Here's How Renting Games with PlayStation Now Will Work

I'd be interested in renting arkham city and Catherine but by the time now is deployed I'll have probably moved on completely from ps3.

This could be good. Hopefully they will get the prices right to if not then i dread to visit gaming sites as most of it will be all moaning then

I've been in the beta a few days now, and I like the idea of a rental system - heck I've gotten a large number of games over my life from Blockbuster and Gamefly and Redbox so I'm all about renting games and many I buy I trade back in anyway. But why streaming? Yeah it works ok if you have a really fast internet connection - I think I have 25MB (well 25 something) - and streaming still isn't great, why not just let us DL the game and buy a timed key? Do you know how many 6Gb-8GB 1 hour PS+ trials there are? Enough that I know they have this timed thing figured out. Why stream a 1Gb game or smaller? It makes no sense to me, just let people DL it. I really don't get streaming games I'm going to play for a week or 30 days.

Also, don't feel too bad if you arne't in the beat - no save points outside the system. I was going to play Disagea 2 and then buy it if it's good, but saves are only w/in PS Now, not on your console or in the cloud. I started Sacred Citadel but decided why bother? (You do get Trophies though, but I dont care. Level 12 and still Platinum free.)

A streaming service would be good for 1 thing: demos, which typically don't have save points anyway. Why DL 8Gb (takes me 80 minutes) to play Batman or AC for only 1 hour? Stream that 1 hr free trial, but not a whole game.

Sony has the whole thing backwards. If I pay a rental fee - day, week, month - I want to DL the game and not worry about my internet connection, for a free trial I'ld rather stream than download 6-8GB, even if it lags, it's a demo, who cares?

@rjejr I can't disagree with anything you said however this is supposed to extend beyond the consoles to devices that simply cannot handle that large of a DL so streaming is the only option when you are talking about playing directly through a TV, tablet r smartphone.
The idea is to make PS titles available anywhere you have an internet connection. I think some good feedback (and I sure hope you are providing it) Sony could be persuaded to allow a direct DL of rental titles to capable devices as the service matures but for now I think streaming has to be the focus to ensure they can make it work to its maximum potential.

I want rent games for ps4.

@-CraZed- Agreed

@-CraZed- - Yeah, I can imagine streaming on the Vita being something of a neccisty, or a Smart TV, but on a PS3 or PS4 w/ 500GB HDD it seems to be promoting something that is counter intuitive.

@rjejr The reason for the streaming is simply that the PS4 can't run PS3 games natively due to the completly new CPU architecture it uses (x86 instead of PPC). Downloading a PS3 game on your PS4 would be a waste of space as the PS4 wouldn't know how to deal with it.

@Kor - Well that makes sense. Still seems counter intuitive to me that streaming would be easier than an emulator - especially for graphically simplistic games like Shooter 2 or Eat Them - but I guess it makes sense for people who want to play PS3 games on the PS4. Guess this will come in handy then when I get one and my PS3 dies.

They still need to be able to make the saves available for people who want to buy the game after renting it though. When my PS+ lapsed for a year all my saves were still there when I renewed, both on the console and online.

@rjejr Another reason (in addition to what others have mentioned) for streaming is that the game is actually being processed in the cloud. So theoretically your smartphone could play the most powerful games. Eventually this all leads to a unified gaming service where you simply choose whatever form factor of hardware you prefer. It just seems a little strange at the moment because its the PS4 they are using to beta test it. Demos should definitely use this service like you suggested though.

I think a great incentive to buy these post-rental is to give a small discount based on the number of days it was rented.

@Kor unless sony made an emulator.

Uh...about that Saint's Row screenshot...

I was under the impression that PS Now was streaming the games exclusively, so why would it take up any hard drive space at all? Unless Sony's just planning to port the digital copies of PS3 games to the Store? In which case, why don't they just add that tab onto the PS Store? I'm just speculating here, but I'm under the impression that there's some miscommunication here.

Heck yea im siked!!!, Streaming them on PS4 will be great when they eventually stop, supporting PS3, !!! Though i still love my 3 along with my 4!!!

Why does it says Disc Only on some titles? Arent they all streaming.

i buy game ,play them to death get trophys then trade them in so if you can rent at only a quarter of the cost for 30 days thats bfine ,any tips for mayday?

Not a fan of playing streaming games and not a fan of recurring fees. Heck, I don't even like the lag from streaming PS4 to Vita. It's a novel idea, but not for me. I prefer physical ownership of everything I play (unless it's digital only, even then I prefer ownership).

Still, nice to see the option there for those who like it. With that said, I'ma be PISSED if one day they eliminate hardware in favor of streaming. The day they do that is the day I quit gaming Playstation.

Seems like a good thing for people who only play through games once

@rjejr @BloodyBill Emulation is out of question for PS3 games. The PS4 is simply not powerful enough.

"and participants have no doubt been using the service to stream games until their thumbs drop off from exhaustion"

I used it twice...it runs SO badly I haven't bothered to go back. Got better things to spend my time on.

@kensredemption: So far as I can tell they're just showing the regular PS Store data regarding the games...that's the only reason the game would have over twelve thousand ratings listed, too. The game size really doesn't matter AT ALL for PS Now in theory, but it's there because they haven't gotten around to formatting the streaming menus properly yet.

@dok5555555: It's a holdover from the normal PS Store listings for the games. It really just means you can't buy the game for download, but if it's on PS Now, streaming is still fine.

@Carl-G @Carl-G
I'm going to get the ps4, and I love the idea of the PlayStation Now. However, I don't like the renting methods they're offering. I prefer to take the time to complete games 100%, and I can often go for extended periods of time unable to play games. If they did monthly payment services like they offer with online games such as League of Legends, RuneScape, and Wizards 101, I would no doubt spend my money on prepaid cards that would give me 1 month or 2 months or 3 months membership access to the service at different prices. If I have to give my credit card number or rent games that are on a clock to play, I will only be using the ps4 for games that I purchase which will be very depressing. I think this is something to think about. Until prices and payment methods are sorted out, I don't think I will use the service.
Also, I would be extremely happy to be able to play games like Kingdom hearts 1.5 and 2.5 on the PS 4 through this service if the payment method is something simple like prepaid cards or something. Also, if there are already PlayStation Store points you get from prepaid cards, you could use a certain number of points to purchase the 1 or 2 or 3 month membership fee. Basically, it would be membership paid for via points you paid for using money at your local store, or it could be a prepaid card you purchase that goes directly with the PlayStation Now.