PlayStation Now was Sony’s answer for backwards compatibility when it came to the PlayStation 4. Yes, we had access to next generation games and graphics thanks to the PS4, but sometimes we wanted to feel a bit nostalgic and play some old PlayStation 3 games. Unfortunately, you couldn’t just pop in the disk for a PS3 game into the PS4. Instead, you could subscribe to PlayStation Now.
PlayStation Now is a monthly subscription model that lets subscribers have unlimited access to over 450 PS3 games via a subscription plan or, initially, by “renting” individual games. It sounds like a great step in the direction towards cloud gaming. However, the one stickler of an issue with PlayStation Now was its price.
The individual renting of games was soon scrapped in favour of the subscription plans, which for a one month period, came in at $19.99. The 3-month subscription is priced at $44.99. While there are limited deals that run throughout the year which bring the price even lower, one can see that it’s quite a steep price to pay.
And now, Sony seems adamant about turning away potential customers or retaining existing subscribers by drastically limiting the number of devices PlayStation Now games can be streamed to. On the 17th of August, the axe will swing and the service will be discontinued for the following devices:
- PlayStation 3
- PlayStation Vita and PlayStation TV
- All 2013, 2014, 2015 Sony Bravia TV models
- All Sony Blu-ray player models
- All Samsung TV models
Furthermore, all 2016 models of Sony Bravia TVs will have the service discontinued from the 1st of April 2017.
Sony will instead shift focus towards the PlayStation 4 and Windows PC, the latter being added as a platform last year. At the time, Sony confirmed that they were looking into Mac support for PlayStation Now.
This step in the new direction for PlayStation Now, while making the service less accessible on certain devices, may prompt it to be available in more markets due to the narrow field of focus. Currently, PlayStation Now is only available in the US and Europe.
