Slashdot Mirror
PlayStation 3 Games Are Coming To PC (cnet.com)
PlayStation 3 games are coming to Windows. Sony said Tuesday that it is bringing its PlayStation Now game-streaming program to Windows PCs. The service broadcasts PlayStation 3 games over the internet similar to the way Netflix beams movies to devices like Roku. CNET reports: This fall, you'll be able to play previously exclusive games like Uncharted 3 and Shadow of the Colossus on a Windows laptop. The catch: you'll be playing those games over the internet with Sony's streaming game service, PlayStation Now. Think Netflix. PlayStation Now has already been around for a couple of years on the PS4, PS3, PS Vita handheld, plus a handful of Blu-ray players and smart TVs. For $20 a month or $45 for three, the service gives players unlimited access to a long list of over 400 PlayStation 3 games. Like Netflix or any other streaming service, the quality can vary wildly depending on your internet connection -- Sony requires a solid 5Mbps connection at all times, and that doesn't change today. What changes is the size of Sony's audience. With a Windows laptop or tablet, you aren't tethered to a big-screen TV. You could theoretically take these PlayStation games anywhere -- and wherever you go, your save games stream with you.
Why would you say "Windows **LAPTOP**"??
Is my desktop not allowed?
Thats cool.... until they turn the service off eventually.
I would rather see them add RemotePlay support to PC; it works great on the PS4 the PS3 already supports it to the PS Vita; let me do the same to the PC.
-SaNo
At Gamescon Sony announced they have two successors to the PS4 coming this fall.
So licensing Windows versions of their older PS3 games right before they make the PS4 the "old" version of the console makes a lot of sense.
It's a new console setup, so most of the PS3 games would take massive reworking to function on the successor consoles.
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
"With a Windows laptop or tablet, you aren't tethered to a big-screen TV. You could theoretically take these PlayStation games anywhere"
The article says it requires a DualShock 4 controller. I don't see how that will work with all Windows tablets, especially seeing as ARM-based Windows tablets (like the Surface 1 and 2 non-Pro) allow only XInput controllers (that is, Xbox 360 controllers and one Logitech model).
Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems as though this streaming service doesn't use the GPU or any of its corresponding APIs; it mentions the only requirements being a fast CPU and fast enough Internet connection.
That being the case, why the hell is this Windows exclusive? Why not open it to Macs and desktop Linux?
You mean like Disgaea PC and it's sequel?
Rather just use the PS3 disks I already have and not need the internet connection at all except for updates....
No sale
Screw this shit. 99% of PC games are already console games, ported. Stupid button-mashing idiocy.
Who the hell is sitting in design rooms slamming their fists on the table demanding people switch buttons to mash every second, half-second, quarter second? Faster faster faster! Mash, switch, mash!
(-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
Heavily compressed mpeg streams of last gen ps3 graphics and 100ms+ lag on controls.. I'll pass.
Maybe this is for the other type of PC gamer. The kind that does touch a console, even by mistake.
You know - just about all of them?
I have no idea why you consider your gaming platform to be worthy of such bigotry.
Last post!
oh, right! SEGA CHANNEL!
I presume that's in USD as well, so paying $180 US ($240CDN) per year to *not* own any games vs me picking up a used PS3 on Craigslist for $100CDN and then buying used games at $5-$15 per game, I just don't see the value proposition here.
http://rpcs3.net/
https://esxemulator.com/
ESX really works. You need a BEEFY system, though.
Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
I can't imagine they have hundreds of PS3s sitting in a datacenter to run this service. If this is running on an emulator on Xeons on in a datacenter, why don't they just sell emulated PS3 games to run directly on Windows and/or the PS4? I suppose they could have a datacenter full of rackmount Cell boxes which would be a little more interesting.
I presume that's in USD as well, so paying $180 US ($240CDN) per year to *not* own any games vs me picking up a used PS3 on Craigslist for $100CDN and then buying used games at $5-$15 per game, I just don't see the value proposition here.
Can't disagree with you there, but I do think you're underestimating the target audience's laziness.
Linux, you magnificent bastard, I read the fucking manual!
Broadcast used to mean Broadcast in te olde Slashdot!
They may not be dead, but for the home user, they are on life support. I know few people with a desktop anymore, and no one shops for them.
You know what the exception is? Gamers. Guess who might be interested in PS3 games on a PC?
I kept my monitor set up in case I ever wanted to hook it my laptop, but never have.
For a "gamer" who only has CPU and video designed for power consumption rather than performance that would seem necessary. You probably can't drive all those pixels on the external at a reasonable frame rate. Unlike a desktop.
For non gamers who go beyond basic email and web browsing and video streaming, external monitors are somewhat popular. For more "serious" work the larger screen is a great benefit.
The general trend is accelerating. Small and medium sized Japanese developers are increasingly seeing Steam as a core part of their strategy (and the bigger ones that have held out are starting to crumble on the issue). Nippon Ichi and Compile Heart increasingly release PC ports of their games a month or two after the console version (and the gap is shrinking). Sega are busily porting their back-catalogue to PC.
I think the driver is that these companies are increasingly struggling to sell to a global audience via traditional physical disk channels. They tend to work on the basis of a relatively small but highly loyal customer base, which is fine so far as it goes, but doesn't help in a world of escalating development and distribution costs. For a while, they went for an increasingly Japan-only strategy (and fewer of their games came out in the West), but that's not going to be viable in the long term, with Japan's stagnant economy and birth-rates.
Steam is a relatively cheap and easy way for them to get access to a global market. The cynic in me also suspects that Valve's (much) lower certification requirements compared to MS/Sony/Nintendo and the PC community's general willingness to fix shoddy ports might help, as it cuts down on QA costs.
I mean I'm just assuming that's Sony's thought process. I don't actually know. If the my LAN streaming of Steam games is any indicator it won't be quite the Netflix-for-games experience the summary implies. I do have a jumbo wrap-around bluetooth gamepad and a couple different Windows tablets (HP Stream 7, for instance) but I'm just assuming the 802.11g and/or my router wouldn't be able deliver a satisfying experience to it. Again based on LAN Steam streaming experience and nothing else which is presumably completely different technology.
"UNIX is very simple, it just needs a genius to understand its simplicity." -Dennis Ritchie
You're knowingly promoting malware.
The only way I could see this making sense is if you wanted to be able to play those games on the go on a Vita, but then a) you would have to have good WiFi, which you aren't likely to have on the go (while there is a 3G model, the speed is almost surely inadequate and the cost would be high); b) the price is too high to justify it; and c) reports are it doesn't work well enough anyways.
Plus the library of available games is pretty poor (IMO). It's a wonder anyone is using the service such that it's still operating.
Impressive, if not very pretty gamepad. But it may be adding a small amount of latency?
You're not using a high latency TV, at least.
But what if you were using a high latency TV. What if you were using DSL (personal rule of thumb, at least twice the latency of cable)
Using Wifi? You're doing that (you should be using wired ethernet, at worst it's possible on USB-to-go Android stuff)
What if you were using Wifi, then streaming through Wifi again to a wireless TV or TV stick? It's dumb but people will do that if given the chance.
> Couldn't you same the same thing about a cheap DVD player and used DVDs
Not really no. When you play a game you're going to spend dozens of hours playing it (if it's a good game you like), whereas once you watch a movie in a couple of hours you're done with it. Netflix's strength is that you're going to blast through a few movies a week and then go on to other things, whereas with a game system you'll play a game or two that month and then will play them again some other time. So there's more value with a game system to having permanent copies of the game.
Did you forget that Sony also bought OnLive's technology?
And we all remember ho well OnLive worked
I just don't see the value proposition here.
They're selling the illusion of choice.
Most people will spend hours playing their favorite handful of games every month, and they would be better off buying the system and those games outright.
But with the subscription, they have the appearance of choice with those 400+ titles. If they never exercise that choice, well, Sony won't complain.
I can see a good point in subscribing for a month or two each year to try things out and decide what to buy. It's notoriously difficult to return unwanted games/software at most retailers, so I would use this if I wanted to try a bunch of games I couldn't borrow from friends.
---
According to the latest ruleset, this post should be modded as Vorpal Flamebait +5.
I think you're underestimating how weak Intel's integrated graphics were.
I'll give them credit for doing so much with limited die space and power... but your claims are utter crap.
---
According to the latest ruleset, this post should be modded as Vorpal Flamebait +5.
Consoles SUCK even compared to a 2010 era laptop with an Intel graphics chip.
No 2010 laptop w/ integrated graphics can run current AAA titles 1080p60. Exaggerating to such an extent doesn't help to get your point across.
I don't think anyone is arguing that a console is the absolute most powerful gaming machine. Consoles are cheap (2-3x less expensive that a comparable gaming PC).
This will spawn the fury of desktop gamers of course, claiming that consoles are overpriced. Just make sure you include a link to a $300 off-the-shelf PC that can pull 1080p60 on modern AAA titles.