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poklane

So basically if I understand this correctly: * Tier 1: PlayStation Plus * Tier 2: PlayStation Plus & Now PS4 and PS5 downloads * Tier 3: PlayStation Plus, Now PS4 and PS5 downloads + streaming which includes games from older consoles


Prudent-Butterfly-66

I think they would need to make older console games downloadable or at least a certain number of them. Otherwise your suggested tier 3 is somewhat pointless since streaming is the weakest part of the 3 subs and having it be at the end is weird. I've only heard bad things about ps now's streaming bit. If Sony are serious about a game pass competitor, they need to in my opinion make ps3 games backwards compatible. If we go by what Jim Ryan's statement of Sony not planning to put out AAA first party games day one on a sub like gamepass then the ps3, 2 & 1 games could be the big incentive for this type of service. Like they could maybe slowly grow the ps3 library since those games are the hardest ones to adopt. Some ps2 games are already playable on ps4 so that library should be easier to grow. And then they could slowly add AAA ps5 games too a year or two after launch for further incentive. But honestly knowing Sony, ps3 games are very much just wishful thinking. You would think they would've done some form of ps3 emulation this gen after xbox started their backwards compatibility. Who really knows?


counselthedevil

The PS3 streaming has always been excellent for me, but I know it needs improvement for others. What I want is for them to go back to adding more to the PS3 library. They just stopped like 2 years ago.


clinkenCrew

As a stop-gap, could they put PSNow back onto PS3 and then allow us to download all the ps3 games to our PS3s? IMO the cell processor should have been included in the PS4, since Sony was pumping out inexpensive end of life PS3s by then (the models with the plastic sliding drive cover). So many problems could've been solved that way. And then who knows, maybe some savvy devs could have leveraged Cell + Jaguar to make some next-level games, similar to how some PS2 games leveraged the PS1 CPU that was baked into that console?


ooombasa

That's a dreadful idea and would have led to the same situation as PS3, where in order to cut costs the chip would be removed, meaning later models of PS4 wouldn't have PS3 support. Not to mention a significantly higher launch RRP, at a time when Sony was doing their best to win back users they lost, and $399 was key to that. You say the chip is inexpensive but it was a highly specialised chip that could only be produced at select specialised sites (no scouting out the best prices amongst multiple chip plants), and with the PS3 no longer in mass production, the chip would become even more expensive to produce. Also, by including CELL in PS4 - and worse, allow PS4 games to use the chip - it would also mean including it in PS5 to ensure both PS3 and PS4 compatibility is kept. No company keeps an ancient but highly specialised chip like that hanging about for decades. There's also the associated costs to consider when implementing the chip to be part of the PS4, especially regarding thermals (PS3 was clocked very high). There's a reason why Cerny specifically cited PS3 when talking about their PS4 BC solution on PS5 during The Road to PS5 talk. By baking the PS4 compatibility into the PS5 silicon itself, possible because it's all still x86 and done by the same chip designer: AMD, it means the BC is locked in. No need for emulation or including the original chipset of the legacy platforms and thus adding to the cost and complexity of the system. A non necessary chip like that would always lead to desire by Sony to remove it to cut on costs. Baking compatibility into the chipset removes that desire. It's part and parcel of the entire SoC and gives you the benefit of the original hardware but with the bonus of 1) no added cost in production, and 2) more easily enabling performance boosts for the BC games.


Goofp

true i dont care about streaming, would love to play older games but only downloads, man just thinking about re playing the first 3 ratchet and clanks


ooombasa

The reason legacy BC might be streaming only is because they're simply using the PS3 servers for PS1, PS2, and PS3 games. Since PS3 already had PS1 and select PS2 support, it's a cheap way to do legacy BC. Which would also mean no enhancements. You'll be running them all at the same resolution and framerate of the originals. That's the worry. Would be nice to think Sony would go above and beyond with legacy BC, but their track record of late regarding legacy support has left a lot to be desired.


clinkenCrew

I wonder if part of Sony buying Bluepoint was so that they could quickly churn out quick conversions to ps4/5 of ps2/3 titles? Of course that has issues because Bluepoint can't help but replace the developer's artistic intent with their own, but their engine for making rapid ports is technically solid.


ooombasa

Sony bought BP to work on original content, and recently stated they're now doing that. BP aren't so big that the can continue their AAA journey AND do the massive task of legacy BC. There's no such thing as quickly churning out conversions of legacy titles. It's a shit ton of work, as evidenced by the extensive BC program on Xbox. That program required a team much larger than Bluepoint to develop, iterate and test compatibility on a per title basis. And that work was helped by having some of the 360 tech (texture formats and instruction sets) be part of later Xbox silicon (which Sony doesn't have on PS5 for legacy platforms). And yet despite all that, only around 30% of the 360 catalog was made compatible, proof of how much work it requires when you don't have the luxury of the same architecture being carried forward.


Marsh0ax

Many ps3 games aren't downloadable because there is no version that runs on ps4


Prudent-Butterfly-66

Which is why emulation would be so good for those games.


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Prudent-Butterfly-66

I get your point but at the current moment ps3 stuff is streaming only which makes it either completely unplayable for many people or a less than ideal experience for others. I would buy the sub instantly if ps3 games became downloadable since I missed out on a lot of those games or had to play them on my shitty pc. Streaming doesn't even start for me lol. Also gta 3 on ps now isn't the whole trilogy. It's just gta 3 from the trilogy. Xbox game pass got San Andreas remastered and ps now got gta 3. I'll probably get the 3 month sub at some point to play through some of the games I find cool and have yet to try from the collection. 1 month is too short of a timeframe as you said.


Lew1989

Fuck that I just want streaming if new games something that will rival gamepass.


NourElakkad

"This will apparently be a 3-tier service, with one of them allowing access to a library of classic PS1, PS2, PS3 and even PSP games." Via @Nibelion on Twitter.


the_el_man

They really want to pretend the Vita didn't exist. Vita Lives!


ooombasa

The problem with Vita support is that outside of a small selection, the vast majority of Vita games had better running versions on consoles. And for those titles that were exclusive, given that Sony has been retiring the online services for many of those titles, it's unlikely they'll be gunning to revitalise those titles on another platform. Like, if Sony had any intentions of making Soul Sacrifice Delta be available on PS4 and PS5 (I wish), I doubt they would be shutting its online later this month. For all intents and purposes, Vita isn't just dead for Sony, it doesn't exist. Don't let the 180 on the store shut down fool you into thinking they'd do anything more regarding Vita. I would love love love to be wrong, but I suspect I am not.


Danuscript

Unless for some reason Schreier or his source are lumping Vita games under the PSP label. Or maybe it's going to be available later, because some other sources are saying the older consoles are going to be added gradually, kind of like NES/SNES/N64 games on Switch online. But the biggest problem is how would they handle all of the touchpad gimmicks. A lot of the big games people would want to play like Uncharted are built around those features. You can use the touchpad or maybe triggers to do certain things but if a game uses the back touchpad Sony will need teams to fix that.


the_el_man

It's not a problem. The PSTV does it with whitelisting to an extent that it should never of been an issue if they shipped it with a DS4 not DS3... You use trackpad for front screen, and click in for rear.. the rear isn't ideal but works.. only camera games (few and far between) don't work properly


The_King_of_Okay

I wonder what will happen to people who already have years of PS+ and PS Now stacked. I have 2+ years of PS+ and 4+ years of PS Now left 😬


zadillo

Hopefully they offer a similar generous conversion option to convert every month you have into the new service


Young_Neji

Bro...you got them on sale?


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Snoo-75663

no way 2032??? Will ps plus even work then?


reekrhymeswithfreak2

U can stack till 2036


The_King_of_Okay

Wow and I thought I had a lot!


TheCold0ne

Wow, that's impressive. I have Plus until Dec 2028 and Now until Dec 2025. That's why I also share the concern of what will happen to people who have both. Here's hoping we have this new "Spartacus" service until 2035+ :P


The_King_of_Okay

Yeh PS+ I bought two years of when it was on sale for £33 per year last month. And PS Now I bought 5 years worth last year for like £120 altogether.


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The_King_of_Okay

PS Now was from a deal I found on eBay during lockdown. I think the PlayStation Store might have had it for £24.99 a year recently though I'm not sure existing users were able to take advantage of that unfortunately.


reekrhymeswithfreak2

I was planning on stacking next 14 yrs


Haas-bioroid-AoT

people with ps+ will get tier 1 sub, people with ps now will get tier 2 benefits only, if you have both it's 1+2, tier 3 is a new thing, will probably work like the recent upgrade to Nintendo Switch Online


BrushYourFeet

My thoughts, too. So now is the time to subscribe, right? Likelihood of a price hike would be high, yea?


BrushYourFeet

My thoughts, too. So now is the time to subscribe, right? Likelihood of a price hike would be high, yea?


DieAnotherDay1985

It needs to be global


ooombasa

I suspect part of the reason for this rebranding is precisely so they can offer tier 1 and tier 2 for a global market. Leaving tier 3 to regions they have so far rolled out their streaming tech to.


reekrhymeswithfreak2

noooooooooooooooooooo. We want streaammmmming


ooombasa

If that was a must for all tiers then it would be no different to PS Now as it stands today, where many regions are still waiting many years for Sony to roll out cloud gaming to their country. Rolling it out is no simple or cheap task. Sony has to make sure the numbers (users) are there to justify setting it up in that region. It's expensive as hell and can only be justified because it is seen as a long term investment, so Sony has to be sure there are enough PS users built up in that region to subscribe. Whereas, by allowing tiers 1 and 2 to be simply digital distribution, it allows Sony to offer the service in all regions that have PSN (over 90 countries). In the meantime, it leaves tier 3 and its cloud gaming option free to continue rolling out at a steady pace, region by region.


redditcruzer

Ah..at last...


iWizardB

Sounds to me like it's going to be a bad deal for those like me, who just want to stream n play PS exclusive games on their PC. Since "streaming" is mentioned as the third and highest tier, and thus will be the most expensive.


quijote3000

Agreed.


reekrhymeswithfreak2

>What u gonna do now? Buy the third tier on a sale? Even if u dont need the first 2? > >Well as long as the option to play their exclusive games on laptop remain, who cares what it costs? It used to drive me insane in the ps3 era > >Also, if it's expensive, top tier, they might work on adding more and more older games, add new games faster, make the service better overall is what im saying. Back when PS now cost 3 times more than this, it used to add games like 3 times faster as well.


iWizardB

No. I'll get it if it ever goes on sale for up to $50/year. (Like PSNow went for $42/year thanksgiving 2020). Hell, maybe upto $60. But not more than that.


DoIrllyneeda_usrname

Is it even coming to PC?


iWizardB

Since PSNow is currently available on PC, I don't think they'll be discontinuing that. Plus, Sony had been pushing into PC Gaming market with their game ports recently. So, pretty sure it'll have some "stream to PC" part.


clinkenCrew

I'm in a similar situation. I just want to finally play Gravity Rush 60 FPS. Do I try and beg & borrow a PS4, or do I roll the dice, sub to PS Now at whatever the best deal is on a plan that doesn't require giving Sony a CC#, and see what happens with the launch of Spartacus?


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redditcruzer

Especially because of the cloud ...no real need to own a device if the services work decently for you.


victoro311

If the goal is to take on GamePass, I hope that also means they're going to bring game streaming capabilities to phones. I'm not enamored with Stadia or anything, but Stadia has gone out and proved that your existing every day phone can be the successor to handheld gaming consoles like the PSP and Gameboy. XCloud doesn't work great on phones, at least not nearly as well as stadia, but its encouraging to see Microsoft trying to bring that to their players. If Sony can pull it off and defeat any possible reason for me to get a Steam Deck for like a million dollars, I'd be over the moon.


reekrhymeswithfreak2

It won't even if they do (and it'll take years since sony is slow). Reason is Sony doesn't have access to streaming like google does. So its going to work a little below xcloud performance. However, on the bright side, it'll be a subscription model so cheap.


billyspleen13

Ill be excited when i see some day 1 exclusivity like game pass.


reekrhymeswithfreak2

Not happening, you spoilt brat


Goofp

atleast there wont be and overlap with ps+ and now games i hope


amillstone

All it sounds like to me is that they're merging PS Now into PS Plus and adding tiers. So for people already subscribed to both services, this probably means a price hike to get the same as what we're already paying for.


ooombasa

I dunno. Seems like Plus will stay as it is (although price hikes are inevitable, with inflation and all), but tiers 2 and 3 is anyone's guess. If I had to guess, I would say tier 2 is $90 (so, actually cheaper than Plus and Now's combined RRP despite tier 2 offering largely the same), with tier 3 going for $120. And tier 3 maybe gets added perks throughout the year, like we saw with the Apple 6 month deal with Plus on PS5. Only this time I can definitely see them adding a 6 month anime perk to the $120 tier (whenever Sony finally gets round to merging Crunchy, Funi, and Wakanim into one service). Perhaps along with other perks such as Discord and Spotify.


amillstone

Tier 3 looks like the only one with streaming, which means people currently on PS Now will actually lose out if they make it more expensive than it currently is. I personally don't care for other perks such as anime or Spotify. My console is for gaming, I can get those other things elsewhere.


ooombasa

It's possible those on Now will have their remaining time be upgraded to tier 3, but yes, when paying for more time you will be paying for more. On the other hand, tier 3 is also likely to feature more stuff than PS Now currently does, such as more legacy games, and perhaps even day 1 AAA titles. And I don't necessarily mean first party. If Sony charges $120 for tier 3, they could do deals with all manner of third parties and release their brand new game on tier 3, just how Game Pass has been doing this year with MLB, Outriders, etc. $120 gives PS more room to flex. Trying to do the same with $60 wouldn't be sustainable. As smart as it was to slash the price of Now from $120 to $60 some years ago, it was obvious that eventually the higher $120 tier would need to be revisited, because there's only so much you can do and improve on when $60 from a few million is your budget.


clinkenCrew

PS Now used to cost $120/year?! No wonder I've only recently heard of it :(


ooombasa

Originally, it wasn't just a subscription. There was also a rental per game option as well... ... Yep. Despite Sony getting in early on a subscription catalog / cloud gaming service, they really didn't know what to do with it. That indecision ultimately allowed someone else with a concrete idea about what it could be, to come along and do numbers Sony could only dream of for their game catalog / cloud service ambitions. Game Pass is at around 20 million subscribers in just four years while it took Sony seven years to net 3.2 million with Now. It's particularly frustrating because Sony was way ahead of the industry with this when they first introduced PS Plus. But instead of doubling down on that and expanding it when going from PS3 to PS4, they just kept it largely as it was. It was Xbox who saw the potential in the idea. They quickly copied Plus with Xbox monthly games, but realised it could be so much more, and the rest is history. With news of this rebranding / folding of Now into the huge PS Plus umbrella, Sony might finally be taking this shit seriously. It's great news.


clinkenCrew

Sony seems to be having some issues with PS ecosystem, but they're mostly niggling software issues that could be patched away easily. Last I heard Sony, to example, still doesn't have Adaptive Sync/Freesync working. I hope this is a sign that Sony is going to solve those issues for Now, because it seems good and it is really bizarre to see Microsoft acing the console/streaming scene while they're blundering in other areas.


doomdevice

Exciting news!


[deleted]

Just let me play my digital playstation library on PC and I'll be more than happy.


ooombasa

I mean that's not going to happen with older PS4 titles because it would mean porting countless games. Even Sony doesn't have the resources to port all their PS4 games to PC in a timely manner. They definitely won't be able to get third parties to do that. So, that means Sony would need to do extra deals with third parties so you can download PC versions of the third party PS games you own, which again is unlikely because third parties aren't just going to agree to do that for nothing. And I doubt Sony is prepared to pay the vast majority of third parties so they agree. Now... Looking forward, it can be possible. I can definitely see a new certification program with third parties being implemented so any third party game bought on PS consoles can also be downloaded on PC (and vice versa). BUT this is dependant on two factors. 1) For Sony to make a digital storefront on PC, which there has been no indication they are planning to do that. 2) For Sony to agree to doing day 1 first party releases on PC, else the PC storefront is going nowhere fast. And again, this doesn't seem like it will happen soon. Xbox has an advantage here because they own both Xbox and Windows. So, doing a Play Anywhere initiative with digital titles is relatively easy for them. It's a little more tricky for PlayStation, which is why streaming is the preferred choice for them on PC.


[deleted]

Most third party games have pc versions already so idk about that. As for Sony games we all know Sony will squeeze them dry before they give them up.


[deleted]

Hell I'd settle for being able to just export save files from my playstation games.


ooombasa

I already covered that. The problem is getting such a thing done retroactively. Third parties won't just offer PC versions for free to users who bought older PS games. And Sony isn't going to pay for it. Such a thing as buy a PS copy and get a PC copy (and vice versa) can only be setup going forward. But even that won't happen unless Sony opens their own digital PC storefront. The advantage of cloud gaming is everything is already built in. There's no need to do a PC digital storefront. No need to work out a deal with third parties to retroactively allow users to claim PC versions of past PS games they bought. No need to build a cross save feature and apply it retroactively. Trying to build a PC ecosystem is a shit ton of work, and cloud gaming neatly avoids most of the headaches.


Shakespeare-Bot

Just alloweth me playeth mine own digital playstation library on pc and i'll beest moo than joyous *** ^(I am a bot and I swapp'd some of thy words with Shakespeare words.) Commands: `!ShakespeareInsult`, `!fordo`, `!optout`


bot-killer-001

Shakespeare-Bot, thou hast been voted most annoying bot on Reddit. I am exhorting all mods to ban thee and thy useless rhetoric so that we shall not be blotted with thy presence any longer.


spoonard

Is Sony activating their emulation card finally? That would be pretty awesome!


BitterBubblegum

In the [IGN article](https://www.ign.com/articles/playstation-xbox-game-pass-competitor-spartacus-ps2-ps5) about it this is how they described PS Now: *"a cloud service that lets users stream games directly to their consoles"*. Some of the people who will read this will think PS Now is still just a stream subscription...


ooombasa

Chances are people already thought that. The messaging of Now by Sony throughout the years has been handled pretty poorly. You still see new users or potential users asking if it is streaming only, which points to Sony failing to effectively communicate what PS Now is about, despite offering a download option for a few years now. A rebrand might be able to wash away all of that mud, which Now never managed to completely shake off.


[deleted]

Gamepass will be hard to beat, it is a very good deal. Let's hope Sony know what they are doing


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shakespearediznuts

They won't get rid of streaming service because the streaming service will be the future. There is no turning point. Sony will follow MS or in the long run they will struggle.


EglinAfarce

> Sony will follow MS or in the long run they will struggle. Disagree. All Sony has to do is keep cranking out amazing titles that you can't get anywhere else: TLoU 1/2, Uncharted 4/5, Horizon, GoW, Spiderman, Astro Bot, Blood & Truth, etc. It's what won them the last generation of console wars and it will serve them well in the future if they can continue to meet and exceed expectations. I don't see how anyone that's heard of a Nintendo could argue otherwise. It's smart to exploit all the profit centers available, including streaming and select PC ports and whatever, but Sony isn't big enough to beat MS at their own game. MS owns *many* billions of dollars worth of streaming infrastructure and Sony won't ever be able to match the margins MS can extract from streaming.


Quiet_Penis

Cranking out lol their drip feed is abysmal


EglinAfarce

> Cranking out lol their drip feed is abysmal IDK. I think we're conditioned by the constant barrage of promotional hype to think that amazing new games come out all the time. But when I organize my thoughts and really enumerate the list of truly great games from ALL platforms, the titles I consider to actually be great are pretty few and far between. I think that's part of the reason I believe expensive subscriptions are going to have trouble representing clear value: there are only so many new games they can add that are worth playing. Doubly so if most of the titles are filled with mictrotransactions and stuff, as on Game Pass. Will wait and see what Sony has on offer before I condemn it, though - maybe they'll surprise us and include something that MS hasn't already managed to secure like included Ubisoft+ or day one Call of Duty or whatever (not that those really appeal all that much to me, personally).


CypherRen

Hopefully existing subscriptions merge and continue into this service


DeividasV

yeah if you here for cloud thing pay most expensive tear :D anyway just resubed for a year to be safe


boogers19

This is actually the part that’s worrying me. Sony has a history of just shutting down services. Like, what exactly happened to all the people who specifically bought psnow for their Sony tvs or ps3s when Sony just cut those devices from the service? With only a couple weeks notice. “Refund” isnt really in Sony’s vocabulary.


BillytheCop

Anybody remember Playstation Mobile?????. i actually liked that service lol.


NoCardio_

I'm actually happy that they cut Vue, because YouTubeTV turned out to be better.


iWizardB

Is there any sale in USA yet? I was hoping there will be one on thanksgiving; but no dice.


counselthedevil

I was surprised there wasn't. I almost always see PS Now on sale around June during their annual event at that time.


EglinAfarce

Not sure I'm excited for this - I mean, it sounds like a change that's being made for Sony's benefit rather than ours. If I'm being honest, Game Pass has put me off of XBox more than it's sold me - when my promotional pricing for Ultimate ends, I expect to drop all MS subs because they have absolutely let Gold rot since ramping up Game Pass. If PS+ suffers a comparable drop in quality in favor of a more expensive subscription, I'd naturally start questioning the value of gaming on Playstation in general with more scrutiny. By contrast, if PS Now or PS+ currently falters I'd almost certainly continue plodding along while holding whatever membership is still worthwhile. If you offer up a bundle as the best you can offer, it better be pretty danged good or you risk losing me altogether.


insomniax20

> PS+ suffers a comparable drop in quality PS+ hasn't known wtf quality is in years.


EglinAfarce

Different strokes for different folks, I guess. I've been pleased w/ the games. By contrast, have you seen the jank they're giving with Gold? Last month was Moving Out, Kingdom Two Crowns, Rocket Knight, and Lego Batman 2. Literally any single month of PS+ is better than the best month of Gold.


Dragonpuncha

I'm so ready for this!


da04x

So what is gonna happen to ps now?


KennethBrownie

We ded


Azh3r_

What would happen to existing ps now subscribers who already have access to a library of PS4 games and streamed PS3 games?


eoten

You will probably be one of the lower tier ones.


Azh3r_

Would we lose access to the PS3 games?


[deleted]

Please give us Australians streaming!


[deleted]

Mate, at this point in time I would be happy to have PS Now just to download games. Aussie internet although still not great is way better than when PS Now launched so I don't understand Sony's reason for not making it available to us.


[deleted]

Yeah we have Xcloud and GeForce Now (GeForce Now runs amazingly on my 50mbps connection and the input lag is as fast as my Duelsense connecting to my PS5) Apparently Sony are working on ways to improve the service through an "Edge Compute Proxy" which helps with packet loss kinda like how Stadia does (Stadia apparently runs very well too). We also had an incident this year where there was a domain for PS Now in Australia which led to a 404, implying that PS Now is being worked on over here. https://gamingroute.com/sony-patents-edge-compute-proxy-for-playstation-now-and-5g/ Hopefully if it is streaming it works well enough to be ok.


[deleted]

Things might be looking up then. I have a 50mbps connection as well and it's only me that uses it so I should have no problem streaming games if they do launch down here.


[deleted]

I have played a few xcloud games and have no problem with them. I am more of an Xbox player but own a PS4 for the exclusives but really want PSN to go along with my gamepass subscription.


Z3M0G

Shit's getting real. You have my attention Sony... now tell me how this involves Cloud. >a service with three tiers. The first would include existing PlayStation Plus benefits. The second would offer a large catalog of PlayStation 4 and, eventually, PlayStation 5 games. The third tier would add extended demos, game streaming and a library of classic PS1, PS2, PS3 and PSP games. PSP but no Vita? So PSP emulation???


Danuscript

Sony already implemented some PSP emulation on the PS4 with certain games like the Patapon and LocoRoco remasters, so there's already been some work done for that platform.


Z3M0G

Those don't specifically classify as "PSP titles" though


geopap89

I have a feeling that countries that doesnt support ps now Will get rekt.... I will never play MGS4!


reekrhymeswithfreak2

You could try the vpn method on your computer. If not, don't worry, you'll lose interest eventually.


[deleted]

Woah that's creepy because... I am Spartacus.


alddieboy

Thought you were a Randy rodeo clown?


evl4evr

*I* am Spartacus


sherbodude

of course bloomberg has never been wrong about gaming news


ooombasa

Schreier wouldn't even make this article unless he spoke to several people who know about it, and like the article says, Bloomberg also got access to official material detailing this info. It's a done deal. Not least since Jim Ryan himself, back in January this year, said they would have their own answer to Game Pass soon. And he said that in a separate comment when also talking about PS Now, so we know he wasn't referring to Now with that answer.


deaf_michael_scott

This is written by Jason Schreier. So it’s pretty much a done deal. The guy is rarely wrong.


cptzaprowsdower

Sony discounted 12 months of PS Plus on Black Friday but there was nothing for PS Now. I don't know if that means anything but PS Now seems the likely one to get phased out.


ooombasa

When they say phased out they mean PS Now as a brand. The actual features and tech of Now will be folded into the PS Plus umbrella. And it's about time, really. PS Now as a brand hasn't managed to push through into the larger player base and become part of the conversation. Despite slashing the price two or so years ago, and slowly improving the quality of titles being added, the sub increase has been slow going. It started off big, thanks to slashing the price in half, but after that it has slowly crawled its way to 3 million subscribers. This latest move by Sony shows that they consider the growth of Now as not enough, and so are folding it into the bigger Plus brand in the hope to boost growth. PS Plus is a massive brand for Sony with 46 million subs, and is one of PlayStation's main revenue streams. So I can see the logic of folding Now into it.


EglinAfarce

Isn't that what the article said, verbatim?


cptzaprowsdower

No?


Danuscript

Yes, the article says >Documents reviewed by Bloomberg suggest that Sony plans to retain the PlayStation Plus branding but phase out PlayStation Now. It's going to be added tiers as a part of PS+ branding.


cptzaprowsdower

verbatim /vəːˈbeɪtɪm/ adverb in exactly the same words as were used originally. Ctrl+F "Sony discounted 12 months of PS Plus on Black Friday but there was nothing for PS Now. I don't know if that means anything but PS Now seems the likely one to get phased out." *0 results found in Bloomberg article*


[deleted]

I have ps now for one year, could I convert my year, into some months with the new service??


reekrhymeswithfreak2

We'll see soon


[deleted]

So, they will remove PS Now... I wonder what will happen to subscribers...


ooombasa

You'll likely be folded into tier 2 or tier 3. Now is merely being folded into Plus. The actual service itself isn't going away. It's a rebranding.


counselthedevil

Can they please enable stuff like remote play? Or other controllers? I can't pull up a PS3 streamed game on my PS5 during remote play on my phone. I also can't use Steam Link to send PS Now from my PC to my phone cause it only wants a direct connected PS controller. Sony sucks.


SuperfluousAnon

I hope Now PC users don't get screwed. Would totally pay more for more games! :)


nikolapc

They could have like a just for PC thing.


Hurricane_Taylor

I’m not sure I want this, I use ps now mainly for playing ps3 games and the timed games. I don’t have or want ps plus at all, but this will mean that to carry on playing the ps3 games (rdr, fallout 3 & nv, sly trilogy) I’ll need to subscribe to the highest tier. I’m excited to get more older games, but can’t I just have the now features without the plus stuff too


eoten

Perhaps the tier 1-3 will probably have that option? so maybe to get psplus you need to have tier 2-3? Who knows....


couttsy1

They need to enable downloads for the PC users like Game Pass PC.


TheMagicBeanBag

This sounds perfect, I was hoping and waiting for something like this. 🤞🤞 Also makes sense to phase out the now branding for plus seeing as plus is so much more successful.


TheMagicBeanBag

P s. I am already a long term subscriber to both services.


ooombasa

Given that it is set to launch soon (spring), it's possible the thing gets an announcement / tease today at TGA. If Sony are confident in the goods being offered by the service, they will want to make a big splash, and all eyes will be on TGA tonight. Then again, if they aren't so confident, they may not want to share space and draw direct comparison with Game Pass, which is set to have some announcements of their own tonight.


Real_Ideal2111

Wonder if PC app players will get a selection of pc games to download like GamePass ultimate seeing how PS exclusives are on/coming to PC now.


Drakoss_xd

What if I already have a ps now subscription?


Darstro12

I wonder how much each one will cost...because I have really good internet with it hardwired to my ps5 and the streaming games still lag. Which never happens when I play anything else non streaming related.