14 DAY TRIAL // Sony has offered some more details about its upcoming PlayStation Now cloud-based game streaming service, revealing that an Internet connection of 5Mbps is recommended for the best experience, although the transmission will automatically scale based on the bandwidth and conditions available.
Sony's PS Now announcement earlier this week surprised a lot of gamers and got many people hyped up about the possibility of playing games on all sorts of devices, from the PS4, PS3, or PS Vita, to Bravia TVs, smartphones, or tablets.
While a PS Now beta stage is set to kick off at the end of the month, Sony has begun to share more technical details about the new game streaming service.
According to a reply to a comment on the PS blog, an Internet connection of at least 5Mbps is recommended.
"We recommend a 5MBPS+ connection. In our internal tests, users with this bandwidth or greater have been enjoying a low latency, high-quality gaming experience. PS Now tests your connection of each game and optimizes for quality if you are above the minimum requirements."
The closed beta stage will help Sony see just how this recommendation fares in real world conditions, so it might change in the future.
"We strive to make the gameplay experience feel as if the game is being played locally on their device – fast and responsive (including for FPS and games with twitch mechanics). The Closed Beta will definitely provide a great opportunity to test the experience with gamers with varying connection speeds and our developers will, of course, be working diligently to optimize the service based upon the feedback we receive from the community."
What's more, Sony has also revealed that the closed beta will also help it determine the best prices for game rentals and the PS Now subscription.
"Of course, one of the big reasons we are offering a closed beta is to get feedback on all aspects of the service, including of course the experience with rentals and subscriptions, so we look forward to hearing more feedback from our community as we move through the beta."
The PS Now closed beta starts this month, while the actual service will go live in the U.S. in summer.