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At a time when "protecting game history" has become more complicated and difficult, game streaming services (that is, cloud games) seem to be a reliable solution. Services such as Sony's PS Now and Microsoft's xCloud both offer players a way to play old games without the need for an old console.
Some of the older platforms had serious compatibility issues with today's devices, such as the PS3's Cell processor, which was too different from other processor architectures on the market (and often caused trouble for development work, as KAZONE YAMAUCHI, producer of the GT Racing series, said was "a nightmare"). Cloud gaming allows players to continue to enjoy the work of these platforms for many years to come, without being plagued by incompatible outdated technology.
However, although the ideal is very full, the reality is that the slightest delay between input and response is a big difference, and it is still like a mirror in the case of insufficient infrastructure in a large number of regions around the world to support cloud gaming. I have a personal experience – I live in a place where cloud gaming is completely unworkable.
If you haven't read much news lately, let me just review that Sony announced a few days ago that it would launch a new version of the PS Plus in June. PS Plus was originally an online service for PS4 and PS5, but starting in June, it adds two new slots, adding some new features to the online and monthly free games. Here are the specifics:
PlayStation Plus Basic
§ Benefits:
Enjoy the same benefits as current PlayStation Plus members, such as:
Two games can be downloaded per month
Exclusive discounts
Cloud archiving
Online access
The benefits of existing PS Plus members are unchanged in this bracket
§ Price:
$9.99 per month/ $24.99 per quarter/ $59.99 per year
850 yen per month/ 2,150 yen per season/ 5,143 yen per year
48 HKD per month/ 128 HKD per quarter/ 308 HKD per year
PlayStation Plus upgrade
§ Benefits:
Enjoy all the benefits of the basic file
Download and play up to 400 popular PS4 and PS5 titles, including PlayStation Studios first- and third-party titles
§ Price:
$14.99 per month/ $39.99 per quarter/ $99.99 per year
1,300 yen per month/ 3,600 yen per season/ 8,600 yen per year
HK$75 per month/ 215 HKD per quarter/ HK$515 per year
PlayStation Plus Premium
§ Benefits:
Enjoy full benefits of basic and upgrade files
Download or stream up to 340 games, including:
Stream PS3 games in the cloud
Download or stream PS1, PS2, PSP games, and stream PS4 games included in the Upgrades file.
The streaming service is only available in regions that now support PS Now. Users can use PS4, PS5 consoles, and PCs to stream games.
Editor's note: Press releases in English, French, Spanish and other languages are up to 340 games, and press releases in Chinese, Japan and Korean are up to 240 games, please refer to the actual situation.
A limited-time game trial service is available.
§ Price:
$17.99 per month/ $49.99 per quarter/ $119.99 per year
1,550 yen per month/ 4,300 yen per season/ 10,250 yen per year
Note: In markets that do not support cloud streaming, replace "Premium" with "PlayStation Plus Premium". Except for services related to cloud streaming, other benefits are the same as Premium.
§ Price:
HK$85 per month/ HK$239 per quarter/ HK$599 per year
While first-party blockbusters like God of War: Twilight of the Gods won't join on the first day (which is a big plus for PS Plus's main competitor, XGP), most things are good on paper. Microsoft's XGP is seen as one of the best deals in the gaming industry, and Sony hasn't been able to confront it head-on in the past, but the nearly 400 downloadable games in the "upgrade" file have changed that. "PS Plus Premium" also adds an additional 340 works that can be streamed or downloaded, which at first glance is particularly valuable. In the U.S., you can play nearly 800 games for $18 a month, not to mention free-to-play and online features for PS Plus members.
However, it has a significant flaw: PS3 games cannot be downloaded locally and can only be played in streaming. This begs the question: Is PS Plus Prestige really a good deal for players living in rural areas (the internet speed is slow, and this is related to the means used by U.S. network operators to circumvent antitrust laws, which cannot be improved for a while and a half)?
I live in a small town in Georgia, and as the saying goes, we belong to a place where birds don't. At the time of writing, my download speed is only about 10 mbps. My ping is good, so there is no problem with playing local online games, and the latency is quite low. But if you want to use PS5 skewers, I can't eat this little water pipe.
10 mbps is actually twice the speed recommended by PS Now. But I don't live alone, and I can't let my PS host unscrupulously take over everyone's network. Every time I play an online game, I have to discuss it with my roommates first: I play online games and they don't watch Netflix, they watch Netflix and I don't play online games, otherwise we all have to get stuck. Many people in areas with developed networks are estimated to not imagine how bad the last network in our rural areas is, and the use of network services must be forward-looking. It is because I know that the Internet is not good and cannot cope with cloud games, so I have never subscribed to services such as PS Now and xCloud.
It's not to blame Sony, and it's not microsoft — to be honest, it's a system problem. While the internet has become a necessity for modern life, the entire market is controlled by a handful of companies. Where I live, and in many similar areas, individual companies have a de facto monopoly. Companies like Windstream (my only option, we only have Windstream people here to load cats) control the network of small towns, and they provide services that beat competitors, not even the numbers they advertise. But it doesn't matter after all – we have no other options, they naturally don't have competitive pressure, and they don't have to worry about false publicity leading to customer churn. However, windstream filed for bankruptcy in 2019.
At the heart of the matter is that the gaming industry may be ready to make cloud gaming a pillar business, but the world's network infrastructure is not. While Microsoft and Sony see cloud gaming as the future of video games (and even Google tried at one point), the tech giants haven't considered how far out of reach it is for gamers in rural areas. For many of us, this is simply an unimaginable future, because our personal experience is that as long as someone is next door to the drama, they can only temporarily give up online games.
Although cloud games can play a positive role in protecting the history of games, allowing people to play old games after the original console is eliminated, considering that the game industry has not paid much attention to the historical protection of games, it is estimated that this is not something that Sony values now. Cloud gaming is a means to an end, a tool sony uses to weaken the advantage of opponents, and to be able to play games like the Infamous PS3 duo in the official way in 2023 is just a happy windfall.
For rural residents, cloud gaming is not a viable option. But the digital age hasn't cared about those of us from the beginning.
While I'd love to play some old games on PS5, I'd better keep using PSV when I want to play Fox Adventure: Thief of Ages. While PS2 games can be downloaded to PS5 for local operation, it's theoretically possible that I'll be able to play the first three Fox Adventures, but PS2 games really dwarf PS2 games compared to PS3's HD remake collection. On PS5, however, the PS3 edition can only be played with cloud game streaming.
"PS Plus Premium" doesn't feel like the perfect backward compatibility solution that Sony needs. It's not all about itself, because no matter how poor the networks offered by operators with monopolies in remote areas, it's not in the hands of the tech companies. But it also reminds us that none of these companies had this in mind. If the services and solutions they provide are like a shoe scratch for users like me, then after the launch of the new PS Plus in June, we have no reason to upgrade to "premium".
Translation: Night Cat
Edit: Tony
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