As someone who tried really hard to like PlayStation Now when it came out, I just don't believe that you didn't have input lag issues. I've played Now from several different locations (not just different people's houses, but different cities, states, and one other country) on a number of different PS4s, and it's only been varying levels of absolutely unacceptable input lag.

Even if I were to believe that you had an unnoticeable amount of input lag, the fact is most will. And input lag that high makes some genres completely unplayable such as fighters, shooters, and soulslikes

With Streaming to any devices becoming a growing prospect and internet speeds becoming faster year on year, buying new console hardware isnt making much sense anymore. Ubisoft arent that far off.

DF have an episode where they tried out PSNow and they liked the results.

This ain't going to happen. All the drivers for gamers to buy consoles rather than high end pcs are still as relevant today. The convenience and hassle free factor of consoles is still as good as it ever has been hence why we are seeing all three console makers doing so well today. Even with streaming improving over time i still see the same issues existing and driving console adoption.

Why does anyone take this assertion seriously? It's trotted out literally every time a new gen is on the horizon.

I personally have no intention of ever purchasing a console which requires streaming games. I like to collect physical media, though I am still willing to download games that do not release physically, I'll never accept the streaming model. Even if the latency issues are all resolved, it's just the opposite of what I want to see.