As we announced back at CES, PlayStation Now (PS Now) is the first-ever game streaming service available on a game console, where you can quickly access a rich and expanding library of PlayStation 3 (PS3) games from our cloud servers. Since January, PS Now has been in Private Beta for select gamers across the country, and I’m happy to announce that the Open Beta will be available to all PlayStation 4 (PS4) owners in the U.S. and Canada starting tomorrow.
As part of this Open Beta, PS4 users will see PS Now titles fully integrated into PlayStation Store, available to be streamed for various rental durations. Check out the video walkthrough of how it all works:
During the PS Now Open Beta, PS4 users will see a diverse library of more than 100 titles to rent, with more added regularly. PS Now will offer a variety of rental periods depending on the game, including 7-days, 30-days or 90-days, as well as a short 4-hour duration, so players can sample the experience first.
With a strong and stable broadband connection, visual and gameplay quality will be much like what you’re used to with other PS3 games. PS Now will also feature cloud game saves, as well as support for other popular network features such as Trophies, friend lists and leaderboards. You can also play seamlessly online with other people on PS Now, or even players who have the downloadable or disc based version of the game. As you know, the PS3 catalog of games is massive and incredibly diverse, and we’re thrilled to make these epic experiences available to PS4 first, followed by our other PlayStation platforms in the coming months.
Since we’re still in Beta, and in the very early days of PS Now, we plan to continue to collect feedback during this Open Beta phase to make further refinements to the service, so please provide us feedback once you’ve experienced the service.
We want to thank those that have been participating in the PS Now Private Beta for their time, dedication and valuable feedback, which have helped us continue to shape the service.
You will immediately see a clear breakdown of what’s included with game rentals, so it’s easier to tell what content you’re getting with your rental, especially since several games offered through PS Now include DLC that increase the value of the offering. Also, in a few weeks, you will start seeing reduced pricing on some 4-hour rentals which will appear at $1.99.
In addition, we’ve heard you loud and clear for an update on a PS Now subscription option and want to reassure you that we are working on it. We think PS Now represents the next step toward the future of gaming and we’re excited to have the PlayStation Nation come along with us on the beginning of this journey.
Hello. The PS Now service seems like it will be awesome. The prices are a bit high for rentals. I understand that this service is primarily meant for people who are new to the PlayStation community as well as people who do not own consoles, but the value of the service seems a bit lackluster for those who have owned PlayStation systems in the past and who are PS Plus members. Games like Twisted Metal, Contrast, Stick it to the Man, Mega Man 9, and Mega Man 10 have been discounted or offered for free to Plus members. Renting a game I already have on PS Plus seems a bit ridiculous. If I already have Contrast, Stick it to the Man and the Mega Man games due to PS Plus, then I should not have to pay again to play them on PS4 because that is what my money for Plus itself goes toward. The same should go for all the other PS Plus games that users have already downloaded from when they signed up. I signed up for Plus in March of 2013. All the games offered on PS Now that were free on Plus from the time I signed up should be free to play on PS4. Otherwise, why should I bother using both services?
what about modern warfare2, uncharted 2 and 3 or more good games?
Well I love the playstation now but the price is to high.
I suggest that it’s must be part of the playstation plus
Some free game and other should be at lest $2.00 per month
So ever player need time to play
Ps1 game should be free and ps2 must be free or earn points from promotion
Thank you sony
(I’m a playstation for life)
Why cant sony just let us re-buy are favorite games instead off makeing us rent them, its stuped to have a time limit on any open world game especially one that you want to periodically go back to.
Oh my god!
Please stay in school. Some of these comments are really hard to read.
The pricing is ridiculously high.
I just can’t see myself paying these prices for the time being. I can’t wait for the subscription service to be available, hopefully with a reasonable price.
With Playstation Now will you be able to be just on Wi-Fi or will you need a cabled connection?
Wouldn’t it have been cheaper to make PS4 100% backwards compatible with PS1/2/3 & PSN titles? I mean, $380,000,000 seems like a lot to spend on a rental service in its current pricing menu. It’s kind of a turn off to a gamer’s eyes when reading the fees to rent a game. I’m glad I have a PS3 & PS2(PS1/2 game discs). Sony, we know you are for the gamers, so make this PS Now subscription happen and impress your Playstation life blood gaming community.
I’m disappointed in the quality and the control scheme. When these things are fixed I may consider renting more games.
Request, burnout paradise on psnow.
prices are too high , first, and the last gesture sony could do , is offering a free acces to all the games we bought on PS3 ‘ PSN like ps3 games or PSN games in the future…. but ATM , this service is terrible, and price should be clearly less expensive…
Funny how they don’t acknowledged the fact that the pricing is too high.
They failed with PSP Go, mostly because it wasn’t worth buying digital over physical… and in some cases, it was more expensive.
… and they never decreased their prices.
I got a model for you.
10$ / month subscription for unlimited use.
50-60$ / year for PS Plus
150$ / year for PS Plus + Now.
Now I’d be in… until then, I’ll keep an eye on Amazon and Gamestop deals.
At first I was really excited about PS Now, but now with all the negative talk about renting games I already own through PSN, I don’t know if it will be something I will be Interested in.
A subscription service would be nice, but I already pay for a subscription through PS Plus. Maybe Plus accounts could get one or two included rentals per month. At least be able to play games we already own.
You may argue we can play across different devices, but that is the only reason I bought a PS Vita in the first place, because it was marketed on the portability of playing PS3 / PS4 Games on the hand held device, through remote play, which to my disappointment was hardly possible through PS3, if at all.
The Idea of renting and not owning a digital title, that I can go back and replay over and over to trophy hunt just seems so backwards of everything that Sony has said it’s been trying to accomplish over the past few years. “The left hand should really know what the right hand is doing or at least trying to do.”
I guess I have to go back to buying bargain bin PS Vita games for $5.00 – $10.00 at the local Wal-Mart, it’s usually a better deal than on the PSN anyway.
Why if we own these games on ps3 can we not play them freely? We are being required to put more money into titles we already own the rights to play?! There must be an adjustment to the program which allows those of us who have put literally hundreds of dollars into the systems we love, and make convenience and ease of access a forefront in your concerns for gamer satisfaction. I hope that this message does not fall upon deaf ears, there are many in the same position as myself who take adventage of the sales and deals playstation graciously puts forth, and in turn i believe we deserve the ability to utilize those offers generation after generation. I hope that others folloow in my lead or if already posted I hope that this is another ringing in your ears. Please don’t burn those of us who have already invested…
Features that I want out of PlayStation Now:
– License carryover for games purchased on the PS3’s PSN.
– The option to buy a game outright ala OnLive
– Different types of PS+ accounts. For example 49.99 per year for standard and 99.99 for the option to use PS Now to stream games you rent, purvhased , or previously purchased on PS3 or Vita.
– Playstation and PlayStation 2 titles. I spent a lot of money on the digital copies of previous generations games on my PS3; I don’t like that this isn’t being transferred over. (Emulation on x86 architecture isn’t too challenging)
Also, some positive thoughts:
– Quality is great for streaming!
– The trophy syncing is a great feature!
– Decent selection of games!
– This potentially will give me an opportunity to work for Sony ( I currently work in a mega data center helping properties supply on demand services) Seriously… I will send you my resume, haha.
Have to say not only does the 4hr option upset me like before i stated. But not sure why on some of these you guys couldn’t have just given a buy it now option. Considering $49.99 for 90 rental for F1 2013 is outrageous. I know the game wasn’t widely circulated but the price of a 1yr subscription of your ps plus just for a rental. There is just something wrong there. Would really like to see a buy it option that was reasonable.
Look like they been ignore us. no replies from them or update regard this backlash. I was high hope for the best PlayStation Now similar to Onlive link to Steam automatically instead pay again. Why not let us to insert our PS1, PS2, PS3 into PS Now and charge us little fee to become ownership, since that DISC are already coded for serial number will become invalid if next person try to cheat, I know you can do that.
Or you choose suicide fail innovation with PlayStation Now. Then I will root for Long, Live, Play Onlive!
How about that huh ?
I do not understand the target audience of Playstation Now. With the way the prices are and the selection of games, it seems like nobody… Why do some companies feel that digital products are somehow worth the same as physical products? To make it worse, you can’t own the digital rights of the game, only rentals are available. Playstation Now is a slap in the face to long time Playstation fans, new fans, and casual players a like. Sincerely – owner of PSONE, PS2, PS3, PS4, PSP, Vita, and day one PS+ member.
Will most PS3 titles? I’ve been looking for Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD Remix and not find
The prices need to be reduced dramatically. ALL the games on the PSNow should have a FREE 1 Hour “Rental” if you are a PSPlus Member… also the max length of time for any rental should be competitive in price with a used game price. If this is going to succeed you have to satisfy the customer Sony… I’ve been leaving plenty of feedback during the closed Beta period.
@720: You have a point. Personally I think ps now would’ve been better as a emulator app to play our ps3 and psn games. They put so much money into this rental service that really only targets new people. When people can easily get a ps3 used with 6 games I think it is for $199 at gamestop atm.
I think if they would’ve gone with a emulator app that costed 59.99 or something like that would’ve been better. I mean the technology is there since we can use our ps3 game discs for certain ps4 games we bought during the promotional window last winter.
Just think this could’ve been handled a lot better. Cause back in 2013 that is what I thought we were getting was a emulator type deal. Not these outrageous rental prices designed to screw people’s wallets.
Sony, the whole 4 hour rental thing is stupid.
You can get Rainbow Moon for 3$ for 4 hours, and you can get Rainbow Moon for 3$ for 7 days…
*Facepalm* Something isn’t right here…
Who’s in charge of the pricing?
Like I said, the 1 hour trial that PS+ members has should be in PS Now instead, you’ll save a ton of money on bandwith on your servers by switching it to PS Now rather than downloading the full 8Gb+ game. Do the math.
Will we ever be able to buy the full game???
Sorry if this was answered previously but is the rental duration play time or is it from time of rental for example say if i rent a game for 4 hours and only play for 30 mins before something comes up and i have to stop can i come back a day later and play the 3 and a half hours remaining that i didn’t play or is the rental considered expired
The pricing for playstation now is so stupid, I already bought the ps3 game once why would I pay $1.99 for 4 hours or $7.99 for a 90 day rental. It’s completely ridiculous. If you have already paid for the game before and have the disc you should be able to play it for free on the ps4. I would even go for a one time upgrade fee to be able to play some of my ps3 games on the ps4 but since I already have the disc why should I have to pay an over priced rental fee. The rental price should be the price you pay to be able to play the game on the ps4 and the ps3 disc is the way you activate the game and it should be a one time upgrade fee or just free since we already own the games. The first generation Playstation 3’s were able to play ps2 games with no additional cost so why not allow the ps4 to play ps3 games as long as you have the disc, that seems fair to me. I don’t understand why I should have to keep paying more and more and renting over and over again for a game I already own and have already paid for. Come on Playstation what you are doing now just seems like you are trying to squeeze as much money from us as you can.It is ridiculous.
I’ve only tried Grid 2 so far.. and so far so good! im amazing that the graphics and quality are 99% equal to PS3, it pretty much feels like im playing my PS3! Also the controls are very responsive! no input lag of any kind at all! and no lag overall in general!.
My only concerns are pricing and rental period, its way off. I strongly recommend having a 30 min free preview and then starting the rental window at 24hrs rental period not 4hrs. Then 7 day rental, 30 day rental and 90 day rental.
For those expecting Sony to respond to comments, don’t bother. If you’re lucky they’ll reply to the first few comments after the post goes up and then they just ignore everything after that.
No way I’m paying to test their product for them, they should at least have a couple of free games that let people get an idea of how well (or not) the service works. Plus, pricing is too high and the selection is pretty bad with a few exceptions. A bunch of old crappy games that nobody cares about and a handful of decent but overpriced AAA titles.
As usual, Sony completely fails at offering online services or understanding what customers want to pay for. The only successful service they have is Plus, and that’s mostly due to the now defunct IGC. Plus as it stands now is going downhill fast. Everything else they’ve offered has been a complete failure that they keep on life support instead of pulling the plug.
I recently came back to the Playstation console after exclusively gaming on XB360 last gen and this was one of the reasons for the switch. So far I love the PS4 and do not regret the purchase. However, I have to agree with most on here. The pricing is not what I expected nor is it something I want. I want a subscription service. I’ll rent PS4 games and Sony PS3 exclusives, but for other titles that I’ve either already owned or played from last gen (on 360) I have no desire to rent them.
At the most, one day gaming prices should be .99. That way if we don’t like the game, it’s not that big a deal. Redbox charges $2 for a 24 hr. game rental and I don’t need to go into the differences between a services that licenses ‘physical’ games vs digital streaming service. You should be less.
Also since this is a beta we should have been given a FREE 24 hour rental in order to try out the service. It is a beta.
I think this service should DEFINITELY offer up Fallout 3 and Fallout New Vegas as these titles were very difficult to play on the PS3 system and would greatly benefit from cloud computing! Please, please, please bring us Fallout to PlayStation Now!
I know Sony decided not to go with EA Access, there needs to be more sports games available on Playstation Now.
PLEASE redo the pricing structure! It’s way too expensive. I’ve been a faithful playstation user since the playstation 1 was around. I’m sure there will be many games on now that will come available that I would like to revisit but until something is done with the pricing model I just don’t see myself shelling out the money for the over priced rentals.
What about all the games I purchased on the playstation store for my PS3 and now OWN but can’t play on my PS4? Will I be able to play them on playstation now or will I have to rent them?
LMFAO DONT RENT ANYTHING ON PS NOW BECAUSE THEY WILL JUST TAKE THE GAME OFF THE SERVICE AND YOU ARE NO LONGER ABLE TO PLAY IT EVEN IF YOU HAVE DAYS LEFT ON YOUR RENTAL. Playstation now is a scam
Been in PS Now since early beta, have loved it so far. but this open beta pricing structure is out of whack. You guys know that of course. So here’s my two cents.
1. I will never ever pay the prices listed in the beta.
2. the pricing structure I feel is fair after using the service for a while:
– 4 Hours: FREE for the first play and $0.99 on follow-up 4 Hour sessions.
– 7 Days: $4.99
– 30 Days: $14.99
– 90 Days: $39.99
I would also like to suggest a 25% discount off the pricing above for PlayStation Plus members. You can scare users away from ever trying your service with your current price structure, or use a more palatable structure to get people using the service. Personally I would suggest making your customers happy to give you money. Give them a good value.
This desperately needs a monthly subscription I think max pricing for rentals without a subscription should be 9.99 (7.99 for ps+) and 14.99 (12.99 ps+) and those 4 hour rentals without a subscription should be free or 1.00 max. I’m sure millions of users would rent at those prices rather than at the prices now.
First and foremost, I’m not paying to beta test. You want us to test your new system and help you eliminate bugs and provide honest feedback, then the games should be free. Secondly, the pricing is absolutely stupid. You want me to pay $15-$30 to rent a 4 year old ps3 game for three months? Are you stoned? I’ll just hook my PS3 back up and buy used games off EBay. At least then I can play them at my leisure and potentially resell them someday.
You write on blog that Playstation Now Beta is for every PS4 user, yes? Im PS4 user and i dont have Playstation Now Beta in my country. So please dont lie, and next time write its only for SOME PS4 users.
Everything on the beta is extremely overpriced and not even worth buying to be honest. Some games are ok but 2.99 for 4 hours???? Are you kidding?? I have been a long time Playstation member, ever since the original ps3 and I dont wanna see sony turn into some greedy, money comes first, company. first 40 hours on any game should be free, then after first use then pay 1$ every other 4 hours. I could by some games for 10 bucks and your charging $30+ for 90 day rental?? Like WTF! Your already charging us $50 a year to play online, dont overprice Playstation now and ruin its chance to be loved and played continually. Its common sense everyone will buy if its dirt cheap and 1 or 2 people will buy if overpriced.
1- prices are toooo expensive
2- 4 hours ”demo” should be free
3- must have option to download and buy !!!
4- with those prices , if i really want to play a game…ill just borrow a ps3 from a friend n BUY the game for cheaper at a discount store.
I was really looking forward to PS NOW….so plz correct ur pricing n make it for reasonable + option to buy ( cheaper than in store !! )
thanks,
Also, PS PLUS members should have a discount and monthly free games to download ( for ps4 owners )
“Visual and gameplay quality will be much like what you’re used to with other PS3 games.”
With control lag, macroblocking, **** compression and abusive prices added for free!
Thankfully, my PS3 doesn’t need that ****.
here is my pricing list 4 u sony…cus the psnow prices r ridiculous…… 99cents 48hours….2.99 for month…20bux for year ….simple as that … if the prices aren’t drop YOUR SERVICE WILL FAIL WITH ALL THE GAMERS…..all rdy redbox and ea new soon 2 b service are cheaper ….give us gamers what we deserve all ready games are 2 high w/o the added nickle and dime DLC game company are charging… it sickens me as a gamer 2 see this kind of bs ,,,thats y i got away from micro$haft products cuz gamers wallets are getting ****d….so ill vote with my wallet on certain products…..sony 4 gamers by gamers,,,lets keep that motto n listen 2 us gamers…THX ……BTW i wouldn’t trade my 2 vitas ps4&3 and 2 PS+ accounts for nothin n da world…..real talk lets get PS NOW PRICES RIGHT!!
I would like to know why it is that you cant just simply buy the games instead of rent them, for we as customers already know that there are some games that I would like to add to my library to play later. Sure it is a great idea to do rental games so that we can try out games that we have not played before but if we like them we would like to also own them.
I think this is absolutely amazing, but there is no doubt that it needs a subscription for it to be outstanding!!!! It would be groundbreaking for this to happens and I hope you guys come through for us!
Why wont it let me play the game i rented i have used both lan an wireless connections someone help
OK this is great and all, but what if i don’t want to rent the game? will we be able to just buy them like we could on the ps3? there is only a select number of games i want, and i don’t want to have to pay every month for the rest of my life to play just a few games.
I desperately need to see xillia 2 on playstation now.
Will you be able to buy the games instead of renting them?
Please make subscription service available… I can spend like 30 dollars easy on 2-3 game alone. But I’d rather pay like 25$ a month for unlimited access. Games are too much money. Please PlayStation make this happen