Updated at 12:56, January 8th: SCEA marketing executive John Koller has just told CVG that all PlayStation games streamed to touchscreen devices via PlayStation Now will require the use of the DualShock 3 controller.
"We didn't want to utilise touchscreen or anything like that," Koller said in the interview. "It requires the DualShock. The DualShock 3, specifically. To enable tablet and smartphone play, you've got to have the DualShock 3."
Original story follows:
Sony has revealed that PlayStation Now, the company's newly announced game streaming service, will eventually allow you to play PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 games on internet-connected smartphones and tablets.
The announcement, which was made at the CES tradeshow in Las Vegas yesterday, comes nearly two years after Sony purchased cloud streaming service Gaikai back in 2012.
Gaikai was originally conceived to stream PC games to smart TVs and home computers. However, it seems that the Japanese hardware and software giant has adapted the tech to work on its PS3 and PS4 consoles, and even the PS Vita.
Most interesting of all, once PlayStation Now has been launched in the US this summer, we should eventually see the service extend its reach to mobile devices, probably including the iPhone and iPad. If all goes to plan, you'll be able to rent individual titles, or use a subscription service, to play new and legacy PlayStation games on your iOS device.
Anyone who's tried to use the historically troubled (but conceptually similar) OnLive streaming service will know that, while streaming console games to every device under the sun sounds grand, it comes with its fair share of issues.
Provided you have a decent enough internet connection to negate latency issues and stream a game smoothy, you will likely find yourself wrestling with messy touchscreen control overlays which aren't necessarily suitable for the task (if OnLive is anything to go by, anyway).
However, if Sony can nail the interface issues, PlayStation Now could put a huge catalogue of classic console titles in the palm of your hand, all without the need to cough up for a PS Vita.
PlayStation Now will roll out on Sony consoles in the US this summer. There's no word yet on when the service will reach the UK or Europe, or when it'll be available on other devices.
