PlayStation Now Revealed at CES 2014, Allows Streaming of 'Classic' PlayStation Games to PS4, Mobile Platforms

Rumors have circulated about the cloud streaming service that Sony has been preparing for the PlayStation 4 ever since the console was officially revealed and Sony bought the Gaikai cloud streaming company in the summer of 2012. Now, Sony has officially revealed the service, PlayStation Now, and announced that the company will be bringing "classic" Playstation games not only to the PlayStation 4 but other non-gaming platforms as well.

IGN reports that PlayStation Now will be available for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, smart televisions, smartphones, and tablets. Specifically, Sony stated that the 2014 Sony Bravia will support PlayStation Now when it is released. The company also stated that the service will come to non-Sony products as well at some point.

It is unclear what titles will be coming to PlayStation Now, and no launch date for the service has been confirmed. At CES 2014, PlayStation Now was available to test out on several platforms, with many different games available for the service. The Last of Us and Beyond: Two Souls were available for CES attendees to test out, but the games were available on the PlayStation 3 just as a demo of how the technology would work. However, it has also been reported that God of War: Ascension and Puppeteer were playable at CES on both the PlayStation Vita and the Sony Bravia television using PlayStation Now.

Sony has stated that PlayStation Now will be a subscription service, but it is not clear if the service will be a part of PlayStation Plus or if users will have to pay a separate fee in order to access PlayStation Now. Players will be able to rent games from PlayStation Now without subscribing to the PlayStation Now, but it is not clear if multiplayer or trophy support will be available for the games on the cloud streaming service. So far, all the games supported on PlayStation Now have been PlayStation 3 games, but it is not clear if PlayStation 1 and PlayStation 2 games will be also available through the service.

It will be interesting to see what Sony has in store for fans with PlayStation Now and when the cloud streaming service will be launched. In any case, Sony has effectively removed the backwards compatibility issue for the PlayStation 4 with PlayStation Now.