Sony’s PlayStation Now Coming To Samsung Smart TVs

psnowNearly a year ago at CES 2014, Sony CEO Kaz Hirai announced PlayStation Now, a cloud-based gaming service that would lets users access PlayStation 3 games without requiring a PS3. The service has thus far been available only on Sony devices, but the company confirmed today that it will bring PS Now to Samsung Smart TVs at some point in 2015.

Like other services available on Samsung’s web-connected sets, PS Now will be accessed via an app downloaded through the TV’s Smart Hub.

The only piece of Sony equipment you’d need would be a DualShock4 controller. Sony says that users of the PS Now TV app will enjoy the full functionality of the service — including online multiplayer, and cloud-saved games — which currently offers rental access to a library of around 200 PS3 games.

“[O]ur vision has been to open the world of PlayStation to the masses by offering the service on the devices they use every day,” said Masayasu Ito, Executive Vice President of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. in a statement. “Partnering with Samsung is a key step toward realizing this vision, as we can reach a broader audience of consumers who may not own a PlayStation console to show them why gaming with PlayStation is such a unique and amazing experience.”

While Sony has always said that it would make PS Now available on non-Sony TVs, the company has a long history of attempting to make its products as proprietary as possible. So it’s interesting to see Sony choose a major competitor like Samsung for its first PS Now partner. It’s a bit of an acknowledgement that Sony is no longer the market leader it once was in home electronics and that it will need the help of industry foes like Samsung to increase its share of the video game business.

No specific timeframe has been given for when the Samsung app will launch, or whether it will be available on current-generation Smart TVs or only newer sets from Samsung.

Some of those details will hopefully be made clearer in a couple weeks when we get our hands on the Samsung app at CES 2015.

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