PS3 Streaming service, Playstation Now is coming to Europe on Sept. 15, and “soon after” to North America with an official USB dongle for Dualshock 4 Support.
PS Now let’s users rent access to a library of 400+ PS3 games and stream them to their device. Up until now PS Now has only been featured on Sony consoles and branded TVs. The streaming service is similar in concept to how popular video on demand services work. Users browse the library of available games, pay the rental fee and stream the video feed of a game, which is being at an offsite server farm. While the service had a rocky beta, Sony has kept improving things and reduced latency to a tolerable level in most cases.
What’s most exciting about this announcement is the mysterious USB dongle that will retail for $25 in the US. This adapter gives users access to the full set of features offered by the DS4 for use wirelessly with PS Now. What isn’t clear is why this dongle is necessary, 3rd party software and driver solutions have managed to get the DS4 working, albeit a bit inconsistently in my experience, on PCs. The Dongle is said to only support one device, but a second controller can be plugged in via USB for 2 player PS Now action.
Another bit of interesting information is the possibility of the PS Now application being a Universal Windows Platform application. The latest Xbox One update has made bringing these UWP apps from the Windows 10 store to Xbox One consoles nearly effortless for developers. This means that if Sony wanted to they could
@Jzacarias117 @MitchyD Yup, Windows PC app.
— Andrew Kelly (@AndrewNK) August 23, 2016
I reached out to PR Manager at Sony Interactive Entertainment America, Andrew Kelly, for more information and here is what he had to say:
The Windows PC app is built to work with DUALSHOCK 4. Third party controllers are not supported.
Owning the USB Wireless Adaptor isn’t required to play PS Now or Remote Play on PC, as you can connect a DualShock 4 using a USB cable.
The DS4 USB Wireless Adaptor supports 1 DS4 that is connected to it. For local multiplayer, 1 player can play wirelessly with the adaptor, and the second player can connect via a USB cable.
Andrew isn’t certain about the PS Now application being a UWP app but will update us as more information is revealed. I sent some follow up questions to get more clarification on if the dongle is required or if a 3rd party bluetooth adapter can be used. UPDATE: Andrew has confirmed the dongle is required for DS4 wireless with PS Now.
Time will tell, but I have a feeling that even if Sony doesn’t officially support other adapters, the existing methods for connecting at DS4 to a Windows PC. Mac owners will have to wait for official support but it being looked at.
