The Gaikai-based video game streaming service that Sony bought and renamed PlayStation Now has so far been used to stream PlayStation video games to the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita & PlayStation TV systems, as well as Sony Bravia TVs. Well, starting in early 2015 the game streaming service will be making its way to Samsung Smart TVs!
PlayStation Now has been in Open Beta through 2014 and this Samsung TV announcement makes it sound like they have stabilized the PS3 game streaming throughout the USA and Canada. – The service will be making its way to Europe (UK first) in early 2015 as well.
This video is a PlayStation Now walkthrough that shows how the beta works on PS4:
Read the full Sony press release here:
“Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. and Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCE) today announced that the PlayStation™ Now game streaming service will be available on select Samsung Smart TVs in the first half of 2015. With this partnership, Samsung Smart TV consumers in the United States and Canada will have easy access to hundreds of PlayStation®3 (PS3™) games streamed from the cloud – no consoles, downloads, or trips to the store needed.
PlayStation Now is currently offered on a variety of PlayStation platforms, including the PlayStation®4 (PS4™) system, the world’s number one new gaming console. Gamers can choose from more than 200 titles from the vast library of PS3 games, ranging from action/adventure and racing to RPGs and family-friendly games. PlayStation Now offers something for everyone, representing some of the best PS3 games from the gaming industry’s top developers and publishers.
The service will launch as an app that can be accessed through Samsung’s Smart Hub. Once launched, a game is played using the critically acclaimed wireless controller DUALSHOCK®4 (sold separately). PlayStation Now on Samsung Smart TVs will support all functionality of the service, including the ability to earn in-game trophies, play games online with friends, and save your game progress in the cloud.
“PlayStation Now provides a new dimension to Samsung Smart TVs that consumers have been looking for – blockbuster PS3 games accessed through an intuitive interface that makes it easy to discover and play great gaming experiences,” said Youngchan Kim, Vice President at Samsung Electronics. “We are excited to collaborate with PlayStation to deliver even more entertainment value to our Smart TV platform.”
“Since we first introduced PlayStation Now at CES 2014, our vision has been to open the world of PlayStation to the masses by offering the service on the devices they use every day,” said Masayasu Ito, Executive Vice President of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. “Partnering with Samsung is a key step toward realizing this vision, as we can reach a broader audience of consumers who may not own a PlayStation console to show them why gaming with PlayStation is such a unique and amazing experience.”
At CES 2015 in Las Vegas nex tweek, attendees can visit the Samsung booth to have a hands-on experience with PlayStation Now on Samsung Smart TVs.”
I’ve always been a big supporter of PlayStation Now, since when it was still called Gaikai VGB partnered with the service that let us host PC game streaming of 20+ demos for well over a year right here on this website! Suffice to say it was awesome and the game streaming worked incredibly fast without issues as long as you had broadband internet. Which – after our own internal testing – proved it could technically work from any country worldwide.
So if Sony can get a good monthly subscription price going, they will have a real winner in PlayStation Now with an eye on the future… That’s important, because some analysts are predicting that in 10 to 20 years we might not even have dedicated gaming consoles anymore!
Have you tried out the PlayStation Now Open Beta App yet?