As you may have seen yesterday, Sony has announced their new game streaming service, PlayStation Now, at CES 2014. It sounds cool, but will it live up to the hype? Nobody knows, but we’ve got some tips to help PlayStation Now thrive in the latest Fanatical Five:
No Extra Fee for PS Plus Members
We know that PlayStation Now will have two pricing structures: a “pay per rental” setup, and a flat monthly rate. If they really want to hammer the value of PlayStation Plus, they should waive that monthly rate for PS Plus members. I know, they need to pay for the service that they’re pumping money into, but it would drive more people to PS Plus that would normally just “rent” one or two games and be done with it, which means more money for Sony in the long run.
Account for Current Ownership
A lot of people held onto their PS3s (and their PS3 games) while waiting to see if Sony‘s streaming service would be their solution to the backwards-compatibility question. Sony could easily check a person’s PSN account to see if they already own a (digital) version of a game on PlayStation Now, and thus make that game free to stream. It’d definitely boost the “gamer friendly” rep they’re trying to cultivate, and could even spur some quick PS3 game sales via PSN. It would be pretty crummy to (as some would see it) “punish” people who want to use the service to stream games they technically already own.
Steady Bandwidth
This is definitely one that Sony can’t be 100% responsible for, but one that they’ll need if PlayStation Now will be a success. Sony should talk with ISPs – at least the major ones – to ensure that the most customers possible can enjoy the service. On Sony‘s side, they need to make absolutely sure their servers can handle thousands, if not tens of thousands, accessing it at once. Gamers tend to expect network problems with new online-enabled services and games, but we really shouldn’t, and if Sony makes connection problems nonexistent, it’ll definitely turn some heads.
An Irresistible Price
Have you noticed I’m really focused on the monetary side of things? I’m not alone. Everyone wants to save money, and Sony needs to find a sweet spot to make sure PlayStation Now doesn’t become the next OnLive. I’d recommend keeping the flat monthly rate at or below $10 if at all possible.
A Massive Library
File this suggestion under “duh,” but it needs to be said. When Nintendo first announced the Virtual Console service for the Wii, everyone freaked out at the possibilities, but what we got instead was a very, VERY slow trickle, with many of the most beloved games either coming very late into the console’s lifespan or not at all. Sony can’t make the same mistake. We’re all but guaranteed that most first-party Sony titles will be available for PlayStation Now, but Sony‘s going to need to get as many of their third-party partners on board as possible if they really want to wow us.
Those are our suggestions, what are yours? Sound off (civilly) in the comments section below!
