Sony Starts Inviting Users To PlayStation Now Beta Test

The Sony demo of PS Now at CES in Jan. 2014.

Sony shook things up a few weeks ago at CES when it announced the impending launch of PlayStation Now, a cloud-based service that could give PS4 owners access to previous-generation games that won’t currently work on the new console and Sony says will eventually let users play PlayStation games without any console at all. This week, the company began sending out the first round of invites to users who registered to become beta testers for PS Now.

Polygon confirmed the news with Sony last night, though the company would not say how many people were part of this first round of invitees.

To take advantage of the invite, the user needs a PS3 and broadband connection with a minimum downstream speed of 5Mbps, which is in line with what Sony told Consumerist at CES.

When we got our hands on the PS Now demo at CES, it didn’t strike us as terribly different from playing a game on the console. The graphics were not quite as sharp, and it seemed slightly sluggish in a handful of spots. However, we were playing The Last of Us, which is visually a bit muddy in parts and has never been the smoothest, hitch-free performer on our home consoles.

If anyone among the beta-testers wants to share their hands-on experiences with Consumerist, let us know at tips@consumerist.com. We will not out your identity to Sony or anyone else.

by Chris Morran via Consumerist