A rumor is beginning to gain more traction, a little more than a month after its initial claim. In December, Bloomberg stated that Sony may begin to phase out its PlayStation Now service and introduce a better subscription that would be more along the lines of Xbox's Game Pass. Now we're seeing something hinting at that being possibly true, as Sony is pulling PlayStation Now retail cards from sale in the UK.

According to a report from VentureBeat, GAME stores across the UK are being ordered to remove any retail cards that can be redeemed for a PlayStation Now service. Retailers have until the 21st to pull them. A Sony representative officially commented on the matter by saying that the removal is due to the company wanting to focus more on general PlayStation gift cards, which can also be used to buy a PlayStation Now subscription. Of course, while that could be true, it does seem curious, given the supposed claims of insider sources regarding a revamp of the service.

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[Noctosphere]

I don't have ps5... yet... fucking scalpers

 

[godreborn]

game pass is quite impressive from this first week of using it. every game I've wanted for the xbone and series x were available.

 

[CoolMe]

I don't think it's that easy for them to build a "Game Pass competitor" this quick, at least not yet, probably why Sony haven't said anything about it yet because it's still being worked on.

 

[HellGhast]

Where there's smoke there's fire.

 

[AshuraZro]

I don't think it's that easy for them to build a "Game Pass competitor" this quick, at least not yet, probably why Sony haven't said anything about it yet because it's still being worked on.

PlayStation Now already allows downloading some of the games instead of just Cloud streaming so chances are much of the tech legwork is already there. I could see them launching this in a couple months provided they’ve already done the needed deals with publishers.

 

[lokomelo]

They will allow members to play their 10-hour-zombie-narrative driven games for free, nice

 

[Kioku]

I don't think it's that easy for them to build a "Game Pass competitor" this quick, at least not yet, probably why Sony haven't said anything about it yet because it's still being worked on.

I don't know what you mean by "this quick"... They've had years to put something together. Just because rumors started last month, that doesn't mean Sony started last month.

 

[ut2k4master]

PlayStation Now already allows downloading some of the games instead of just Cloud streaming so chances are much of the tech legwork is already there. I could see them launching this in a couple months provided they’ve already done the needed deals with publishers.

all ps2 and ps4 games can be downloaded, only ps3 games have to be streamed

 

[tpax]

I just got a PS Now sub for a month three day ago, just to Play Uncharted 1, 2 and 3 on my PC. I have to admit, I'm quite impressed how well streaming games works now. Last time I tried (which was years ago) the experience was terrible. Now it just runs like a native game (not counting the compression).
I'm looking forward to what they have to offer as a competition to Game Pass. A Sony subscription with the same amount of third party games like Game Pass would be a much better offer than Game Pass itself, since that would include the first party games as well. We all know, that Microsoft has no noteworthy first party games. So that would be a hard win for Sony.

 

[Jean Karlo]

I don't think it's that easy for them to build a "Game Pass competitor" this quick, at least not yet, probably why Sony haven't said anything about it yet because it's still being worked on.

They don't have to build anything new, just create a new subscription that includes both ps plus and ps now. The tech is already there.

 

[ChibiMofo]

I don't have ps5... yet... fucking scalpers

Now you know how I felt for the first year of the Wii's existence and the first year of the Wii Balance Board's life. (I still can't believe the morons who said that Nintendo did that on purpose as if intentionally selling fewer consoles while it is red-hot is good business.)

 

[leon315]

I don't have ps5... yet... fucking scalpers

be patient and wait for PS5 PRO

 

[Moon164]

I really doubt that Sony will bring something like GamePass, but if they manage to bring native backwards compatibility with PS1, PS2 and PS3 my interest in PS5 increases by about 300%

 

[sloppycrap]

Meh, playstation whenever

 

[Noctosphere]

be patient and wait for PS5 PRO

8k 120fps and 16k 30fps?

 

[BORTZ]

Just make PSNow cheaper???
And well... work?

 

[AshuraZro]

all ps2 and ps4 games can be downloaded, only ps3 games have to be streamed

That’s not bad then. So its kind of already a game pass equivalent in spirit. A strong rebrand/refresh with some big marketting money, addition of PS5 titles is a must, and an integrated PS Plus tier would do a lot for bringing it toe to toe with game pass. Game Pass has been a steal and I’d love to see Sony go up against it proper.

 

[Jayro]

all ps2 and ps4 games can be downloaded, only ps3 games have to be streamed

$ony just needs to buy up the RCPS3 devs already, so we can have PS3 games on PS4 Pro.

 

[Lazyboss]

What about making more servers for "PS Now" around the world? It's not available here in UAE.