PS Now / Game Pass killer?

[redwolves]

I live in Thailand and I can't really find any information on PS Now being available here or not. I know my connection is MORE than adequate for this service, but for PS4 and now even for PS5 on my wired 1gb down / 500mb up connection, it still says "Your connection isn't fast enough for this service..." I am guessing that this has to do with ping? I am not sure how high my ping is, but I am also thinking that there aren't any servers in southeast Asia yet for this service? I suppose this is fine considering the rumors that Sony is doing away with PS Now and merging it with PS Plus and offering a Game Pass killer of sorts in different pricing tiers? It would be helpful if I knew if these tiers would be available for those in Thailand or will they close down the service to those outside the US and Canada and we will only get the PS Plus monthly games. It is interesting to see what Sony does this coming Spring, but I do hope that this service will be available here as well on my American account I've had since PS3.

 

[Carlos]

Sony says they're working on a Game Pass killer, but thing is, we kinda already have it with PlayStation Now. It's just that PlayStation Now, currently doesn't work (ahem; behave) like Game Pass. It's more of a Cloud platform that is contained to platforms that can handle the technology. PlayStation Now is basically Gaikai. OnLive was Gaikai's competitor, and Sony bought some of their patents, so they have the means to do what Game Pass currently offers.

Sony acquires Gaikai
Sony working on its own version of Game Pass [Original report by Bloomberg]

As for the servers, it's not a matter of connectivity, it's just that Sony needs to rewire PlayStation Now to work similarly to Game Pass. Because Sony and Microsoft signed a contract to host their services on Microsoft's servers...

Microsoft doesn't really care to compete with Sony, which is their marketing mantra, because their "advantage" is software. They're developers of Windows. Sony deals with hardware, Microsoft deals with software. So, get the "killer" idea out of your head.

 

[redwolves]

Thank for your reply. Sorry for the late response. I was wondering if you believe the new service will be available in Thailand? I’d hate to lose the ability to try this service out just because I’m in a different country. I already can’t use PS Now and I am missing out on games that I really like and have no problem paying 10 bucks a month for. It would really suck if I couldn’t possibly utilize this new service where all my favorite games might be because they may not have servers in Thailand or they just don’t want to accommodate certain gamers in certain countries.

 

[Carlos]

Thank for your reply. Sorry for the late response. I was wondering if you believe the new service will be available in Thailand? I’d hate to lose the ability to try this service out just because I’m in a different country. I already can’t use PS Now and I am missing out on games that I really like and have no problem paying 10 bucks a month for. It would really suck if I couldn’t possibly utilize this new service where all my favorite games might be because they may not have servers in Thailand or they just don’t want to accommodate certain gamers in certain countries.

Thing is, this is more of a market issue. Thailand needs to buy PlayStation products on masse. That's how you get attention from Sony. The company is headquartered in Japan, so they'll ship consoles and games to your area. But if they're not serving PS Now for Thailand, your country needs to buy more PlayStation products to make a difference in deciding to serve Thailand.

That's how business works.

As far as current solutions go, you need to find the closest server in your area. Here is a reddit thread talking about the issue.

Also, there IS a PlayStation Store in your area. When I search "PlayStation Now Thailand," the first 2 pages goes to Sony's PlayStation Store. Navigate around your PlayStation Store, and there should be a button for PlayStation Now somewhere. However, this is the old service, Sony just pulled PS Now gift cards from UK Retailers. This suggests they're priming for a service change.