Sony is preparing to release back titles for its next-generation console, offering games from the PS3 on PS4. Downloadable games, in part or in full, are available at Sony's online gaming portal.
It's yet to be confirmed if titles will come out on repackaged Bluray discs, but leaks on the PlayStation Store hint popular games will be available as downloadable content. Sony is taking a different tack on DLC, though, with streamed (instead of downloaded) copies.
A Reddit leaked a peak into Sony's new cloud service, "Playstation Now." A user browsed the menus and found several titles from PS3 on PS4 Online; choose "Day-One Digital" from the PlayStation Store's main menu, and then select "All Games."
A selection of titles is available, but not playable or purchasable; trailers and content ratings are published instead. GTA V, Dead Space, PAYDAY 2, Dead Island Riptide, and Far Cry 3 are among the handful of games listed. The Last of Us is also available, an anticipated title set to be overhauled, re-mastered, and rereleased for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
The leak is expected in light of Sony's closed beta testing, an ongoing service. The test is expected to have a wider North American coverage in the coming months.
PlayStation Now is Sony's newest offering in online content, a streaming service which lets subscribers play games on the fly; while the practically of DLC seems more appealing, streamed games makes sense in terms of sneak-peak playables and pre-releases.
The cloud-based service offers an alternative to digital and downloaded copies, available on the PS3, on PS4, and on Sony Bravia TV (psu.com).
Sony and Microsoft are caught in a marketing tug-of-war, since the release of their newest generation of consoles. Microsoft recently upped the ante by lopping the Kinect off the Xbox One, making the console more affordable. Sony's move to port and stream games from the PS3 on PS4 could be a response, or merely part of a bigger marketing strategy.
