Sony’s cloud-based subscription service, PS Now, has become a staple part of the PlayStation brand and is expected to grow beyond its 700,000 users with the release of the PS5.
However, PS Now is largely overshadowed by Microsoft’s own version of this service, the Xbox Game Pass, which reported it now has 10,000,000 subscribers across their platforms.
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As we move into the next generation of consoles, Sony is hoping to build further on their growing subscription service, that is confirmed to be coming to the PlayStation 5. And big rumours about backwards compatibility could provide a hefty clue as to how Sony plans to grow PS Now on PS5.
Read on for more rumours, updates, and information about how the PS Now will work on the PS5.
What
is PS Now?
PS Now- or PlayStation Now- is
Sony’s cloud-based streaming service that launched in 2014.
It allows PlayStation owners to both
stream and download over 650 games in HD to their console or a Windows PC via the
PS Now app.
The games include classic PlayStation titles from the older consoles, including Little Big Planet and Sonic Adventure, while also offering players the chance to play newer PlayStation 4 games such as Horizon Zero Dawn, Control and Spider-Man.
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Is
PS Now coming to the PS5? What will be the price?
In an interview with Japanese magazine Famitsu, Sony Interactive Entertainment’s Yasuhiro Osaki confirmed that PS Now would be coming to the next-gen console. Osaki also stated there were no plans to expand the service to mobile.
The pricing for PS Now on the PS5 has yet to be confirmed,
although we can expect it to remain at a similar level to the current
subscription model for the PS4, which costs £8.99 for a month, or £49.99 for a
year.
The cost of a PS Now subscription reduced significantly in October, having previously been priced at £85 for a year’s subscription or £13 a month.
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Will PS5 backwards compatibility bring PS1, PS2 and PS3 games to PS Now?
We have yet had any confirmation of whether the current PS Now library will carry over to the PS5, but you can expect to see the wide array of permanent PS2 and PS3 games remain in the subscription library, as well as some older PS4 titles.
Better yet, a Sony patent seems to suggest that heaps of PS1, PS2 and PS3 games will be coming to PS5 via a new form of cloud-based emulation. This is a huge step forward for backwards compatibility, but only time will tell whether PS Now houses all of these games itself.
While Xbox has previously launched exclusive titles on their Game Pass, it is unlikely we will see many exclusive PS5 games come to PS Now at launch, as this would damage the exclusivity of these games that makes people buy PlayStations.
We may, however, see more PS4 titles such as God of War or Death Stranding be added to the service as a way to sell the platform to new PlayStation owners looking to catch up on all the exclusive PlayStation games they have missed.
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