The PS4’s Remote Play feature is probably one of the most under-rated aspects of the machine. We all have the capability; all you need is a PS4, a decent internet connection and a smartphone and you’re ready to play your games on the go. However, it’s not been a smooth ride and Remote Play doesn’t always work as well as it should. In fact, I’ve had nothing but problems with the bloody thing since day one, and I’ve got top-end internet with a top-end router.
Sony is still pushing the feature, though, and in a recent survey, it may have revealed some of its future plans. Thanks to a Reddit user posting the survey, we know that Sony has asked respondents if they’d be interested in using Remote Play to stream their PS4 library to their Nintendo Switch, Android TV, and Apple TV devices. At the moment, Remote Play is only available via phones, PC, and the PS Vita. With Microsoft opening the floodgates with its streaming solutions, it’s natural that Sony would want to compete as fiercely as possible. But is it likely we’ll be able to stream to Nintendo Switch? I don’t think it’ll actually happen, but it’d be damn cool.
While streaming PS4 games to Nintendo Switch is unlikely to happen, another idea posed by the survey very well could. In it, Sony asks if respondents would be interested in a portable DualShock 4 controller to Remote Play their games. So think of a DualShock 4 with a screen. It wouldn’t play games natively but would be able to Remote Play to its in-built screen. Now that’s something I could see Sony doing. The handheld race is over and Sony has already said it is bowing out of the handheld market, but it could make a half-way return with a dedicated streaming device.
It’s always interesting to see what ideas are being passed around the company, and while not everything in the survey is realistic, some ideas could become reality in the future.
For me, I’d love to have a proper streaming solution from Sony. At the moment, PS Now is limited to PS4 and PC, whereas Microsoft will let you stream your Xbox library to your phone, and it works really well. At the moment I’ve been using the Xbox Console Streaming beta app and Steam Link to stream my games to my phone while I’m at work (naughty) or in another part of the house. It works brilliantly and has increased my playtime on PC and Xbox games. If Sony could step up their game just a touch, I’d no doubt spend hours swinging around in Spider-Man, or go on mental rampages in GTA V. Perhaps the PS5 will bring some new streaming technology? We’ll have to wait and see.
Source: Reddit
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