Sony recently sent out invitations for a beta test aimed at ironing out the kinks in its impending streaming service, PlayStation Now. In fact, we're betting that a few of you might have been lucky enough to snag an exclusive summon, and are currently wiling away the hours trying out the Netflix-like system.
Obviously the most important aspect of this trial is how well the broadcast infrastructure actually performs, but we're still endlessly curious for any other details that we can get our hands on. Luckily, reports of the games that are currently being tested on the PlayStation 3 are flooding the web, and the range of titles is just a touch bizarre. The full list is as follows:
- Killzone 3
- Puppeteer
- Shadow of the Colossus
- Papo & Yo
- Darksiders II
- MX vs. ATV: Alive
- Disgaea 4
- Ninja Gaiden 3
- Shatter
Presumably the platform holder is attempting to cover a wide set of genres and styles in this initial testing phase, and the lineup certainly does an admirable job in that regard. However, we can't help but feel that a few of these choices are just a little bit odd. What do you make of these streaming selections? Did you get an invite into the exclusive beta? Broadcast your thoughts and feelings into the comments section below.
[source gearnuke.com, via gamepur.com]
Comments 24
I understand why half the titles are there but I agree one or two are leaving me a bit baffled. I will eat my hat if Fifa 14 or 13 joins the service.
It's a bit of a peculiar mix. Maybe they will switch the games for others after a month or so.
I wonder if the presence of so many THQ titles is because they were easy to license? I think the inclusion of stuff like Ninja Gaiden and Shatter makes sense, because they're obviously quite twitch.
I would love to get puppeteer and the killzone games on this whenever it starts to hit the eu. Want to play the past killzone games since shadow fall.
Hmm. Well, looks like they picked a few of their own (Killzone 3 to grow the Killzone brand and generate more buzz/sales for KZ 4; Puppeteer to help out an underselling gem of a game), a couple of THQ games that they probably didn't have to pay much for in licensing costs (Darksiders II & MX vs. ATV), a couple of good indies they probably didn't have to pay much for (Shattered & Papo & Yo), an under-performing Tecmo game that Tecmo desperately needs support with as it's been the bread & butter franchise of theirs for 20+ years, a Disgaea title that the developer wants to use as a jumping-in point for the PS4 generation, and Shadow of the Colossus (which I'm betting means Sony is working on a sequel for the PS4--or it's just to help with buzz for The Last Guardian).
@sackninja I need to beat Shadowfall's single player soon.
The list makes sense to me. It covers a wide variety of genres so the streaming can be tested in different scenarios. Will the game have lag issues if it's a fast pace shooter? Or will it perform as well as a strategy RPG?
I think they are testing how button lag will affect different genres. Yes, i dont think its possible to do this without lag. Its probably why they are still planning on putting ps1 and ps2 games on the ps4.
Just out of interest, what do you mean when you say, "we can't help but feel that a few of these choices are just a little bit odd"? Odd in what way?
I'll be honest, I can't say that those titles particularly struck me as being odd in any way but then again I don't have any preconceived vision of what the PlayStation Now Beta ought to be.
Also, Shatter is still one of the finest PSN games ever made!
I can't imagine it being a pleasant experience over even Remote Play, let alone Now.
Oh I just noticed that the post I made #9 could be taken as being sarcastic or aggressive so I just wanted to make sure to clarify that I didn't mean it that way. I am just intrigued by what was meant by "odd" so that I could work out why that selection of games surprised you.
I'd been wondering whether or not PSNow would be limited to first-party titles, but now I know it's not. That means that I might be able to play Dragonball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 on my PS4.
I wonder if they've had much trouble getting third party devs on board? It will be interesting to see how well ps4 titles do but none so far... ?
@RyoHazuki Putting PS4 titles on it would hurt hardware sales. We won't see PS4 titles until they're either old or we get the PS5 - then again, they could stream the PS4 games after you purchase them.
I don't see why this is being tested on PS3 and not PS4 but okay then, seeing as it was made mostly for PS4.
@Spidernoir I think ps3 was just supposed to be the first beta. I think the others will be tested later.
To say they are odd and not explain yourself makes for pointless reading. I think they are odd also...
How exactly are these odd? As you put it the purpose of the beta is to test how those games perfrom in the first place and they need to cover multiple genres to properly test that.
And most of those games are pretty good actually (imo).
@Cyrso @Shaolin I guess I just meant that after they showed off The Last of US and God of War: Ascension at all the press events, it seems weird that they would then turn around and pick completely different games for the beta test. I didn't really explain that in the article, though, which was a mistake, I think.
@BornOfEvil knack and psn games like resogun ?
@k_andersen After reading my comment again, it comes across as quite aggressive. When I was really just being bluntly informative. Love the work you guys do.
Are there any plans for beta on the vita...
@eLarkos All good I'd much prefer people to tell me if I've done something silly - that way I'll get better at writing, and you'll have better content to read. Everybody wins!
I actually think those are some pretty solid choice. The Last of Us and one of the Uncharteds would've been nice, but I still think what's there is great and like the article points out, it covers a wide range of genres. It's just a beta test so I'm not too surprised there aren't many big hitters on the list although I would say Killzone 3 is a pretty big deal.
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