PlayStation’s backwards compatibility streaming service might be able to get a whole lot more appealing, according to a rumour that a download option may be on the way.
A recent image uploaded onto the PlayStation subreddit features the PlayStation Now pause menu with a download game option featured. The image, uploaded by user u/satertek, is an off-screen image depicting the PS3 game Alpha Protocol purportedly running on a PS4.
If this image is legitimate, it could suggest Sony are adopting a service similar to Xbox’s excellent Game Pass, in which members pay a subscription fee each month to access a selection of games, similar to Netflix or other online streaming services.
Sony’s PlayStation Now service has had a negative reception ever since it was announced in January 2014 as a stand-in for the system’s lack of backwards compatibility. The service is still unusable for a lot of users with its requirement of high internet speeds to stream the games available.
There is a level of scepticism surrounding the image, with other users reporting that the option is not there for them and the question of how feasible being able to actually download PS3 games from the Cloud onto a system that doesn’t have native backwards compatibility actually is.
Still, the emergence of the option following Microsoft’s success with its Game Pass service and PlayStation Now’s lack of adoption in the past may imply that Sony are looking for a way to breathe new life into the service. I know that I would be more likely to subscribe to the service with the option to download games.