Gamers, this won’t break your banks!
GeForce Now is Nvidia’s very own cloud gaming service. It is finally out from beta and is available for only $5 a month.
Unlike Google Stadia, Sony Playstation Now and Microsoft’s upcoming xCloud, Nvidia has a very different pitch. GeForce Now isn’t trying to build a console-like experience with its own lineup of games.
Instead, you can play your existing library of PC games anywhere without buying new games or subscribing to a Netflix-like catalogue. Some of the platforms that GeForce Now supports include Steam, Epic Games Store, Battle.net, and Uplay.
How does it work?
Firstly, log into your account to download your existing purchases into your cloud desktop and sync your old saved games. Now, you can continue gaming from your most recent save. NO PATCHES REQUIRED.
Of course, we already know that an internet connection of 15Mbps or better is needed. 30 Mbps for 1080p 60fps streaming and 50Mbps for what Nvidia claims to be the BEST experience. Sadly, there are no 4K or 1080p 120 fps options yet.
Currently, Nvidia is upgrading its cloud gaming servers with ray-tracing-capable RTX Server graphics cards so you can play a ray-traced game even on your Android phone.
Is GeForce Now available in Malaysia?
I wanted to try it out with a free account first, but Nvidia’s site says that it isn’t available in my region yet. Apparently, even if it were available in Malaysia, there would be a lot of limitation issues. For example, limited access to servers. Paying subscribers won’t need to wait, but free users have to wait for a slot in the server.
Free accounts are also limited to one-hour sessions. After that, you will have to jump back into the queue again. Paying customers, on the other hand, get up to 6 hours per session. After that, you can immediately start a new session without waiting.
The $5 plan is only here for a limited time and it’s not clear what the final price might be like. I’m just glad we don’t need to invest in $130 worth of hardware to try out a glorified beta only to buy your games again. *cough* Google Stadia *cough*
