Once again, I’m really excited for something launched by PlayStation. This time? It’s a video game streaming and rental service.
PlayStation Now launched on Jan. 13 and acts like a Netflix for games. From two different plans, you can either rent or stream games and play them right from your PlayStation devices.
There are two types of subscriptions on this service. The game streaming subscription, which costs $19.99 a month, gives you access to more than 100 games on your console. The titles range from The Last of Us to Guacamelee!
The rental option is a little different. More than 200 games are available for a variety of periods. Rentals cost about $1 a week, but you can cut it down and rent games for a few hours at a time as well. For devoted gamers, one week can be more than enough time to beat a quick campaign game or a few hours is enough to decide if you like the gameplay well enough to purchase the full version.
My initial worry was how it saved your game process, but all of your gameplay is saved right to the cloud. You could rent it again later to continue or purchase it in the future and start right where you left off. You also keep all your trophies even if you stop being a subscriber to the service.
Currently, all the games are for PS3 but are compatible on other devices. From what I understand, more games will begin rolling out once time goes on. From what I noticed in the catalog, there’s a good variety of longer campaign games to shorter puzzle or quick games. It’s a good variety and seems to be able to suit most players.
I think this is a great idea for next-gen consoles. The rental option is especially interesting for others on budgets with the games or for those that simply don’t want to dish out the big bucks to be able to play.
I always wanted a service like this when I first got into video games in high school. I wanted to play a ton of different games, but I couldn’t afford to shell out $60 for the newest titles. I remember checking games out at Family Video and paying the $5 to $10 rental fee. It still cost a lot of money when it came down to it but was far cheaper than the tag price.
People always suggested GameFly to me when I’d tell them about the dilemma. While I think it is a good service for some, I didn’t want to pay a minimum of $17 a month for games I might not have the time to finish.
PlayStation Now is also good for those with minimal patience when it comes to getting games, like me. I couldn’t handle waiting a few days for them to come in the mail. While there will still obviously be load times and wait times, it seems to be a bit better when it’s on the screen in front of you.
Sophie Kruse is a junior studying journalism. Have you tried PlayStation Now? Email her at sk139011@ohio.edu or find her on Twitter at @kruseco.
