Head of the PlayStation: "We believe that the era of streaming is upon us."

Jim Ryan, president and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, said in a statement by investors such as Google: "We believe that the era of streaming is upon us and that it is about to start a period of rapid growth. "

To support this bold claim, Ryan cited Sony's own internal data on the 5.6 million PS4 owners using the system's remote reading feature, which turns the console into a home server that can play games on computers. branded PC / Mac, iOS and Xperia. Android devices. "The growing appetite" for this feature among PS4 users is "one of the real reasons why we think the switch to streaming is imminent," said Ryan, and the feature will bring a return for the successor to the console's the PS4.

Sony has also learned a lot about the streaming potential of PlayStation Now, the streaming game service launched in 2015. In its opening address, Sony CEO, Kenichiro Yoshida, said that review of the usage habits of the 700,000 PlayStation Now subscribers had allowed the company to define the types of games We intend to strengthen the content catalog, including AAA titles, and we strive to make these improvements. "

Ryan added that "you will see that improving the quality of the game we have as our goal [PlayStation Now]"Enter the next generation, with many more premier and third-party titles available for streaming on the 780 games currently on offer.

Servers, bandwidth and competition

Sony also pointed out how far ahead in streaming games it was able to provide its users with a high-quality, latency-free streaming gaming experience. Yoshida pointed out that the company has spent five years "accumulated[ing] technology and patents to minimize latency. In the future, we will continue to accumulate more technologies and know-how. "

Yoshida said that Sony "would support the latest technologies in computing, streaming, cloud computing and 5G" to ensure that the broadcast experience continues to to be "transparent". Ryan added that the recently announced partnership between Sony and Microsoft on streaming technology was to be considered a "statement of serious intent" aimed at improving the growth and scale of PlayStation Now, without however provide more details.

Ryan said he was "no excuse" for the progressive roll-out of PlayStation Now in 19 different countries on a staggered schedule. By not rushing, he said, the company was able to test, learn and iterate to "ensure that there is a real" PlayStation experience "on the service, which has been extended to 15 data centers and 37 points of presence on the network.

Thanks to the technology acquired at Gaikai in 2012, Ryan said that Sony could provide "ultra-low latency with [a network connection of] only 5 Mbps "(this does not completely match our 2015 network tests, for what it's worth).

For its part, Google recommends at least a 25 Mbps connection for a quality experience on its Stadia streaming platform. Ryan sees Sony's lower bandwidth threshold as a "strategic point of difference" from its competitors "which will allow us to grow in markets where bandwidth can be a determining factor."

Ryan included some other veiled jabs at Stadia and other potential competitors, but did not mention the name. He noted that Sony continues to believe in "player choice," offering streaming as an option over locally-managed, downloadable, disk-based games. "We've never imposed the digital model on anyone," said Ryan, recalling that the next generation PlayStation would continue to be equipped with a disk drive. And while streaming will be "an increasingly significant factor" in the near future, Ryan acknowledged that "players will continue to value their choice."

Ryan also pointed out that Sony's extensive catalog of existing content and franchises was a major advantage over streaming competition. "While others are in start-up or catch-up mode, SIE has been investing regularly, organically and by acquisition, for over 20 years and now has a network of over 13 leading studios. spread across all regions and serving players around the world. "