PlayStation Now promises an ambitious networking feat, hoping to bring select games not only across platforms, but across generations. But is it a promise Sony can keep?
We gave PlayStation Now a test run after the launch of its beta on PS4 earlier today, and despite a perplexing pricing model and a minute or two of network wonkiness, the platform is performing surprisingly well. In the video above, you can watch our attempt to stream and play two PlayStation 3 titles — Just Cause 2 and Final Fantasy 13 — on our PlayStation 4.
During the test, we experienced just one session-ending error while starting a new game in Just Cause 2. Initializing a game through PlayStation Now took us a little over half a minute; a pause we experienced only when launching a game, but not during play. That period was extended significantly when launching a game through PlayStation Now after immediately ending another streaming game — seen as a nearly two-minute transition in the video above as we attempt to jump from Just Cause 2 to Final Fantasy 13.
There's a minimal amount of input lag while playing streamed games through PlayStation Now, but after a few minutes of playing the fast-paced Just Cause 2, it became more or less imperceptible. We also encountered just a few graphical hiccups over a half-hour or so of play (which were more common toward the beginning of each play session), but for the most part, each game's visuals were largely uncompromised.
Check out the video above to see our whole demo in motion, or give PlayStation Now a try yourself — you can find it in the main menu of the PlayStation Store on PS4.