We can approach the conversation around game streaming from different positions. From technical, we would discuss the Internet speed and the locations of data centres around the globe. From business, we would talk about the necessity to revise current business models of software and hardware development. For me personally, the position of an end-user is much more interesting and practical – as a gamer, what can I use right now?
Game streaming is a technology to play highly demanded games on simple devices. Usual old laptops are enough to delve into last releases (such as recent NFS: Heat, for example). All the calculations proceed on the server side, and gamers get the streaming video in (almost) the same way as they get Twitch video streams. High-speed connection to the Internet and a data centre nearby is required to really feel the advantages of this technology.
Cloud gaming is a promising innovation. It can become revolutionary in the industry – sometime in the future. I like the idea of game streaming for the possibility to avoid often hardware upgrades, and I believe, such services would make the community a bit more united, not so divided by the brands of their devices. For now, we have the following offers.
Google Stadia
It’s probably the best-known game streaming service – Google has taken enough efforts to inform the whole gaming community about the release of their Stadia. On November 19, this service was launched.
Google couldn’t make it a sudden revolution. Users should have a special gamepad to play Stadia games. The starting list of games is limited to 22 titles and most of them are available on consoles and PC (+14 games till the end of 2019). The bundle with the official gamepad, Chromecast Ultra, and three months of subscription costs $130. Then, the Stadia Pro subscription will cost $10 per month.
PlayStation Now
The game streaming service from Sony is available for a few years already (since 2014-2015) and the company develops it quite actively.
PS Now allows playing some PlayStation games: PS2, PS3, and PS4 titles. The list of available games grows regularly (750+). Lots of them (300+) can be installed to PS4 (to not depend on the Internet). PlayStation Now is a way to play PlayStation games on PC (with the official gamepad DualShock 4).
Recently, the price of the service became lower - $10 per month, $25 for 3 months, and $60 per year. Sony says it has more than 1 million subscribers. PS Now is available in the USA and 18 European countries.
Recently, the price of the service became lower - $10 per month, $25 for 3 months, and $60 per year. Sony says it has more than 1 million subscribers. PS Now is available in the USA and 18 European countries.
Playkey
This is the only cloud gaming opportunity from this list that comes not from a big corporation. It’s a Russian service available in Russia and Europe (data centres in Moscow, Frankfurt, and London).
You should have your own game library on Steam or Uplay to use Playkey – and they should be on the service’s list. The payment scheme is unique here. Users pay for playing hours, not for a monthly subscription (around $95 for 100 hours).
xCloud
It’s a project of Microsoft, and it surprisingly is not in a leading place at all. The service is in its preview stage – only gamers in the USA, UK, and South Korea can test it. It runs only on mobile platforms. The support of Windows computers is planned for 2020. There are 50 Xbox games available for the testers.
It’s worth to remember the possibilities of Microsoft as a global corporation and their ambition in the game industry to take xCloud seriously. Data centres of Microsoft Azure in 140 countries and a huge library of Xbox Game Pass is a power to make xCloud noticeable among competitors.
Nvidia GeForce Now
This service is not so well-known as most of the others – Nvidia doesn’t make too much noise around it. And still, it’s one of the best offers in the current market.
Players use servers of GeForce Now to play games from their Steam library and some other popular titles (Fortnite, League of Legends, games from Blizzard). The list of supported games is big and becomes bigger.
GeForce Now was in free beta testing in Europe, North America, Japan, and South Korea till February 2020. Users should register for testing and wait for the beta key to try out GeForce Now. I know in my personal experience – it works quite well. (Fore more details, check out the post GeForce Now - a month after release)
It’s the whole list for now. Let’s wait and see the development of this trend in the game industry.
Stay tuned to Very Good Games at social networks.
