PlayStation fans should mark their calendars as Sony brings its cloud service to the older PlayStation 3 console on May 12 and for those who haven't tried it are entitled to a 7-day trial period.
Jack Buser, Senior Director for PlayStation Now, made the announcement at the official PlayStation blog last Monday. He said gamers will have the opportunity to "play a huge library of more than 100 hit PS3 games on PS4 and PS3" consoles.
According to The Verge, among the games included in the service are Batman Arkham City, Saints Row IV, and Final Fantasy XIII.
The service basically aims to offer backwards compatibility of older PS3 games to the PS4 (or the other way around).
Buser added that those who subscribed in the service can play their games "across devices with cloud saves." This include Sony TVs and Blu-Ray players. However, the service may soon be available to selected smart TVs made by Korean tech giant Samsung which Sony had signed a partnership with recently.
The idea is that selected Samsung smart TV to be released soon may have a pre-installed PlayStation Now app that will allow consumers to play PS games without the need of a console.
It also allows Sony to reach a wider audience, especially those who don't own a Sony gaming console. To control the game would mean using a PlayStation DualShock 3 controller.
In addition to the launch, new titles such Fat Princess, F1 2014, Farming Simulator, Sanctum 2 and Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce will be released this month.
The Playstation Now service has a monthly subscription fee of $19.99 or $44.99 for three months. A full list of the games can be seen at the official Playstation website.
Sony formally announced its PlayStation Now streaming service at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) last year. The service was made possible after Sony purchased the cloud streaming technology of Gaikai in June of 2012 to let consumer rent games without having to purchase a physical title.
Gaikai, founded in 2008, was famous for streaming PC games online and to television which were rendered on remote servers. Among the popular games it was able to launch on a public Beta test were Dead Space 2, The Sims 3, Spore, and Mass Effect 2.
The acquisition of Gaikai, which cost $380 million, enabled Sony to stream many of its games online and enables gamers to continue their games to other platforms other than the consoles in their homes.
However, some users who have use the PlayStation Now service in their PS4 console have complained of lags during gameplay which hinders the online experience.
