‘Playstation Now’ Announced, New Streaming Service Will Let You Play PS3 Games On Your iPhone, iPad, or MacBook

Back when the PS4 was first announced, some people questioned the system’s inability to play PS3 games. To counter this, Sony promised that it would one day be launching an entirely new cloud gaming service that would let PS4 owners play PS3 games by streaming them entirely over the Internet.

Sony held a press conference today where it officially unveiled and detailed the new service, which is being called “Playstation Now”. The most interesting news to have been revealed at the event is that Playstation Now won’t just be available for PS4 owners, but rather for owners of any device that is capable of connecting to the online service. That’s right, smartphones, tablets, laptops and even smart TVs, will all be able to connect to Playstation Now and play PS1, PS2, and PS3 games.

PlayStation Now will allow you to:

  • Play video games instantly across multiple devices, similar to the way you might stream TV, movies, and music.
  • Stream full games to all of your compatible PlayStation devices including PS4, PS3, and PlayStation Vita as well as non-PlayStation devices, beginning with 2014 BRAVIA TV models and expanding to numerous other Internet-connected devices.
  • Always play the most updated version of your game. With games hosted in the cloud, you can take your game with you – just log in with your Sony Entertainment Network account on a compatible device and your games and saved progress will be easily available.

A closed beta for the service will start this month for PS3 owners, with a full fledged launch coming in the summer. Sony announced that 2013’s “The Last of Us”, the winner of several game of the year awards, will be one of the first titles available.

The games will be purchasable through a couple of ways, either by paying for the games themselves or by signing up for a subscription based plan. It’s still somewhat unclear as to whether the summer launch will only support Sony devices or whether it will be open to all devices.

If the idea of being able to play your favorite PS3, PS2, and PS1 games on all your Apple devices excites you, it won’t be too long before that dream becomes a reality.

Toby is a writer of word and a lover of Apple, hip-hop, life, and technology.