PlayStation Now will soon let you play anywhere you have a PC
Maybe this really is the last console generation.
Analysts have been predicted the death of game consoles for years -- and while they're usually wrong, PlayStation Now is the strongest living argument for a gaming industry without iterative hardware. Sony's internet-streaming games service puts PlayStation games on micro-consoles, full-sized PlayStation 4 machines and even standalone televisions. Today, Sony announced that the service is coming to an even wider platform: Windows.
Sony says PlayStation Now for Windows will launch in Europe soon, and will be followed by a timely North American rollout -- but the exact details are still in the air. Sony has announced that it will sell a $25 DualShock 4 controller adapter for use with the service, for instance, but neglected to say if PlayStation Now for Windows will play nice with other PC gamepads. It might not: PS4 Remote Play on PC and Mac requires Sony's own controller. It wouldn't be too shocking if PlayStation Now kept tradition.
Even so, controller compatibility isn't the only barrier to entry. PlayStation Now is pretty neat, but it requires a hearty internet connection to function properly -- at least 5Mbps and a reasonable proximity to PlayStation Now server. The service also requires a PC running Windows 7 or higher, a 3.5Ghz Intel Core i3 or better CPU and 2GB of RAM. If you meet all those requirements, though, you can do something mildly historic: Play PlayStation 3 games on your PC for the first time ever. Neat.
