PlayStation Now open beta is live, subscription plans in the works

By Will Fulton July 31, 2014

playstation now open beta arrives ps3 — Image used with permission by copyright holder

The beta for PlayStation Now is now open to the North American public. Anyone with a PlayStation 4 or select new Bravia TVs can rent and stream from a diverse library of over 100 PlayStation 3 games using Sony’s new online service. Rentals range from a 4-hour trial through 7-, 30-, and 90-day windows. Sony is also looking into subscription plans, a natural response to Electronic Arts’ recent announcement of its all-you-can-play EA Access subscription service on Xbox One.

PlayStation Now is the long-anticipated result of Sony’s purchase of the game streaming service Gaikai in 2012. A library of over 100 PS3 games is available to play, with all of them streamed from the cloud, including Dead Space 3, God of War: Ascension, Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes, and Ultra Street Fighter 4. Cloud saving, Trophies, and other network features are all included in the streaming service.

The service is initially only available on PS4 and 4K-compatible televisions, but will eventually come to PS3 and PS Vita as well. Yet unconfirmed rumors from earlier in 2014 suggest that PlayStation 2 and PSone games will not be coming to PS Now, but will instead be supported with local software emulation. Nothing’s confirmed on that front, however.

PS4 owners in the United States and Canada will find PlayStation Now titles integrated into the PlayStation Store.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Will Fulton is a New York-based writer and theater-maker. In 2011 he co-founded mythic theater company AntiMatter Collective…

Gaming

The best games on PlayStation Plus, Extra, and Premium

A person plays Crash Bandicoot using a PS5 DualSense controller.

PlayStation Plus has undergone several iterations and changes since its introduction. Originally, the service wasn't required for online play at all and rewarded subscribers with extra discounts and free monthly games. Once the PlayStation 4 generation began, it was required for online play but still offered those same benefits.

Now, PS Plus is divided into three different tiers of subscriptions. The basic tier, PS Plus Essential, still gets three games per month added, while the Extra and Premium tiers will have a varying number of games added to their catalogs. With hundreds of games already and more coming and going all the time, even the most dedicated gamer won't be able to play everything on offer. To help you get the most bang for your buck and so that no hidden gems fly under your radar, here are all the best games to play on PS Plus Essential, Extra, and Premium right now.
Best PS Plus Essential games
As is usually the case, everyone with the lowest tier of PS Plus gets three games this month, two with PlayStation 5 versions and one with a PS4 version. Here's what you can play this month:

Gaming

PlayStation Plus’ most notable free April offerings come from Microsoft

Four players stand together in the 4v4 PvP mode of Minecraft Legends.

Sony outlined all the new offerings PlayStation Plus Essential subscribers can expect in April; surprisingly, Microsoft is the company behind two of this month's four offerings, Minecraft Legends, and the Overwatch 2 Mega Bundle.

On April 2, PS Plus can get those two things free of charge in addition to Immortals of Aveum and Skul: The Hero Slayer. Immortals of Aveum is a single-player shooter where players use magic instead of weapons. Although the thing it's most notable for is flopping upon its release, Immortals of Aveum is still a solid shooter that you might have missed out on, and you should give it a shot now that you can get it through PS Plus. Meanwhile, Skul: The Hero Slayer is a tough 2D platformer roguelike that should entertain fans of that genre for quite some time.

Gaming

Best PlayStation deals: PS5, controllers, headsets on sale

PS5 and DualSense art.

Next-gen gaming has delivered on expectations, with the Sony PlayStation 5 offering some serious gaming capabilities. Its popularity has made it difficult to find Sony PlayStation 5 deals, and this seems to be the case whether you’re shopping for the PlayStation 5 console itself or games and accessories. We’ve managed to track down some PlayStation 5 deals, and we’ve included them below. It’s also a bit of a deal simply to find a Sony PlayStation 5 in stock, and we’ve managed to do so. We’ve include those links as well, so reading onward you’ll find what we consider to be the best Sony PlayStation 5 deals on the internet right now.
Sony PlayStation 5 Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 bundle — $450, was $600

If you’re looking to get your hands on a PlayStation 5 console with a game to get you going, try this bundle with Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. This console features the PlayStation 5’s slim design, yet still has 1TB of solid state storage built in. It also comes with one DualSense Wireless Controller, and of course, a digital voucher for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2.