Sony was prepared to launch its PlayStation Now cloud gaming service on mobile phones in 2017, according to a leaked document, years before Apple claimed that cloud gaming could only exist on the iPhone if it jumped through massive hoops.
It may have been Sony’s PS Now game service’s most significant expansion in years. Originally, the service streamed PS2 and PS3 games to smart TVs, Blu-ray players, and the PS3 and PS Vita, but in late 2017 it stopped supporting all of those platforms in favour of the PlayStation 4 and Windows PC. It’s never been available on Android, iOS, or Mac, even though it recently introduced 1080p streaming and a PS5 client.
Apple, meanwhile, had firsthand information of Sony’s forthcoming launch, according to a confidential document obtained by The Verge from the Epic v. Apple lawsuit. Apple has learned of a “[not-yet-announced] mobile extension of an existing streaming service for PlayStation customers, streaming access to over 450+ PS3 titles, to begin with, with PS4 games to follow,” according to the report.
PlayStation Now launched with a handful of PS4 games in July 2017, however, the presentation adds that the service is “just PS3 games right now,” implying that Apple was informed about more than just the shift to mobile.
Despite Apple’s opposition to cloud gaming on the App Store, Sony is said to be working on Project Spartacus, which would bundle its cloud gaming service with a PlayStation Plus subscription and include original PS1 and “eventually” PS5 games.
While it’s possible that Sony assessed the situation and decided it wasn’t worth fighting Apple for mobile access the way Steam, Shadow, Microsoft, and Google did, it’s also possible that the company decided to focus on selling more consoles instead — if you do have a PS4 or PS5 in your home, the company’s PS Remote Play app already lets you stream it (possibly over cellular) to a wide range of Apple and Android devices.
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