But if Sony wants PS Now to truly be a force to be reckoned with, especially with a next-gen (PS5) console set to jumpstart the technical capabilities of the PlayStation platform – one we know developers are keen on making titles for – something is going to have to change .
The PS5 will mark a huge jump in processing power compared to the current generation of consoles, with 8K resolution support, an SSD hard drive, partial game downloads, and more. Regardless of fiddly internal specs – only some of which have been confirmed – players are going to be expecting games that look better, feel smoother, and offer more impressive and expansive worlds – and subscription services like PlayStation Plus or PS Now need to match that .
The as-yet unveile d PS5 console only has a logo so far (Image credit: Sony) Pricing has dropped: it should stay that way
– though we really should see the service come to Australia soon too).
But the real way to drag PS Now into the world of next-gen is with some next-gen games. Microsoft had the confidence to drop its first-party (Gears 5) game onto Game Pass on day one of its release – and did the same for Obsidian’s sci-fi RPG The Outer Worlds , with Halo Infinite set to get the same treatment later this year.
For Sony to convince gamers that PS Now is a service worth buying into, some big-name (PS5 games will be needed early on. Godfall seems a good bet, while the incoming Gods and Monsters and PlayStation-exclusive (The Last of Us Part 2 would really help make PS Now more attractive.
It’s more an inconvenience than a deal-breaker, but with the competition offering the feature, PS Now is only going to get more side- eye as time goes on – and it’s clearly something that’s technically possible to implement at least.
(Project xCloud could prove competitive with its smartphone support (Image credit: Microsoft)
(Can PS Now beat Xbox and Stadia in the long run?) PS Now is currently caught between its streaming and download offerings – especially given the inconsistent implementation of the latter. But with its far larger library of titles compared to Xbox Game Pass, its potential as a one-stop, dual-purpose platform is huge – and could have a massive advantage over the split between Xbox Game Pass and Project xCloud, if they continue to stay distinct in the future.
PS Now doesn’t necessarily need to beat Stadia or Xbox outright; It just needs to ensure it doesn’t shed players to competing services in the move to another console generation. At the moment, that doesn’t seem certain.
Xbox Game Pass vs PlayStation Now
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(Can PS Now beat Xbox and Stadia in the long run?) PS Now is currently caught between its streaming and download offerings – especially given the inconsistent implementation of the latter. But with its far larger library of titles compared to Xbox Game Pass, its potential as a one-stop, dual-purpose platform is huge – and could have a massive advantage over the split between Xbox Game Pass and Project xCloud, if they continue to stay distinct in the future.
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