Anyone frustrated thinking that they won’t be able to play PlayStation 3 titles on the new PlayStation 4 when it arrives, can now breathe a huge sigh of relief. Sony has announced that its Gaikai streaming service will be streaming PS3 games to the PS4 starting 2014.
As the reports state, in a recent interview at Tokyo Game Show, Sony Worldwide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida confirmed that Sony is planning to launch Gaikai cloud services with a library dedicated for PS3 titles in North America next year.
Sony had already announced the feature at this year’s Gamescom, stating at the same time that it would be simple enough for users to upgrade to the PS4 digital version of four select games, for a low discounted price, when they buy the PS3 version of those games.
A new IGN report on the matter states that there will be a selection of games available at launch initially, and this list will expand over time. “Yoshida mentioned that users will want a good selection of titles to browse through from the beginning, like with Netflix, so the plan is to launch with a decent number of available games. They will be available to play through PS4, PS Vita and the recently-announced Vita TV.”
The official PlayStation blog states that, as of now, Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag, Call of Duty: Ghosts, Watch Dogs, and Battlefield 4 are the supported titles for this program.
Later, when the user buys the Blu-ray Disc or digital version of these select PS3 titles (obviously for a limited time), he will be entitled to download a PS4 digital copy of the same game from PlayStation Store as soon as it becomes available. This new copy will then be available at the discounted price of $9.99.
“Gamers who purchase a PS3 Blu-ray Disc of these four games will find a code packed into the PS3 version that they can redeem on PlayStation Store. To play the PS4 version of the game when it becomes available, you’ll need to insert the original PS3 disc in your PS4 to activate and play the PS4 version, so hang onto that PS3 disc,” the blog adds.
The Gaikai streaming service was acquired by Sony for a reported $380 million back in July this year. Check out more on the streaming options from PS3 to PS4 here.
