files carry over to all platforms and there are many games available on all three systems.
Additionally, Microsoft has made Xbox Game Pass a big part of its marketing strategy. All Xbox proprietary titles, from Gears 5 to Wasteland 3, are available as part of Xbox Game Pass from launch day. Xbox Series X will continue this trend with great titles like Infinite Halo and Declared. While backward compatibility isn’t such an important focus for Xbox Game Pass, you can still play a variety of original Xbox and Xbox 360 games, and we already know that all Xbox One games on the service will be playable on both Xbox. Series S and Xbox Series X.
Bottom line: Microsoft is better at not only communicating what Xbox Game Pass does, but also what it will do in the future.
The strange thing, however, is that Xbox Game Pass is not strictly “better” than PlayStation Now in terms of game selection or performance. PS Now offers six to seven times more games than Xbox Game Pass, and for the most part, they stream seamlessly. There is absolutely no reason why PS Now can’t be a key part of PlayStation’s strategy, or why it should exist in this nebulous space between the “substitute for backward compatibility” and the “gaming service on. the complete cloud “.
Give PlayStation Now a more comprehensive website, clearer delineation between platforms, a mobile app, and a bit of attention at Sony events, and Sony might find that it has had a valuable competitor for Xbox Game Pass the entire time.
