All Aboard the Cloud Game Market: Sony's New PlayStation Plus Feature
Key Highlights :
With the arrival of the PlayStation 5, Sony is taking its first steps into the cloud game market. PlayStation Plus' Premium subscribers will get access to cloud streaming by the end of October, with Japan set to receive the feature next week on October 17th. Europe will follow on October 23rd, with North America expected to get it on October 30th. Canada, France, the United Kingdom, and Spain are among the other regions that will have access to the cloud streaming feature.
With the cloud streaming feature, gamers will be able to access PlayStation 5 games in PlayStation Plus' game catalog (and some games Premium members already own) without having to download the game. Along with those games' specific DLC, it'll be possible to stream game trials as well. Sony hopes that this new feature will make it easier for players to access PS5 games and enjoy the new streaming feature that will be automatically added to their PlayStation Plus Premium membership.
The Premium tier is the highest priced of the three memberships and, as of September, had its yearly cost go up from $59.99 to $69.99. Sony is hoping to entice (or refresh) new audiences into the console's player base with the incoming arrival of cloud streaming. While PlayStation may be late compared to Xbox, it still has plenty of time to take advantage of the cloud game market and help define what it will be in the future.
Xbox has gradually made the market a key part of its ecosystem in recent years, with cloud streaming available through multiple platforms (like Android and iOS) and playable on multiple devices, including Xbox One. Phil Spencer, the then-head of Xbox, said during the Microsoft/FTC trial that he believed the cloud game market would truly take off by 2021.
Omdia analyst George Jijiashvili noted that Sony is ahead of Xbox in some regards, such as streaming supported PS5 titles that Premium subscribers own. He also praised the inclusion of streaming game trials, saying it could reduce the friction of games that have become bigger in size. This feature, he believes, may drive full-game sales outside of PS Plus Premium subscriptions.
The full list of regions (and features) that will gain PS5 cloud streaming through PlayStation Plus can be found online. While the PlayStation 6 may be some years away, cloud streaming will likely be a part of whatever the final version of the console ends up being by then. Sony is working hard to make sure that cloud streaming is a part of the PlayStation 5 experience, and it's sure to be a key part of the PlayStation 6 when it arrives.
