Sony has recently launched its own movie streaming application designed exclusively for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 users. With the Sony Pictures Core app, users can conveniently purchase or rent movies, but there’s an exciting bonus for subscribers of PlayStation Plus Premium and Deluxe (the latter available in select markets).
PlayStation Plus Premium and Deluxe members will gain access to a library comprising up to 100 ad-free Sony Pictures films, all at no additional cost. This extensive selection includes popular titles like “Looper,” “Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV,” “Elysium,” and “Resident Evil Damnation,” with periodic updates promised to keep the content fresh. Additionally, Sony plans to introduce anime content from Crunchyroll to the Sony Pictures Core app, hinting at even more benefits for all PS Plus subscribers down the road.
The move to offer movie streaming as part of the PS Plus subscription has been a long-awaited one by many in the gaming community. With Sony’s expanding efforts to transform its gaming franchises into movies and TV shows, this new perk aligns perfectly with their evolving strategy. However, it’s worth noting that Sony introduced this update shortly after raising the annual fee for the PS Plus Premium plan from $120 to $160.
For PS4 and PS5 users, the Sony Pictures Core app provides the opportunity to purchase select Sony Pictures films during an early access window. Currently, users in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand can purchase “Gran Turismo” directly through their consoles before it becomes available for digital purchase elsewhere. As a bonus, buyers of this film via Sony Pictures Core will receive in-game credits for “Gran Turismo 7.”
Although the app has been available on Bravia TVs and some Xperia devices for a while under the name “Bravia Core,” Sony plans to rebrand it on those devices next year.
One potential drawback is that the PlayStation version of the app currently lacks a notable feature available to Bravia and Xperia users. On these devices, the Bravia Core app utilizes Sony’s Pure Stream technology, capable of streaming video at speeds of up to 80 Mbps. For comparison, Netflix recommends speeds of up to 25 Mbps for 4K video streaming. Sony claims this higher bit rate enables “near lossless” video streaming, akin to the quality of 4K Blu-ray discs. Many users have praised this technology, with movies like “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” looking exceptionally impressive with Pure Stream enabled. However, as it stands, the Sony Pictures Core app on PlayStation devices doesn’t offer video quality settings. Here’s hoping that Sony enables Pure Stream on PlayStation in the future to enhance the viewing experience for its users.
