Streaming is a big part of the future of gaming, as it has become for many different entertainment mediums. There are unique challenges that gaming faces with it, but regardless we’re already seeing the shaping of the future with services like the Xbox Game Pass and the upcoming Google Stadia. With all those relatively new and shiny services, it can be easy to forget that Sony was one of the first to the party with their PlayStation Now service. The service has been somewhat of understated success, and it looks like it’s going to be a big factor for the company’s future.
PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan recently sat down with Financial Times to talk about the company’s overall strategy for the future and how he sees streaming as a very big part of where the industry is going. He says that he sees Now as the big thing the company will be pushing more and more.
“We obviously have seen the trend in other forms of entertainment towards the mass adoption of streaming as a means of accessing content,” he said. “It would seem likely, very likely, that gaming will follow that trend.
“We are getting more confident with the [PlayStation Now] service and we are really going to start to push it hard this year and in years to follow.”
We know that Sony and Microsoft are on the verge of a partnership to improve streaming infrastructure, so it’s obviously something they are looking to be a big part of their future. Ultimately, there’s still a lot of hurdles to gaming streaming, particularly in the amount of data that it would require for video games that dwarfs the average film, TV show, or song. It’ll be interesting to see where it all goes.