Gamers were more than a little annoyed to learn that the next generation of consoles would not be backward compatible. Neither the PlayStation 4 nor the Xbox One would be running old games off the disc. However, Sony also promised a game streaming service that would allow owners of the PS4 to play old games on the next generation platform for a fee. That service, PlayStation Now, has entered into the open beta test phase as of today.
Users will be able to see over 100 games during the beta test, although Sony has declared that they intend to put the entire PS3 back catalogue up for rental. It appears that nobody will actually be able to buy these games, at least that is the way it seems from the walkthrough video from PlayStation. Instead, there are four rental options; ranging from an intended-for-demo four hour session to a full 90-day experience.
Costs start at US$2.99 for the four hour option, which is a little steep for such a short playing time. Although your progress is save in the PlayStation Now cloud so continuing with another – longer – rental is possible. It is a real pity that there is no option to own the games as constantly having to rent games will likely put off many gamers who are used to actually owning the titles they are playing.
Sony intends to expand the PlayStation Now service to more than just the PS4, and wants it to include the PS3, PS Vita and other PlayStation certified products (like the Bravia TVs). While the open beta is currently only in the US and Canada, it shouldn’t be too long before the rest of the world gets in on this. Also, more than a few Malaysians probably have access to this sort of thing.
[Source: PlayStation Blog]
