PlayStation Now has failed to really make an impact. In fact, it hasn’t even surpassed one million subscribers. However, everyone is betting on services being the future, and Sony is too. In a recent interview with the Financial Times, PlayStation boss Jim Ryan confirmed that PlayStation Now will be a big part of PlayStation’s future, this year, for the PS5, and beyond.
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“We obviously have seen the trend in other forms of entertainment towards the mass adoption of streaming as a means of accessing content,” said Ryan. “It would seem likely, very likely, that gaming will follow that trend.”
Ryan continued, noting Sony is increasingly confident in the service it’s providing with PlayStation Now.
“We are getting more confident with the [PlayStation Now] service and we are really going to start to push it hard this year and in years to follow,” said Ryan.
Sony hasn’t pushed PlayStation Now hard since it launched five years ago, beyond locking PS3 games behind it. It’s all felt like an afterthought. But maybe that will change now that the industry is increasingly leaning that way. One way to make PlayStation Now more appealing is to load it up with PS2 and PS1 games in addition to PS3 games. And if you lock these games behind the service, it’s going to make people mad, but people will subscribe to play that catalog. Another thing it lacks is new games. If it wants to compete with Xbox Game Pass, it should offer new PS4 and PS5 first-party games the day they launch. Otherwise, at some point, you’re just offering a legacy backlog.
Of course, there’s a good chance this is nothing more than lip service. Again, Sony hasn’t been pushing PlayStation Now even moderately hard. Could that change when PS5 rolls around? Maybe, but Sony hasn’t hinted it will.
PlayStation Now currently costs $100 a year or $20 a month, depending on how much of it you want. And, if what Jim Ryan is saying is true, expect to see a lot more of it going forward. As always, feel free to leave a comment letting us know what you think or hit me up on Twitter @Tyler_Fischer_ and let me know over there. What do you think Sony can do to improve PlayStation Now?
