Xbox Game Pass is still a better games service than PlayStation Now, but true competition begins with PS Now at least copying Game Pass’ offerings.
As streaming continues to be the dominant form of consumption for film and television, gaming has similarly moved in that direction with services like PlayStation Now; yet while Sony’s service lets subscribers stream games to their PS4, PS5, or PC, it doesn’t seem to be a dominant force in the industry when compared with Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass. The two platforms offer slightly different products, but PlayStation Now could grow into a legitimate Game Pass competitor with a few important changes.
As it stands right now, PS Now is primarily a streaming platform. Users can stream PlayStation 2, 3, and 4 games on a PS5 or PC for $10 per month (though the monthly price can be halved if a year is purchased in bulk). PlayStation Now is consistently adding big games to its library – like TLOU2 and Fallout 76 in October 2021 – but their performance is, of course, largely dependent on a reliable internet connection. The very nature of games streaming makes it difficult to play multiplayer games, and even single player titles are subject to input lag due to latency. PS2 and PS4 games are able to be downloaded, but only to PS4 and PS5 platforms, leaving PC as a streaming-only option.
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