Playstation Now for PC could be a game changer for Sony

[JOKA_]

jnemesh said:

Keegs79 said:

JOKA_ said:
If PSNow takes off Sony is going to stop being a hardware manufacturer

Your one of those people? Even if it takes off and becomes extremely successful it would not stop hardware manufacturing. Not everyone is going to have a TV for the app or have a PC to run it or even want to. The whole reason why most people play and argue about PC gaming is simplicity and being in front of a big TV. Besides that, it is not going to prevent people from buying physical media. All it would prove is that there is demand still for older games and some of those games might be harder to find and buy. There is a lot of things taking into account.

I wish people would stop jumping the gun.

For those that don't have a TV that supports PS Now...or a tablet...or a smartphone...or a Playstation Console...there is always the $99 Playstation TV!

What I think is being said here by JOKA saying that "they are going to stop being a hardware manufacturer" is that they can EASILY stream PS4 games as well as PS3, 2 and 1 games.  They could decide to just run everything off the servers at some point in the future, providing upgrades on THEIR end as needed...and instead of customers having to upgrade their hardware every 5-8 years, the upgrades would be done for them...all they would have to do is buy/rent/subscribe to the software.

Now, currently, the state of broadband in the US is rather pathetic thanks to Verizon, Comcast and other ISPs padding their wallets instead of upgrading their networks...and degrading the principle of Network Neutrality while they are at it...but EVENTUALLY, broadband at 1gb/s is going to be common...not next year or even the year after...but in 10 years?  Quite possibly.  At that point, it would not only be practical to stream all of your media, including games...but also preferable!  Imagine playing PS4 (or 5) games on your smartphone via a 6g gigabit wireless connection!  Or being able to pause your game in the living room and being able to resume the game in your bedroom...or at the office, on the subway, at the park...wherever you happen to be!

This technology has broad implications for the future of gaming, and I am very excited to see it start to mature!

Yes, this exactly.  To reiterate:

1) This is still a ways off (internet speeds are a big inhibitor), I fully expect there to be a PS5.

2) By stop making hardware, I mean they could stop making $400 consoles with expensinve parts inside.  They could allow the PSNow app to be available on TVs, Tablets, Phones and then simply sell a controller.  Or for those without those devices, they could sell a cheap $50 or $99 piece of 'hardware' (hmmm, sounds like PSTV) that simply connects to the internet and runs the PSNow app.  Then when the 'next-generation' of hardware comes out, Sony simply updates the hardware on their end.  No more shipping, no more disc drives, all equipment is easily upgradeable.

This is a way for Sony to get out of the costly business of making hardware, while still being a 'console' maker.