Sony has quietly started to send out private beta invites via email for its PlayStation Now game streaming service that was announced a few weeks ago at CES 2014, a Neogaf forum poster revealed. “With this invitation, you will receive exclusive access to test PlayStation’s game streaming service before its full launch and the opportunity to provide regular feedback to the PlayStation Now team,” Sony wrote in the invitation email.
With PlayStation Now, Sony wants to offer customers a gaming experience across a variety of devices by eliminating the need of downloading or purchasing games. Instead, the PlayStation 3 titles are hosted in the cloud and played on supported devices. Initially, the service will work on PlayStation models, but Sony wants to expand it to big screen TVs, tablets and smartphones in the future.
For the best experience during private beta, Sony recommends 5Mbps or higher broadband connection speeds, adding that users should connect their PS3 consoles to the Internet using an Ethernet cable. Once the invitation is accepted, Sony will send a beta voucher and instructions to redeem it in a following email.
The invites are apparently limited to the Los Angeles and Washington, DC, areas for the time being, Engadget reports. Sony is yet to announce when PlayStation Now will be launched for the general public.
