Friday, March 29, 2024

How to play PlayStation 4 games on your Android phone

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With a little work, it’s possible to play PlayStation 4 games on your Android device

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With the Release of the Steam Link beta app from Valve, a whole new world of possibilities has opened up regarding mobile gaming. The Link app allows you to play all of your Steam games on any Android device with Lollipop or above and seems to do it really well from the testing I have done.

The Link app does have another trick up its sleeve though. It is just a sophisticated and smooth running screen mirroring service with wireless input control, which means you can cast anything from your PC to your mobile device including your PlayStation 4! The PS4 allows you to stream your games to your PC, and with the Link, it’s easy to stream those to your mobile device.

Download Steam Link (free)

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Step-by-step instructions

First, follow the instructions to set up your Stream Link app.
Follow the Instructions by Sony to set up remote play on your computer.
Start the Remote Play app so you see your PS4 screen on your computer.
Start the Stream Link app.
Tap Start Playing. The computer screen will load into Steam’s Big Picture mode.
Use Alt-Tab to select your Remote Play screen.
Enjoy PS4 on your mobile device!

More details

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Because of the screen mirroring this will work on any system, not just the PlayStation 4, the Xbox will work too; you just need to Alt-tab over to the correct screen. I’ve even used it to do some 3D design work with my wireless mouse outside in the sun!

One small caveat with this particular mobile PS4 setup is the controller. Because the Remote Play app requires you to connect your PS4 Sixaxis directly into your PC, your range may be limited. There is a wireless adapter you can buy for your PS4 remote, and it does reportedly work with Remote Play, but at the time of writing, I couldn’t confirm that.

One way to get around this is by using two controllers, one to plug into the computer so it recognizes it and one connected to the PlayStation that you can use wirelessly. This seems to work perfectly.

See the adapter at Amazon

So, is it worth doing?

The necessary hoops to get this to work are excessive — Sony is an Android manufacturer and technically could make the Remote Play app work on any Android device — but if you are willing to take the time, playing your PS4 anywhere in your house is excellent fun.

Let us know what you think of this workaround in the comments section.

PlayStation 4

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