GeForce Now
| Developer | Nvidia |
|---|---|
| Type | Cloud gaming |
| Launch date | October 1, 2015 |
| Platform | Nvidia Shield devices |
| Website | https://shield.nvidia.com/game-streaming-with-geforce-now |
GeForce Now is a brand used by two cloud gaming services offered by Nvidia. The Nvidia Shield version of GeForce Now, formerly known as Nvidia GRID, launched in beta in 2013, with Nvidia officially unveiling its official name on September 30, 2015. The service is a subscription-based offering that allows users unlimited access to a library of games hosted on Nvidia servers for the life of the subscription, delivered to subscribers through streaming video. Certain titles are also available via a "Buy & Play" model. The service is available exclusively on the company's Shield Portable, Shield Tablet, and Shield Console devices.[1][2]
In January 2017, Nvidia unveiled a separate cloud gaming service for PC and Macintosh computers also branded as GeForce Now. It is a remote desktop provider in which users can rent access to a virtual computer, where they can install their existing PC games from existing digital distribution platforms, and play them remotely. As with the Shield version, the virtual desktop is streamed from Nvidia servers.
Features
GeForce Now consists of a network of servers based in data centers in North America, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific that host and serve the GeForce Now game library to members in those regions.[3] The servers utilize GeForce GTX graphics cards, and can stream games at up to 1080p resolution at 60 frames per second. Nvidia recommended a 50 Mbps internet connection for the 1080/60p stream, but the service can also stream at 720p/60p for 25 Mbps connections, 720/30p frames per second for connections higher than 10 Mbps, and use Adaptive bitrate streaming to scale the quality based on bandwidth.[4][5] The server-side hardware will be upgraded over time to improve the quality of the streams.[1][6]
Library
The GeForce Now library contained over 80 games as of March 2016; at Game Developers Conference 2016, Nvidia announced new licensing deals with Sega and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. A large amount of the service's library are available for streaming with a subscription. Some games are available as a "Buy & Play" title only, under which users must purchase the title in order to access it.[4][1]
GeForce Now for computers
At Consumer Electronics Show in January 2017, Nvidia announced a version of GeForce Now for PC and Macintosh computers. Unlike the version for Nvidia Shield (which Nvidia promoted as being similar to Netflix),[4] this is a separate offering in which users can rent access to a remote desktop with access to a Windows environment with GeForce GTX graphics. Users can install digital distribution clients such as Steam and Origin onto the remote desktop to download and run purchased or free-to-play games as they would locally. The service is sold per-minute of play time using blocks of service credits; two price tiers are available, with GTX 1060 and GTX 1080-class performance respectively. Nvidia aimed this service towards users who want to play their own purchased games on computers that are not compatible with them, such as laptops and computers with low-end capabilities.[7][8][9]
Nvidia had announced a planned beta of the service in March 2017, but it was silently cancelled. In an earnings report in May 2017, Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang revealed that a beta would be held "soon", but that the company was "still years away from being able to find the right balance between cost and quality of service and the pervasiveness of virtualizing a gaming PC."[10]
See also
References
- 1 2 3 "NVIDIA's GeForce NOW - GRID Cloud Gaming Service Goes the Subscription Way". Anandtech. Purch, Inc. Retrieved 4 May 2017.
- ↑ "Nvidia finally launches GeForce Now cloud gaming for Shield set-top console". VentureBeat. Retrieved 2016-07-18.
- ↑ "Nvidia GeForce Now aims to be the 'Netflix of games' for just 8 bucks a month". Retrieved 2016-07-18.
- 1 2 3 Sarkar, Samit (2016-03-15). "GeForce Now, Nvidia's 'Netflix for games,' expands with Sega and Warner Bros.". Polygon. Retrieved 2016-07-18.
- ↑ "Hands-On With NVIDIA GeForce Now: Is The World Finally Ready For A Game Streaming Service?". Android Police. 2015-10-01. Retrieved 2016-07-18.
- ↑ "GeForce Now Review: Game Streaming Done (Mostly) Right - GeForce Now Review: Game Streaming Done (Mostly) Right". 2015-10-09. Retrieved 2016-07-18.
- ↑ "Nvidia announces GeForce Now streaming service for PCs with pay-per-minute gaming". ExtremeTech. Retrieved 5 May 2017.
- ↑ "Nvidia brings GeForce Now game streaming to any PC or Mac". Ars Technica. Retrieved 5 May 2017.
- ↑ "Did Nvidia just fix the biggest issue with its GeForce Now cloud gaming service?". CNET. Retrieved 5 May 2017.
- ↑ "GeForce Now, only later: Nvidia game streaming will need 'several years' to scale". PC World. Retrieved 26 May 2017.