As Sony and Microsoft launch their two next-gen consoles, the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X , another way to play is emerging that threatens to change the video game paradigm. Play without a console, play through streaming platforms, with a subscription that entitles you to enjoy a multitude of titles and without your hobby taking up physical space at home. A radical change with respect to those we have known all our lives, to the different consoles that entered our homes and to the games that were accumulating in drawers or shelves. We talk about streaming game services and their details.
There are several streaming game platforms that already exist, and surely in the near future there will be many more companies to join this wave of releases and news. The future of video games is cloud gaming and we already have it here.
How they work and what they are
Streaming game services work in much the same way as using Net-flix, Spo-tify, or any other similar service where you pay a monthly or yearly subscription in exchange for content. Instead of series or movies, here we have games that we can play from different devices. In short, it is about having a cloud of video games available to the user to select which one they want to play without having to individually purchase said game, as has been done until now.
The classic combination of console plus game disappears in this case and we are faced with a huge library of titles available to play anytime, anywhere. Also, we have exclusive games in many cases. Of course, we will need to have a compatible remote to enjoy them because here there are none like those that are normally included with the console.
One of the advantages of these streaming game services is that you do not have to install or update any game, since you will have it from the cloud, in the same way that you do not have to wait to download a movie on an audiovisual platform to see the chosen title. This type of streaming game platforms works with a subscription that can be monthly or annual but in any case it will always be cheaper than the sum of the value of the video games that it makes available to us in the cloud.
In order to decide which streaming game platform suits us, it will be necessary to look, of course, at the price, but also at other factors such as the list of titles offered by each platform, if it has exclusive games, if it will be necessary to purchase an extra peripheral to be able to play … It is also important and fundamental to take into account the compatibility with devices since we will have to know or analyze from where we are going to be able to play these streaming games that we have in the cloud and if the platforms that we have at home or the devices they are compatible.
Streaming gaming services
In recent months, several streaming game platforms have been born and we have known some brushstrokes of others that will be released in the near future. So that gamers have all the information available before deciding which one or which of these platforms to hire, we review what each one offers and its characteristics.
Google Stadia
It is Google’s streaming gaming platform , which ensures power on the Mountain View company’s servers. Stadia has a prize of 9.99 euros per month in the Stadia Pro subscription, although it is expected that another subscription will arrive in 2020, Stadia Base. It will be another limited subscription mode with quality and features like 1080p, 60fps, without HDR and stereo sound. But the difference is that we will not have a wide catalog of streaming games available but we will have to buy them individually. This subscription will be free and we will only pay for the titles. With the Stadia Pro subscription, for 9.99 euros per month and the only one available today, we have free access to a wide library of games available to you.
You can buy the Premiere Edition of Stadia, which has a price of 129 euros and what we will receive at home will be a box containing a wireless controller to play and a Google Chromecast Ultra, to be able to enjoy the service at home. Basically, what we need to use Google Stadia is the wireless controller and the Google Chromecast Ultra, so the most recommended option is to bet on this Stadia Premiere Edition that includes the three-month Stadia Pro subscription along with the essential devices that we will need to test the streaming service. If you already have a remote or have the Chromecast, you can buy the subscription individually from the Google website.
For now, we’ll be able to play on TVs, laptops, desktops, and select tablets and smartphones, as long as there’s Wi-Fi. Stadia is compatible with countless devices, although the available catalog is expected to increase. At launch, it is compatible with ChromeOS tablets, with Pixel 2, Pixel 3, Pixel 3A and Pixel 4 phones.
Each title is processed and transmitted from Google’s global data centers and also at high speed, ensuring high quality with few resources. We can have a maximum resolution of up to 4K UHD, 60 fps, with HDR and multichannel sound with an Internet connection of at least 10 Mbps. With that 10Mbps connection we can play 720p and 60fps with stereo sound quality. And with little more, with 35Mbps, we will play 4K, HDR video, 60 fps and 5.1 surround sound, as long as we are Stadia Pro subscribers.
Available games
Although there is an extensive catalog that you can consult from the official Google website, some of the streaming games that are available are:
- DOOM
- DOOM Eternal
- Borderlands 3
- Farming Simulator 19
- Final Fantasy XV
- Football manager 200
- Get packet
- Just Dance 2020
- Mortal Kombat 11
- Red Dead Redemption 2
- Rage 2
- NBA 2K20
- Rise of Tomb Raider: 20 Year Celebration
- Wolsfenstein Youngblood
- Etc
Nvidia GeForce Now
Just released after a time as a beta, GeForce Now is Nvidia’s bet to compete with Stadia and the rest of the streaming gaming platforms. Its service is available on various platforms and allows us to play on PC, Mac and Android terminals . It offers a transmission of games at a maximum resolution of 1,080p and a rate of 60 fps, lower than what we can achieve with Google Stadia.
There are many peripherals that we can have at home and that are compatible with GeForce Now, so we can avoid having to buy new accessories. For example, the Sony Dualshock 4 controllers, the Shield controller, the Xbox One controller or the Xbox 360 controller are compatible with GeForce Now, as well as the keyboard and mouse will be used to play on computers. The Nvidia platform connects to Steam or similar so that we can use our library already purchased with GeForce Now, in addition to the option to buy games from the platform. It has more than 30 free games to be able to play without paying anything for it.
There are two subscription models, one free and the other paid. The downside of the free version is that it offers us access to the platform conditioned to one hour of time . The session may not go beyond 60 minutes. In the paid model, which costs 5.49 euros per month, we will have priority access to servers, longer gaming sessions and we will have RTX technology, the spectacular technology of ray tracing by Nvidia.
Available games
The main advantage of GeForce Now is that you can transfer your library of games and they will always be yours. Everything you have purchased from favorite stores can be automatically transferred to this streaming game service. But you also have thirty free games available on GeForce Now. Some are:
- Destiny 2
- Fortnite
- Path of Exile
- League of Legends
- Quake® Champions
- Brawlhalla
- Paladins
- Realm Royale
- Dauntless
- Splitgate: Arena Warfare
- Darwin Project
- Trove
- Splitgate: Arena Warfare
- Battlerite
- Battlerite Royale
- Etc
Playstation now
The PlayStation streaming service allows us to play Sony’s console titles on PS4 and PC , both in streaming and to download and play offline. You can have streaming access to more than 700 PS4, PS3 and PS2 titles to play on your PS4 or Windows PC. Also the library is updated every month to add new games.
There are three payment plans, the monthly payment that comes out at 9.99 euros, the plan that includes three months for 24.99 euros and the annual plan, which has a value of 59.99 euros and with which we will save a lot of money if we have Of course we will keep the subscription for twelve months.
To play from the console you will not have much more explanation, but to play PS4 games from the PC, even if we do not have the console, we will only need a PlayStation Network account with registered payment data and a DualShock 4 controller with USB calbe or a compatible controller.
Project xCloud
The Microsoft project is not a reality at the moment and, although little by little some details of what it will be able to offer are known, there are still many doubts and unknowns about what the Xbox factory is preparing to compete in the world of streaming games. For the few samples that Microsoft has given so far, especially at E3 2019, what we see is a mobile connected to the Xbo x command through a platform so that it is possible to play on the smartphone with a classic console controller.
The game, in this case, would not be installed on the mobile, but would be transmitted directly from the Azure data centers to the smartphone to be able to play in streaming. xCloud is still in the testing period and is only accessible to those lucky enough to receive an invitation to try the service, although Microsoft reveals details little by little, such as the possibility of playing on Windows 10 PCs. It is also clear that it will have to do with the Xbox Game Pass system with which there is unlimited access to more than 100 titles . In any case, we will have to wait for its special launch to see what the Xbox company has prepared to land strongly in the fight for the streaming game market.
Project Tempo
Amazon also wants to make the leap to streaming games and is preparing its own platform, called Project Tempo, as has been revealed. Although its launch, or at least its birth to the public was to be scheduled for 2020, the coronavirus crisis may delay it until 2021. Little is yet known about this service that the e-commerce giant is planning to compete with Stadia or GeForce, but it is known that it works in its own video games. One of them, New World, a fantasy MMO, would arrive this May.
The final announcement of Project Tempo will be delayed but while details will be revealed to learn more about this new platform. Amazon has powerful servers that would be able to support user requests, although it remains to be seen what their characteristics, resolution and graphic power will be.
