Home Gaming No, PlayStation Now doesn’t work in SA

No, PlayStation Now doesn’t work in SA

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PSNever

It’s a fool’s errand, really, trying to get heavy, cloud-based services working from South Africa. Out internet infrastructure is, in general, too poor. Many of the PlayStation 4’s premier features – like live Twitch streaming and Share Play won’t work here because of our underdeveloped internet infrastructure. PlayStation Now has launched in the US. Though there’s no word on when we might see the service launch in Europe or here in Africa, I thought I’d try it and see if it worked, and if it did – how well.

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For those of you out of the loop, what PlayStation Now is, is a subscription service that will allow PlayStation 4 gamers to pay a flat fee, and then play from a selection of over a hundred PlayStation 3 titles. Right now, the service costs $19.99 per month, and includes games like Uncharted, Arkham City and Super Street Fighter IV; pretty much all of the games you’d want to play from the PS3’s library. It’s built using the game streaming tech the company acquired along with Gaikai. It’s a little like Netflix for games.

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I loaded up my US account, downloaded the client and fired up the 7 day trial. Browsing PS Now’s library is rather similar to browsing the PlayStation store on the PS4. Selecting any of the games adds them to your home page, ready to launch. Here’s rather expectedly, is where I hit the first snag. It ran a few connection tests, and told me that my line speed (10Mb ADSL) meant the game – and indeed the whole service – would likely perform sub-optimally, if at all. Not heeding the warning, I continued, loading up a game to see if it would load, and once it did, how bad the lag would be.

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Unfortunately, it didn’t get to that point; yup, nothing but loading screens. No, none of this is surprising, and it is rather obvious that it wouldn’t work, but I had to try. The thing is, see, that we don’t have PlayStation Now servers within our proximity. The unfortunate reality is that we’re unlikely to, either. When Sony starts rolling PlayStation Now to more devices – specifically its TVs, that feature just won’t be applicable to us.

As is usual, when it comes to digital services, we South Africans will be stuck with the short end of the stick. Firmly wedged up our un-lubricated bottoms.

Last Updated: January 15, 2015

72 Comments

  1. Mandom (Umar)

    January 15, 2015 at 15:33

    Sigh….Obviously it doesn’t work…You didn’t connect the LAN cable!

    Reply

    • ToshZA

      January 15, 2015 at 15:41

      Now you sound like Zuma…

      Reply

      • Mandom (Umar)

        January 15, 2015 at 15:42

        I don’t even know what a LAN cable is.
        (Now I sound like Zuma)

        Reply

        • ToshZA

          January 15, 2015 at 15:43

          There is no word for LAN in our language.
          (I just went full Malema)
          #NeverGoFullMalema

          Reply

          • Mandom (Umar)

            January 15, 2015 at 15:49

            LOL damn, grammatically combining Zuma and Malema thinking into everyday speech really hurts one’s brain

          • ToshZA

            January 15, 2015 at 15:52

            It really does. Let’s put a stop to it, shall we? 🙂

          • Mandom (Umar)

            January 15, 2015 at 15:53

            Indeed Comrade!

    • Marc O Polo

      January 15, 2015 at 20:44

      Have you…

      Reply

  2. Lourens Corleone

    January 15, 2015 at 15:37

    What speed dsl do you have? I don’t see the point of this article if that isn’t mentioned.

    Reply

    • Mandom (Umar)

      January 15, 2015 at 15:38

      That is one incredibly V V-neck :O

      Reply

      • Lourens Corleone

        January 15, 2015 at 15:40

        You flirt you.

        Reply

        • Mandom (Umar)

          January 15, 2015 at 15:42

          Bah!!Then stop the tease!

          Reply

    • Exalted Overlord Geoffrey Tim

      January 15, 2015 at 15:41

      10Mb, added to article.

      Reply

      • Hammersteyn

        January 15, 2015 at 15:43

        Playa playeeeeeer

        Reply

      • Lourens Corleone

        January 15, 2015 at 15:54

        Now I’m sad!

        Reply

      • WitWolfy

        January 16, 2015 at 07:44

        Thats kinda BS, I used to have a 10MB and it didnt work for me.

        Reply

    • HairyEwok

      January 15, 2015 at 15:46

      Didnt he say in the article he used his 10meg line. I’m pretty sure i read that.

      Reply

      • ToshZA

        January 15, 2015 at 15:48

        He didn’t.

        Reply

    • Drofnats

      July 20, 2015 at 12:10

      He said he had 10 and you only need 5 for a good experience according to Sony

      Reply

  3. oVg elfroot slayer

    January 15, 2015 at 15:38

    off-line gamer here.

    Reply

    • HairyEwok

      January 15, 2015 at 15:47

      So your kinda laughing at yourself now?

      Reply

      • oVg elfroot slayer

        January 15, 2015 at 15:55

        • HairyEwok

          January 15, 2015 at 15:56

          The oh shit I’m clueless face is real XD

          Reply

        • Admiral Chief

          January 15, 2015 at 15:59

          Who is that, she is quite attractive, in a clueless way

          Reply

          • oVg elfroot slayer

            January 15, 2015 at 16:19

            Lily Sheen. She gets her looks from her mom Kate Beckinsale.

          • Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)

            January 15, 2015 at 17:10

            Her mom is Kate Beckinsale? Holy mother of …. :O

            The love for Kate is strong in this banana…

  4. Uberutang

    January 15, 2015 at 15:39

    100% not surprised at all.

    Reply

  5. Hammersteyn

    January 15, 2015 at 15:40

    • HairyEwok

      January 15, 2015 at 15:57

      And that concludes today’s RAGE exercise.

      Reply

  6. oVg elfroot slayer

    January 15, 2015 at 15:40

    At least we still have electricity.

    Reply

    • Hammersteyn

      January 15, 2015 at 15:42

      • Admiral Chief

        January 15, 2015 at 15:43

        MUST YOU SPOIL EVERYTHING?

        Reply

        • Hammersteyn

          January 15, 2015 at 15:43

          I’ll get the cards and start the fire.

          Reply

          • oVg elfroot slayer

            January 15, 2015 at 15:46

            ROFL “likely”

            I called it in November. 200% Tariff Hike like in 2008 over 2 years.
            The Tariff has been popping up allot this week. Clever buggers, BLACKMAIL the country to get what they want. It worked before.

          • Hammersteyn

            January 15, 2015 at 15:49

            Said Zuma “When commentators comment on energy they forget this (that apartheid
            was responsible for the lack of energy). They want to put the blame on
            the democratic government.”

          • oVg elfroot slayer

            January 15, 2015 at 15:53

            I blame the FAT XBOX 360. The thing sounded and used more energy than a Harrier Jump Jet.

          • Hammersteyn

            January 15, 2015 at 15:54

            XD

          • Marc O Polo

            January 15, 2015 at 20:49

            Hahaha I still have one of those… Thing is like a heater in winter

      • oVg elfroot slayer

        January 15, 2015 at 15:49

        Not sure to thumb you up or not.

        Reply

        • Hammersteyn

          January 15, 2015 at 15:49

          down, everyone should down vote it.

          Reply

      • HairyEwok

        January 15, 2015 at 15:59

        *whistles* That’s quite a lot of red right there.

        Reply

  7. boondocksaint87

    January 15, 2015 at 15:47

    Should be upload speeds that is the issue. If someone has a different service, like fibre, where up and down are synced, in theory, it should work.

    Reply

  8. HairyEwok

    January 15, 2015 at 15:48

    Guess you’ll need a 40meg VDSL line to use playstation now. So 4k+ for the internet and then R200+ for the service.

    Reply

    • ToshZA

      January 15, 2015 at 15:49

      For that price you can buy a new console with games every 6 months…

      Reply

      • WitWolfy

        January 16, 2015 at 07:45

        Exactly!

        Reply

    • Marc O Polo

      January 15, 2015 at 20:50

      Well they selling 100mbps fibre lines in Clifton for like R10 000

      Reply

  9. freddy_uk

    January 15, 2015 at 15:49

    why would it work. is only out in the US

    Reply

  10. UltimateNinjaPandaDudeGuy

    January 15, 2015 at 15:50

    They really do need to just put a server in Teraco or something. It really won’t be that much.

    Valve gave us a DOTA2 server and that has to be working out well.

    Reply

  11. Exalted Overlord Geoffrey Tim

    January 15, 2015 at 15:57

    Why did I even bother trying? FOR SCIENCE!

    Reply

    • Darren Peach

      January 15, 2015 at 16:09

      With all these articles floating about mantioning fibre, Are things likely to improve ?

      Reply

      • Admiral Chief

        January 15, 2015 at 16:11

        How does one mantion?

        Reply

        • oVg elfroot slayer

          January 15, 2015 at 16:12

          SIM CITY DLC

          Reply

        • Darren Peach

          January 15, 2015 at 16:16

          I learnt it when I bunked way too much school. After googling for the correct spelling, I think I meant mentioning.

          Reply

          • Admiral Chief

            January 15, 2015 at 16:18

            😉

          • oVg elfroot slayer

            January 15, 2015 at 16:21

            There is no Zulu word for fibre. 😛

    • oVg elfroot slayer

      January 15, 2015 at 16:11

      For shits and giggles until you giggled while shitting. 😛

      Reply

      • Admiral Chief

        January 15, 2015 at 16:11

        Hahahaha

        Reply

  12. Ghost In The Rift

    January 15, 2015 at 16:13

    And the Arial fiber thats being implemented in Joburg,they say its cheaper than Telkoms fiber from 10mbps to 100mbps??

    Reply

  13. Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)

    January 15, 2015 at 17:08

    Noob! Why didn’t you connect your LAN cable! 😛

    Reply

  14. Ceyber, The Metal Rabbit

    January 15, 2015 at 17:42

    So the further you are from the servers the stronger your connection has to be? Then why not just move the servers closer to those with the overall weaker bandwidth capacity (like RSA)?
    Wouldn’t Americans (for example) just have to use more bandwidth from their already-powerful infrastructure? On connections that are more than capable of performing at these longer distances?

    Would Sony not get more profit that way? Countries with weaker internet capacity(?) would get PS Now, and first-world countries would pay a little bit extra for the added distance. Win-win scenario no?

    Is this feasible?

    Reply

    • Gavin Mannion

      January 16, 2015 at 07:56

      No it doesn’t work that way.. it’s not only our less than stellar infrastructure it is also down to the distance.

      It’s impossible to get a sub 100ms ping to America from here even if you had a fibre line from your pc directly to the server in the US.. distance is distance and the stupid speed of light issue physics problem stop it from happening

      Reply

      • Ceyber, The Metal Rabbit

        January 16, 2015 at 09:26

        Just a wildly optimistic thought, went with it. I was thinking of BF4 as an example; How do some international players join games on servers based in SA with pings below 40?

        Reply

  15. DrKiller

    January 15, 2015 at 20:38

    Feel like testing my 40mb line? 😛

    Reply

  16. Faeon

    January 15, 2015 at 21:42

    Unfortunately this will be the case in S.A. since we don’t have the infrastructure, or the money that they are looking for. in the end its all about money for the business.

    Reply

  17. WitWolfy

    January 16, 2015 at 07:43

    Thought this would be obvious. Couldn’t even use remote play when visiting a mate last year using his 4MB line. Heck even a 10MB wont cut it.

    Reply

  18. Viking Of Science

    January 16, 2015 at 08:07

    I’m not surprised, I mean It’s Apparently still buggy in the States, and they’ve Got Server Proximity.. AND According to Ookla, the average ADSL Download Speed in 32 Mbps…

    Reply

  19. Jonah Cash

    January 16, 2015 at 08:22

    Still want to know if you can rent a movie on your USA account!!!???

    Reply

  20. Brady miaau

    January 16, 2015 at 10:35

    Boy, am I glad I bought and Xbox One, because I can use all its digital cloud functions.

    Oh wait……

    Reply

  21. Brendon Bosch

    January 18, 2015 at 07:51

    Didn’t expect somebody to try to test it but hey atleast now we know what we already knew

    Reply

  22. Bennie van der Walt

    June 29, 2020 at 11:38

    PlayStation players in South Africa, if you would like to have PlayStation Now, please consider having a look at this petition on change org to get PlayStation Now in our country and share with everyone you think could benefit from this:
    https://www.change.org/PlayStationNowSouthAfrica
    #PlayStation #PlayStationNow #PSNow #SouthAfricaPSNowNotNowNow

    Reply

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