Sony demos PlayStation App for Android and iOS at TGS 2013
Come November, Sony will be launching the PS4, will have a new model of the PS Vita available to purchase, and will make the PS Vita TV available in Japan at least. But there’s a further launch that has now been confirmed as happening alongside the release of the new home console, and that’s the PlayStation App.
Sony has developed an app for both Android and iOS devices that’s meant to complement the PS4 experience in a number of ways. PlayStation App is that software, and Sony has been showing off what it can do at TGS 2013 this week ahead of theNovember launch.
The video below isn’t great in terms of showing off interaction with the PS4, but it gives you a good idea of how the app will look on your phone:
This isn’t just an app for catching up on news or browsing games. It’s your communication hub for everything PlayStation related away from the console, including viewing trophies, hooking into Twitter and Facebook, chatting with friends, seeing what they are currently playing, inviting them to multiplayer games, and recommending game purchases. But it also acts as a second screen during play. By that I mean you can use it as a controller, it can be used to start game streaming on a service like UStream, or if the game you are playing is compatible, it can act as a complimentary display, e.g. showing an inventory or map.
There’s also real-time interaction promised, so you can do things like draw an object on your smartphone using the app’s paint program and have it instantly appear in a PS4 game. There’s definitely potential there for games that encourage user generated content or drawing your own map of levels, for example.
Sony also touched on the feature we’ve already heard about, where by you can browse through PS4 games, decide you like one, and purchase it directly from the app. That action kicks off the game automatically downloading to your console, so there’s more chance of it being installed and ready to play when you sit down in front of your TV.
By launching the app the same month as PS4, there’s more chance gamers will actually take notice and use it on their mobile devices. Sony has made a wise decision by not limiting it to Sony-only smartphones and tablets. You can sit there and use an iPad,iPhone 5S, Nexus 7 or Nexus 4 as your second PS4 screen if you so wish.
