When Google first announced the Stadia platform that would compete against the likes of Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony, it was met with some interest. Gamers were given the ability to enjoy video game titles being streamed to your smartphone or low spec PC. The problem that most people had with Google Stadia is that you had to purchase the games which would be locked and limited to the Google Stadia servers. Now, a big competitor is officially out from Nvidia who has been working on their GeForce Now service for years.
If you don’t recall the betas of GeForce Now from Nvidia, it’s a service very similar to the likes of Google Stadia. There is one big difference that may really help Nvidia compete against Google and its that the games you can stream are the video games you owned digitally. It can work through various clients such as the popular Steam and Epic Games Store along with the likes of uPlay. It’s a great little service for those that like to own the games digitally but not tied to Nvidia’s own digital storefront.
While having the ability to play the latest games with RTX support is easily enticing for gamers that may be out of the home regularly for travel or simply don’t have the hardware capable of running these games, there is one big hurdle players will need to jump. It’s actually the same problem that every streaming service has in place and that’s a stable internet connection. You’re going to need at least a stable internet connection of at least 15 Mbps though the higher the better and while getting 15 MBps is not a big task, you will need to worry about bandwidth.
For those that don’t have unlimited internet and are restricted by the amount of internet bandwidth allowed per month, may find that enjoying these services is just not viable. That not only goes for Nvidia’s GeForce Now but also PlayStation Now and Google Stadia. Likewise, you still have to see which video games are available to enjoy. Unfortunately, not every game is supported and while some of the big-name hits may change down the road, you may find certain titles are just not available to stream.
With that said, the service is now out of beta and available for players to start using right now for $5 per month. It’s worth mentioning that the $5 per month is for the Founders edition and is only a limited time offer. As a result, there is likely going to be a bump in price, but we don’t know what the official price point will be for the service quite yet.
