PlayStation Now: The End of Consoles?

(Xbox: Later -- Sorry, couldn't resist.)

Over a year ago, Sony acquired a company named Gaikai, a streaming gaming service, and the news made most gamers pass gas and then go back to their daily lives of filtering porn and reading reviews.  But that all was about to change come 2014's CES show.  During that show, Sony unveiled its answer to backwards gaming compatibility—something that had been left out of the shiny new PS4 box—leading most joystick-fondlers to send texts starting with, "WTF!," and then declare nothing made sense anymore.  Well…whether you like it or not, the future is here console children, and it's called PlayStation Now.

"Hey, that looks remarkably like a PS3 plugged in behind there..."

"We have another Code-Red.  Blue team move in.  If they don't accept the gift bag, hit 'em with the

stun gun and drag 'em off the floor."

WHAT IS PLAYSTATION NOW?

It's a magical cloud filled with video game promises and lollipop power-ups.  It's the answer to every gamer's dilemma: "What the hell am I going to do at grandma’s, besides falling asleep in the bathroom with my pants down?"  Well, my fellow pixelated adventurist, your dilemma has been filed away under inappropriate behavior, but more importantly, has been answered by Sony.  PlayStation Now allows you to log onto Sony's gaming cloud and play all your favorite PlayStation games (PS3 and older) until your eyeballs fall out, from anywhere on almost anything.  Close your eyes and picture a never ending library of video games just waiting—calling out—to you to reach that next level, so you can brag to your friends or non-gaming co-workers.  Isn't it marvelous?  There's just one tiny, itsy bitsy little catch.  It's all done streaming from the Internet.  So the real question is: "Does grandma have at least 5Mbps of broadband connection for your gaming needs?"  Or more importantly, "Does your work have a good Wi-Fi connection in the bathroom?"  Probably not.  But that's not to say this isn't a huge step in the right direction for gamers.

"I promised I wouldn't cry...but it's been my dream to be streamed in the bathroom while a 

gamer is taking a dump."

PS NOW - THE PROS & CONS:

Technology is fantastic…as long as you're capable of staying on top of it.  The biggest concern with PS Now is whether your Internet (or lack thereof) can handle the service.  What happens if you're in the middle of a fire-fight in COD and your Internet is on the fritz or has a hiccup?  Well, looks like you'll have to spend another twenty minutes hiding in the office closet making back that loss.  But these problems are basically the same ones that exist in any multiplayer today.  So if your connection is pretty solid, PS Now shouldn't give you any trouble.

"Yeah, but all these older games are for people who only own a PS4 or Sony tablet or Sony TV...I already own a PS3 and Vita and have played all the games.  So what do I get?"  A swift kick in the genitals for being such a diehard fan.  Congrats, now get out of Sony's face.  Actually, PS Now will allow you to play, save, and continue from anywhere, at any time, on all kinds of different devices (Sony plans to move the service to TVs, tablets, and even non-Sony products).  So the non-PlayStation owners will benefit the most from the service, but Sony has promised to let you play The Last of Us (a game you've already beaten on your PS3, because it's remarkable) on your Vita.  So there's that.

"Yo, check this out..."

"I know right.  Those graphics are awesome.  Imagine what they'd look like on a HD TV.  It would 

be epic--oh wait..." 

Xbox fan-boys are rubbing their sweaty palms together and drooling on controllers, just waiting for the day they can simply play all the exclusive PS games they missed on their TV.  Not so fast, Microsoft-lovers.  There's a little thing called cost.  You didn't think a great service like this would be free did you?  Of course not, you're smarter than that—you own an Xbox One for heaven's sake.  So what will the cost of such a tremendous library of games be?  Right now, Sony is saying the service can be paid as a subscription or on a purchased game basis, but many details still remain hidden until the summer.  So while you're poolside, lathering up those few hundred pounds you put on during winter, Sony will be rolling out PS Now to the masses.  The good thing is Sony really does right by the people buying their services, as any PS Plus owner will tell you.  So it's easy to expect more for less with PS Now.

"I don't get it.  Go one block up they said.  Turn right.  Two more blocks and then a left.  How in the hell did I end up here?"

BUT IS THIS THE END OF CONSOLES?

You might have seen the articles and heard the presentations of PlayStation Now and thought, "We'll, crap, if I can access HD gaming from my tablet, or TV—why in the hell would I ever need a console again?"  And you wouldn't be alone.  Many gamers have the same feeling sloshing around in their stomach, along with cheese balls and under-cooked burritos, but the truth is, no matter how fast Internet speeds get, and no matter how quick companies can stream HD data, having a local box with up-to-date hardware (Xbox One or PS4 or a high-end PC for example) will always be faster and more powerful.

So is this truly the end of consoles?  In short, no.  As internet speeds continue to climb in the next decade, machines and processors and video cards will also continue to grow.  A better question is would Sony, since they have PS Now, do away with a console in the next decade?  They could, but that would only hurt sales.  There's a large chunk of the market that still doesn't have high-speed Internet, and probably won't in the coming years.  But the even better question is: Could this be the end of the console as we know it today?  Possibly.  That shiny new box you have sitting near your HD television could be the last time you see games in disc format, but that's a fight for another article entirely.

"Go ahead, I dare ya.  Say I have a stutter one more time because I'm streaming.  See what happens."

What might disappear in the next decade?  Handhelds.  PS Now or any service of the like could eventually kill handhelds, especially if any tablet (phone?) could access a vast gaming library.  Then there would be no need for devices like the Vita or 3DS.  Why go out and buy a handheld when you already have a tablet at home to access a library of games?  And if PS Now is even a tiny bit successful, you can bet other companies (Microsoft, Nintendo, etc.) will be jumping on the bandwagon, if they haven't started already.  And that's where the real fun begins, because more streaming services from different companies, creates competition.  And competition creates better offers, better games, and better features…all adding up to one thing: a better experience for the gamer.  No matter how you view PlayStation Now—awesome or just another silly idea—it's still a great opportunity for us joystick-fondlers.  So let's wipe the cheesy residue from our fingertips and raise our controllers or keyboards in unison, and toast to great gaming innovation.