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GeForce Now Benefits Read More
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When I first heard about Google’s Stadia cloud gaming service, I thought that there are several services out already, including Sony’s PlayStation Now and Nvidia’s GeForce Now… so why is anybody excited about Stadia? If Google could solve the latency problem of WiFi, perhaps by a combination of compression and auto-downloading in the background… then streaming games might be more attractive.
I haven’t used PS Now, since it’s expensive at $19.99 a month, but I have dipped my foot in the water with GeForce Now. Originally, I used GeForce Now via my Nvidia Shield… but later I started using it on my PC.
The GeForce Now service is currently free, while Nvidia’s service is in beta. The price they want to charge is $7.99 a month. That price is low, because you can only stream games you already own. You’re essentially paying for the option to stream a game from one of Nvidia’s computers.
The beauty of GeForce Now is that I might play a game on a low-powered laptop instantly (without having to download the software), and then continue the same game (using cloud saves) on another local (but more powerful) computer.
With that in mind, here’s a scenario you might have: While you install a game on a local computer, you could potentially be playing that same game using GeForce Now. By the time your regular computer downloads and installed your game, you can pick it up right where you left it off from GeForce Now.
Now for the negatives:
For streaming purposes, resolution is reduced to 540 or 480p.
Does not support Ultrawide resolution (21:9)
Not recommended playing over WiFi (you need to be on a fast network).
Lots of artifacts and frame skipping if you’re on WiFi
Not intuitive, for example it’s not clear that you have to “install” the game first
Cannot change third party login option, especially if you don’t have an account with another service.
If you’re on WiFi, the service will work, but based on the low resolution and video artifacts, I can’t really recommend playing games over WiFi. I haven’t tested it out using a direct connection to the router, but my computer situation prevents me from trying. I can imagine the game will run much better.
Is the service worth $7.99 once they start charging for it? I would have to say no for now. For $0.00, I do think you should at least give it a try. You do have to request a key from nvidia.com, but it’ll be worth it.
For now, I think I’ll be gaming on my computer… unless I’m in a bind and need to continue the game on my television (using my Nvidia Shield).
I haven’t used PS Now, since it’s expensive at $19.99 a month, but I have dipped my foot in the water with GeForce Now. Originally, I used GeForce Now via my Nvidia Shield… but later I started using it on my PC.
The GeForce Now service is currently free, while Nvidia’s service is in beta. The price they want to charge is $7.99 a month. That price is low, because you can only stream games you already own. You’re essentially paying for the option to stream a game from one of Nvidia’s computers.
The beauty of GeForce Now is that I might play a game on a low-powered laptop instantly (without having to download the software), and then continue the same game (using cloud saves) on another local (but more powerful) computer.
With that in mind, here’s a scenario you might have: While you install a game on a local computer, you could potentially be playing that same game using GeForce Now. By the time your regular computer downloads and installed your game, you can pick it up right where you left it off from GeForce Now.
Now for the negatives:
If you’re on WiFi, the service will work, but based on the low resolution and video artifacts, I can’t really recommend playing games over WiFi. I haven’t tested it out using a direct connection to the router, but my computer situation prevents me from trying. I can imagine the game will run much better.
Is the service worth $7.99 once they start charging for it? I would have to say no for now. For $0.00, I do think you should at least give it a try. You do have to request a key from nvidia.com, but it’ll be worth it.
For now, I think I’ll be gaming on my computer… unless I’m in a bind and need to continue the game on my television (using my Nvidia Shield).
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