To play PlayStation games on your computer, you can use PS4 Remote Play or subscribe to PlayStation Now. How they work
To play video games, consoles are the perfect tool. They’re simple to connect to your TV, and all you have to do is turn them on to start having fun. In recent years, a new device has started to join the consoles: the computer. Thanks to the development of more and more powerful GPUs and processors, PCs have become perfect devices to play games: they ensure very high performance, superior to consoles. Unfortunately, not all software houses develop videogames for the PC: some of the most interesting titles are exclusive to PlayStation or Xbox.
Unfortunately, there are some ways to play PlayStation games on the PC without having to use an emulator or similar programs. There are two options: PS4 Remote Play and PlayStation Now. Both of them are services developed by Sony to give users the possibility to play PS4 titles with the PC. The operation of the two applications, however, is very different. PS4 Remote Play allows you to play PlayStation 4 directly on your PC thanks to streaming, while PlayStation Now is a service that provides a bouquet of 500 PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 2 titles that can be started directly from your computer. Here’s how to play PlayStation games on your PC.
What is PS4 Remote Play and system requirements
PS4 Remote Play is a program that lets you play PlayStation 4 directly from your PC. To do so, it is necessary that the console and the computer are connected to the same network and that the Internet connection can support video streaming. In fact, PS4 Remote Play does nothing more than transmit the images processed by the console to the computer. To play PlayStation games on your PC you must have Windows 8.1 or higher (macOS X if it is a Mac), support 360p, 540p or 720p resolutions (with a frame rate of 30 or 60 frames per second) and have a good Internet connection. To play at the highest video quality (i.e. 720p at 60 fps) you’ll need a connection of at least 15 mega per second real. If you want to use the DualShock controller, finally, your computer must have a micro USB port.
How to configure your PC and PS4 to use PS4 Remote Play
If your gaming machine has all the technical requirements just described, then all you have to do is download from the PlayStation website the PS4 Remote Play app (available for both PC and Mac). Then you’ll need to update, if you haven’t already done so, the PS4’s software to version 3.50. You can do this by going into Settings (the briefcase) and selecting “System Software Update.” Of course, your PS4 will need to be connected to the internet to download and install the update.
How to use PS4 games on Pc and Mac
Now you’re ready to use PS4 Remote Play and play PS4 games on your computer. Open the PS4 Remote Play app on your PC or Mac and connect your DualShock controller and then press Start. The app will ask you to log into your PlayStation Network account, put in your email and password and continue. The app, at this point, will independently search for your PS4 and connect to it. If it fails to do so, it will ask you to manually enter the number that you find by opening the PS4’s Settings and then going to “Remote Play Connection; Add”. At this point all you have to do is start the game and play from your computer
How to play PlayStation games on your PC using PlayStation Now
Sony has brought PlayStation Now to Italy, the innovative service that lets you play PlayStation games in streaming. To make the idea is like the Netflix of video games: you choose a game, you download it and you start playing. And you only pay for a monthly or annual subscription. If you don’t want to download the game to your PC, you can stream it as long as you have a decent Internet connection. PlayStation Now doesn’t just support the PS4, but also the PC. Just download the program from Sony’s website, subscribe and you’ll be able to play over 600 PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 2 titles on your PC, without having to use an emulator or a video streaming program like PS4 Remote Play.
The requirements to use PlayStation Now on your computer aren’t that high: Windows 7-8.1 or 10 (32-bit or 64-bit), sound card with at least 300 MB of available space, 2GB or more of RAM, 3.5 GHz Intel Core i3 or 3.8 GHz AMD A10 processor. An Internet connection with a speed of 5Mbps is sufficient. The maximum resolution supported is 720p. With the computer, moreover, you can only play in streaming without the possibility of downloading the game locally.
The cost of the PlayStation Now subscription is 14.99 euros for one month and 99.99 euros for one year. The first seven days are free.