Sony has revealed that PS4 gamers have shared more than 800,000 gameplay broadcasts, and over 7.1 million spectate sessions via Twitch and UStream. In total, that adds up to more than 20 million minutes of live gameplay across the globe. According to UStream, the average broadcast was 31 minutes long, while Twitch reports that 10% of all content on the platform since 15th November has come from the PS4.
There hasn’t been much news about Gaikai recently, with the last mention of the streaming service back at E3. Sony previously announced that Gaikai would power a full-game streaming service on the PS4, allowing gamers to play PS3 titles via the Internet. According to inside sources, the streaming service won’t be launching in Europe until 2015, but will be available in North America in 2014.
Following on from early reports of the PS4’s entertainment apps in Europe, Sony has released an official list of apps available at launch for Europe, confirming most of what we already knew, but also adding Netflix, LOVEFiLM and other services to the launch line-up. It was rumoured that many of the services would not be available for launch, and while a few services are still missing, it’s good to know that 18 services will be available across the SCEE region.
A screenshot taken from a UK PS4 has confirmed a number of video services for the PS4 launch on November 29th 2013. So far, BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport, Channel 5’s Demand 5 and IGN have been confirmed for launch, with other popular services like LOVEFiLM and Netflix still missing from the line-up.
Sony has revealed that 11 entertainment apps will be available for the PlayStation 4 in North America from day one, including Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, Hulu Plus and more. These services and others will be available to download on the console from November 15th in North America. It still remains to be seen which services will be available in Europe.
LOVEFiLM, Netflix, BlinkBox, ITV Player and NowTV will not be available on PlayStation 4 in the UK at launch, while other provider’s streaming apps still remain in question. In response to questions over twitter, LOVEFiLM says they have no confirmed information on the new devices, with Netflix responding with a similar statement.
Following the release of the ultimate PS4 FAQ yesterday, a lot of users were unhappy to find that some commonly used PS3 functionality would be missing from the PS4, including MP3 and Audio CD playback and media streaming. The response from users has not fallen on deaf ears, with Sony’s President of Worldwide Studios, Shuhei Yoshida, saying that the feedback will be passed onto the PS4 development team.
Gaikai streaming wasn’t mentioned in Sony’s Gamescom Press Conference last month, but Sony Computer Entertainment Europe’s CEO Jim Ryan has detailed out the launch plans for the service. As mentioned at E3, Gaikai will first launch in North America in 2014 for the PS4, before heading to the PS Vita and then the PS3.
Unlike the Xbox One, which locks the console’s Game DVR features behind a Xbox Live Gold subscription, the PS4 won’t require users to have a PlayStation Plus subscription to use the console’s DVR features. The news was confirmed by a tweet from Sony’s Shuhei Yoshida in response to a question from @jonboi204.
Sky’s Now TV streaming service is finally out of beta and officially available on the PS3, giving gamers in the UK access to Sky Sports and Sky Movies channels. The service costs £15 a month, but comes with a 30-day free trial, a reduced three-month introductory price of £8.99 per month, and a free 90-day PlayStation Plus subscription.
