AppleInsider Staff
Sony Computer Entertainment president Shuhei Yoshida on Friday said his company intends to release an official Remote Play title that will allow users to stream games from their PlayStation 4 to a Mac or PC.
The Twitter announcement came as an apparent response to a streaming solution for Windows machines created by indie developer Twisted.
Dubbed Remote Play by Sony, game streaming features let users play their favorite titles on a remote computing device connected via a local Internet connection. Microsoft debuted an identical service on Xbox One, allowing users to sling games to a PC running Windows 10.
Currently, the official PS4 Remote Play app is limited to the PlayStation Vita portable game system and newer Sony Xperia devices. For compatible smartphones and tablets, Sony markets a PS4 DualShock 4 controller mount, enabling finer controls than virtual nubs and buttons.
While Yoshida failed to offer details on the upcoming Remote Play version for Mac and PC, it can be assumed that Sony is looking to bake in DualShock 4 compatibility, as many PS4 games require a full assortment of analog stick, face button, shoulder button and, in some cases, touchpad controls for proper user interaction.
Both Sony and Microsoft have been somewhat open to integrating smartphone and tablet devices into their gaming platform ecosystems. When Sony announced the PS4 in 2013, for example, the company revealed an accompanying iOS app offering limited second screen capabilities for iPhone and iPad. Microsoft did the same with the Xbox One SmartGlass app.
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18 Comments
The Vita will probably still provide the best Remote Play experience for a while. Microsoft's already pretty far along with their solution, but they've had official Xbox - PC gamepad support for years. Not mentioned here is that Sony's already sold through over thirty million PS4's in the two years since launch. The only console that's outdone that pace is the Wii, which was both significantly cheaper and a cultural abberation.
Don't see the point, why not just attach it to a TV?
[quote name="Evilution" url="/t/190356/sony-plans-ps4-streaming-to-mac-pc-with-remote-play-app#post_2810911"]Don't see the point, why not just attach it to a TV? [/quote] What if another family member is watching TV in the living room and you feel like playing a game? You could unplug the whole console and reconnect it in another room or simply use a nice feature like this a stream it to a PC. Simple, easy, and everyone's happy.
Don't see the point, why not just attach it to a TV?
Can offer substantially better screen resolution pushing to an iOS device than to a TV.
[quote name="Evilution" url="/t/190356/sony-plans-ps4-streaming-to-mac-pc-with-remote-play-app#post_2810911"]Don't see the point, why not just attach it to a TV? [/quote] [quote name="SupaDav03" url="/t/190356/sony-plans-ps4-streaming-to-mac-pc-with-remote-play-app#post_2810918"] What if another family member is watching TV in the living room and you feel like playing a game? You could unplug the whole console and reconnect it in another room or simply use a nice feature like this a stream it to a PC. Simple, easy, and everyone's happy.[/quote] Or, play it away from home, which is a common use for people who use the Vita for Remote Play now.