Let's be clear: Nvidia GeForce Now is a completely different product from Google Stadia. Yes, their ultimate goal is to use cloud-driven game streaming, so that high-end video games can be used on low-power hardware, but their service direction is completely different.
Having said that, I think GeForce Now has positioned itself as a market leader, and this different perspective approach helps it overcome the problems that have made Stadia stumbling. This is impressive-but especially considering that Stadia is still definitely the lean and easy way to use both services.
GeForce Now has been in beta for two years, but this week it was released to a wider audience. Now anyone can register and play. GeForce Now differs from Stadia in that it is not built as a replacement for the existing video game ecosystem, but rather as a companion to them.
When GeForce Now first debuted, cloud gaming was still a futuristic experiment and was mostly related to the failure of OnLive and Gaikai. However, Nvidia believes it adds value to users who buy PC hardware. The company has developed technology for private streaming that allows your high-performance PC at home to stream games to other rooms or mobile devices. Essentially, this requires this work and spreads it as widely as possible: Now you can stream content to compatible devices without turning on the gaming PC, as it will come from Nvidia running with similar hardware Server stack. Correspondingly, this means you don't need a PC at all.
So, while Stadia positions itself as a new platform, another competitor at the forefront of PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo, and numerous PC stores, GeForce Now has built itself into these last few ecosystems. Of course, you must have a compatible game to stream it, but you can have it in many compatible stores. For example, you can launch the Wolfenstein series in GeForce Now with the Bethesda PC Store ID in the BeForsda PC Store ID, or you can log in to your Steam account and get it that way. All the service cares about is whether you own the game on a compatible platform.
There are already hundreds or thousands of games available, thus eliminating one of those problems with Stadia: paying the full price to buy a game at double the base price, because "because you want to play it over lunch on the phone at work" . Since launching Witcher 3 via GeForce Now is essentially just logging in to a remote computer and then guiding the game through the full version of Steam, theoretically all relevant features are included here. The DLC you own will be displayed automatically. You will unlock achievements and transaction cards. The game will have the latest updates. If cloud save is supported, all progress will be ready and waiting for you, then sync back at the end of the session.
This is a very good feature for existing PC players. When traveling, you can start GeForce Now on a low-power business laptop in a hotel room, or if you can get a strong enough, fast signal, you can make a call while waiting for the train-5G becomes easier to spread. By linking to your existing account, game library, and ecosystem, you can live up to the promise that streaming is truly relevant to existing gamers using existing hardware – you can use it to choose a place away from the device. Great-although there are things in Microsoft Xbox that Project XCloud might be good at.
But what about the elusive newcomers? Google believes th at casual gamers can increase their sales to things like Assassin's Creed by making them playable on their phones? Well, GeForce Now is not ideal for them right now, and this is where Stadia wins. On Stadia, the game can be started and closed seamlessly with minimal waiting time. Trouble everywhere-you may need to wait for a remote PC to make a call with Steam, Epic, UPlay, Battle.net or any service you are using. Of course, to play games, you need to have an account on the service. Although technically possible, purchasing games through GeForce Now is not its real purpose-therefore, you need to install the Steam app on a device such as a PC, tablet, or phone to make game purchases.
Similarly, the behavior supported by the controller is a bit strange. When I launched Wolfenstein Youngblood via GeForce Now on an Nvidia Shield with an Xbox One controller, it warned me that the game does not support controllers. Once the virtual machine stream starts and Steam opens, it becomes clear. This is confusing for newcomers, and there are few such pitfalls and drawbacks in the first version of this service. These are things that PC veterans can easily accomplish, but newcomers will be put on the shelf.
GeForce Now also needs some work on usability. Has great PC and MacOS apps, and great mobility, but most people want to play through TV. Currently, the best way to achieve this is through Nvidia Shield (an excellent device), but in its cheapest model it still costs £ 150. Of course, the natural step is to fully support GeForce Now on devices like Amazon Fire Sticks and Google Chromecasts. Even cheaper, the streaming-focused Nvidia Shield also seems like a smart idea-it can be sold with a bundled GeForce Now subscription.
Noting these shortcomings, it is still difficult to be impressed by the value that GeForce Now provides. You can play for one hour for free. Currently, $ 5 / £ 5 per month can bring you a "Founders" package, which can extend your 6-hour continuous playback time for at least one year, and its graphics settings are equivalent to RTX 2080-£ 600 graphics card. You can only get 1080p, but powered by a graphics card like this, you usually get the maximum settings and rock-solid frame rate in most games. Also, you can expect ray tracing in games that support it.
Metro Exodus is an excellent ray tracing enabled game that can be mentioned here; it can be used on Stadia, PC and console. Stadia can make games reach 4K, but without advanced lighting technology, and only runs at 30 frames per second, and it is twice as expensive as GeForce Now. Nvidia's service has not yet reached 4K resolution, but it has reached a crucial 60fps and added incredible realistic lighting capabilities.
It is worth mentioning that all these methods are equally effective. It's streaming, so of course there will be trouble, but GeForce Now will provide some nice warnings and tests to tell you if you need to switch the router to 5G or get a better connection, and even mark the corner of the router such as the connection is not Things like stability. The screen in the game. However, in the services of the release week, I am usually impressed-fighting games like SoulCalibur 6 and Mortal Kombat 11 feel good on the service, at least for casual games, this is an achievement.
Obviously, the battle for streaming media has just begun. The Xcloud project is an important part of the next-generation Xbox program. Google allegedly has all the tax evasion taxes to fund Stadia's expansion. In addition, there are PC competitors Shadow, Sony enters this market, and even personal choices based on games, such as Resident Evil 7 and other Switch versions of games only released in Asia. However, GeForce Now immediately became the front runner. It has a strong price, great support for existing games, and it works. Hopefully, its delivery process can be streamlined and made instantly accessible like Stadia.
