While Sony has had Remote Play technology in some form since the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable, it has only recently become popular.
The introduction of the PS4 and the PlayStation Vita handheld heralded a new era of interest in Remote Play, but the feature makes little sense when demand for the Vita is low, reports Kotaku.
Third-party app streams PlayStation 4 games to PC
Now a third-party app promises to make Remote Play a reality for those who wish to use a PC. Remote Play PC does exactly what you might expect, tricking the PS4 into believing that a user’s PC is an official Remote Play device.
Microsoft raised the bar when it allowed Xbox One owners to stream video games on Windows 10-based hardware, but Sony has been slow to catch up. This paid-for third-party app is the only solution for PS4 owners as things stand.
The developer, known only as “Twisted,” claims that asking users to pay for the app will allow him to work on it full time. “The only way to support this is to charge gor the app, all my previous projects have been free and I don’t want to have to, but sadly it’s the only way to support my living costs,” Twisted writes.
Paid app gets in ahead of Sony on game streaming
The app will cost $10 when it is released on Wednesday, and Twisted has released a teaser video which shows exactly how it works. According to Seppala the app looks better than the PlayStation now game streaming service provided by Sony, but it is hard to give a real review of the app without having used it.
So what exactly is the attraction of the app? One target group are gamers that don’t want to play on the smaller screens of the PlayStation Vita or certain Android devices, and would rather use a PC and the larger screens.
The app also offers mouse and keyboard support for those who don’t want to use a PlayStation controller. One concern is if Sony will appeal for the app to be removed from app stores, potentially leaving paying customers out of pocket.