PS Now could be an awesome service if it wasn't for Sony.

[Mr Puggsly]

Over the past few days I've been dabbling in PS Now, having ignored it for years, and I must say I am genuinely impressed.

In many ways its exactly what I want from a cloud gaming service.

* Picture quality is relatively good and doesn't rape my bandwidth.
* 60 fps games feel surprisingly good, not detecting significant judder. (PC and console performance was better with wired connection)
* Latency is less than I expected and fine for most experiences.
* It uses cloud save data which is good for continuing experiences away from a console.
* I am trying games simply because I can do so without downloading.

Before jumping into software options, those are features I want from cloud gaming and PS Now does it all well.

In regard to what's available on PS Now, it's not bad selection for core gamers. I mean if your thing is trying critically acclaimed games and not just the popular stuff, it's pretty good for that. Primarily in the PS3 library, but there is also a significant amount of PS4 content on the service now.

Given this is a Sony service, you would think this is a great way to experience some Sony games! To a degree, it absolutely is.

The problem is Sony seems to be struggling with the idea that PS Now could hurt the Playstation brand or something. Playstation Now? More Like Playstation Now Hold On A Sec!

I was surprised to see the service had Horizon Zero Dawn, that gave me the impression Sony really wants people to use this service. But as I started exploring the library I was surprised to see Sony is actually being quite stingy with the PS4 releases. The list of PS4 exclusives is really just Horizon, Uncharted Lost Legacy, Bloodborne, Until Dawn, Killzone:SF and... Knack!

For fuck's sake, what's the goal here? Sony is running a service but fears giving it notable content like the four year old Uncharted 4. Would it really hurt PS4 if they added 1886, Tearaway, Driveclub, Gravity Rush 2, Last Guardian, Knack 2 (killer app), Nioh, along with numerous digital only games. Those games aren't gold per se, but would still be good additions that wouldn't difficult for Sony to do. If they really want to boost subscriptions, then maybe add games that are (or nearing) a few years old and have achieved much of their potential sales like God of War and Spiderman. Why even add Horizon Zero Dawn? Do they actually care if this service thrives?

Also, I was curious why I couldn't find GTAV, I recall it being on the service. Turns out they only had a 3 month deal on an old game. Gimmicks like that shouldn't be used to push the service. Especially when Sony has notable content of their own that could push PS Now.

I am in the middle of the trial, but I may subscribe ($60 for a year) just so I can dabble in various games quickly when I am bored. There is PS4 content I want to try in the same way I use Gamepass and I can download them. There is PS3 content I want to play without looking for my PS3. I can tolerate $60, that's about what its worth.

So as I use PS Now, I can't help but think... "Boy, this would great if Sony really allowed it to be." Its like they want it to exist but also stay out of the way.

EDIT: Much like BC on Xbox, it would be great if Sony made deals with publishers so we could play our digital PS1/PS2/PS3 games on PS Now. For example, Call of Duty games aren't on PS Now, but maybe an easy solution is letting us use digital games we own on PS Now, if approved by the publisher. Doing this might stimulate digital sales of old games for publishers and Sony would make money from that. However, doing that would actually be work...

Last edited by Mr Puggsly - on 10 March 2020