Disable auto-renewal for the service as needed
Have you ever messed with Sony’s game-streaming service PlayStation Now?
I’ve considering it a few times, but always seem to back away once I take a few seconds to think about the pricing model and get out of impulse-buy (or in this case, impulse-rental) mode. If you’ve wanted to try the service, your time might be limited — Sony has announced plans to discontinue PlayStation Now support for all currently-supported devices other than PlayStation 4 and Windows PCs.
As of August 15, 2017, these devices will no longer run PlayStation Now:
- PlayStation 3
- PlayStation Vita and PlayStation TV
- All 2013, 2014, 2015 Sony Bravia TV models
- All Sony Blu-ray player models
- All Samsung TV models
2016 Sony Bravia TVs aren’t safe, either. They’ll lose Now support weirdly ahead of everything else on April 1, 2017. If you’re currently signed up for the service, make sure auto-renewal is off, because Sony isn’t going to disable automated billing here. You’ll have to be proactive and take that first step.
Sony’s reasoning for the discontinuation isn’t all that clear, leaving room for speculation. The official blurb is: “After thoughtful consideration, we decided to shift our focus and resources to PS4 and Windows PC to further develop and improve the user experience on these two devices. This move puts us in the best position to grow the service even further. If you use any of the above devices, we want to give our heartfelt thanks for your support, and we hope you’ll continue with us. Remember that all of your PS Now cloud game saves can easily be accessed on both PS4 and Windows PC.”
I have to assume the numbers for those other devices just didn’t make sense for Sony relative to the larger PS4 and PC audience of Now users, but still, poor Vita. Guy can’t catch a break! It’d be nice if, given the shift in focus, more games — say the PS1 and PS2 libraries — became available.
PlayStation Now Service Update [PlayStation Blog]
