With the game streaming service market starting to heat up, old dogs need to learn new tricks. The PlayStation Now streaming service, specifically, is tweaking their model to keep up. PS Now is dropping their monthly prices prices from $19.99 to $9.99, and the annual price is going down from $99.99 to $59.99.
In addition, they’re adding some major recent titles to the lineup. One of last year’s most well-received games, God Of War (2017), will be coming to PS Now. Grand Theft Auto V will also be available, though you’ll still likely need the PS Network subscription to engage with shenanigans (and we’re not sure about the strain it’ll put on your internet connection.) There’ll also be inFAMOUS Second Son and Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End; while the latter’s not the most recent Uncharted, it was a perfectly acceptable game.
If you didn’t think much of PS Now, that’s probably because it’s so old, few have paid much mind to it. PS Now originally launched in the USA in 2014, with other regions rolling out the following year. At its demo, The Last Of Us and Beyond Two Souls were displayed. The additional focus on “retro” PlayStation-line games made it essential for Sony fans.
Well over five years later, it’s clear that Sony is feeling the heat. PS Now, much like some of its competitors, is a multi-platform service. The service and its games available on PS4 and PC. There’s similar availability for upcoming rivals Xbox Game Pass, and Google Stadia. However, Xbox Game Pass goes for $14.99/month for hybrid console-PC availability, or $9.99/month standard for either-or. (It’s a flat rate for Stadia at the moment.)
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Sony’s “this-generation” console does have the advantage of starting a few meters ahead, metaphorically. The PlayStation 4 has sold well over 100 million units at this point (it passed the mark in June), while the Xbox One, by industry estimates, has only passed 40 million earlier this year. The Switch has quickly caught up with Xbox One, with over 35 million (plus, now there’s the Switch Lite, which hit stores last week).
On the mobile side of things, while Apple has stopped providing numbers, iPhones sell well into the double-digit millions each generation. Plenty of people also hold onto their previous-generation phones. We don’t have the exact figures for the Apple Arcade yet, but Apple’s proudct has already been praised for being a good option for parents to control their kids’ content, as well as gamers looking to explore mobile games more. Plus, $4.99/month is accessible, or at least more so than repeatedly buying microtransactions.
Google Play Pass hopes to achieve something similar, at $1.99/month for a year followed by a $4.99/month subscription. But speaking of Google, Stadia’s status as a threat to the major console players is unknown. At $10 per month, though, it can certainly reach PC and Android players in its own unique way.
PS Now is currently available for PlayStation 4 and PC; Xbox Game Pass, Apple Arcade and Google Play Pass are also available for their respective platforms. Google Stadia is set to launch next month, but the exact date is unknown.
