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Playstation Now, formally known as just Sony's Gaikai technology, will be going into a closed beta in the US starting at the end of January 2014. This could be the beginning of the end for consoles. I don't think consoles will be obsolete in the next decade, but if game streaming eventually becomes the new standard, we will no longer need to purchase consoles or high end PCS. If a game can be streamed we will only need a device on our end to interact with and display the game. With a smart tv and a gamepad, we won't have to worry about buying a new video card or dropping $500+ on new hardware because the games will be completely run on company servers. Playstation Now will also support multiplayer, trophies and playstation network messaging. We discussed before about Playstation becoming a service, see (Is PlayStation Going to Compete with Steam?). Competing with Steam does not appear to be the case however. Steam allows people to buy licenses of games, download and play them. The Playstation Now service has mentioned nothing at all about purchasing games. As it is now, it will be a game renting or subscription only service. This could be a very big game changer. If Sony charges a flat rate fee like netflix, then gamers around the world might jump right on the offer. Imagine paying $7.99 a month for a massive game library on demand. No downloading and installing.. just pick a title from a netflix style menu and start playing a game. Source: Polygon Click here to view the article