How Does Amazon Luna Compare to Stadia, xCloud, and GeForce Now

 Recently Amazon announced the launch of its much-awaited cloud gaming platform- Luna, which means the company is ready to take on other famous cloud gaming platforms like Google Stadia, Nvidia GeForce Now, and xCloud.  The race to become the best cloud gaming platform is about to begin, and all the companies are giving their best to emerge as the winner in the race.

However, only time will tell which platform is able to attract more customers towards it. But which cloud gaming service should you buy? Well, that’s a tough question to answer. So, today we will make these phenomenal cloud gaming platforms compete against each other so that you can make a prudent decision.

Amazon Luna

Luna provides you access to many fantastic games from different publishers in the form of “Channels,” unlike its competitors. However, at this time, there is only one channel that Luna users can subscribe to if they enroll in the early access user program of Amazon Luna (currently available for users in the US), and that is “Luna Plus,” that costs $5.99 a month.  But Amazon is also gearing up to launch another channel on Luna with Ubisoft that will provide access to many great Ubisoft games. However, the price and release date of the Ubisoft channel is not yet known.

The service is powered by Amazon’s world-famous cloud computing service AWS (Amazon Web Services), and you don’t have to make any special arrangements on your part to access Luna. Besides this, if you use Luna Controller with Luna, you can further enhance your gaming experience. This controller connects directly to Luna servers and ensures that you face less latency while using Luna to play games. Additionally, you can stream all games on Luna in 1080p. 

However, Amazon will soon add 4K support for games on Luna. The service (Luna) is currently available on PC, Mac, Fire TV, and iOS and will soon be available for Android users.

Initially, Luna will be launching with almost 100+ games. But this number will grow within a few months. Besides this, Luna Service can be integrated with Twitch, which will allow you to watch Twitch streams on Luna and play Luna games on Twitch.

Google Stadia

Google Stadia is a popular cloud gaming service and is somewhat similar to Luna in the first place. The service lets you stream games on your device right from Google distributed data centers. Additionally, you can use the stadia controller with Google Stadia to further enhance your gaming experience and ensure that you face less latency while playing games on Stadia. Besides this, you can also integrate stadia with YouTube. But there are a few noticeable differences between these two platforms.

You can’t purchase individual games on Luna right now, but you can buy individual games with Google Stadia. You can also purchase a Google Stadia Pro subscription at $9.99 a month to access all the games on Google Stadia, but you can’t do this with Luna right now.

Additionally, you can play your purchased games in 4K resolution if you are a Google Stadia Pro subscriber, whereas Amazon Luna does not support 4K resolution for all the games right now. Stadia also has some exclusive games on its platforms, whereas Luna does not have any exclusive games on its platform.

Stadia is currently available on PC, Mac, Linux, ChromeOS, Android, and Chromecast Ultra dongle for TVs.

Xbox Cloud Gaming /xCloud

Xbox Cloud Gaming is currently available in 22 countries. By purchasing Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, you get access to 150 Xbox games like A Plague Tale: Innocence, Batman: Arkham Knight, Carrion, Fallout 76, Gears of War 4 and 5, Mortal Kombat X, etc. that you can stream on your Android mobile directly from Microsoft Datacenters.

Overall, Xbox Cloud Gaming is a great cloud gaming platform and offers lots of amazing games to users. But the only bad thing about it is that sometimes you may not get a good gaming experience on it.

NVIDIA’S GeForce Now

NVIDIA GEFORCE Now is somewhat like a virtual PC. It allows its user to stream games that they already own. To access your PC games on a different device, all you need to do is connect to GeForce Now and start playing it. The platform has more than 2000 games on it, which is a very big number and makes GeForce Now a better choice than all the other cloud gaming services.

Earlier you could access the service by enrolling yourself in the free beta program. But now GeForce Now is a paid service and comes with a price tag of $4.99 a month. Besides this, it allows its users to try out a game for an hour absolutely free. The service is right now available on PC, Mac, Android, the Nvidia Shield, and Chromebook. Additionally, it also allows its customers to stream their favorite games in 1080P.

Our View

All the cloud gaming platforms are unique and have their own pros and cons. Therefore, it is very difficult to say which platform is more superior than the other. However, if we talk about Amazon Luna, then it appears to be a unique cloud gaming platform that may give a tough fight to Stadia, xCloud, and GeForce Now.  However, only time will tell whether it is able to beat its competitors or not.

Do you think Luna is superior to xCloud, Stadia, and GeForce Now? Let us know in the comments.

Source : https://setuppost.com/how-does-amazon-luna-compare-to-stadia-xcloud-and-geforce-now/

Chromebooks Come With Perks In The Form Of Google Stadia Service

 It is a rare condition when Google offers perks to those who purchase their products like Chromebooks, Chromecast, and Pixel smartphones. A few days ago, users noticed that the company is offering a short-term subscription of their Stadia Service for those who have purchased Google Chromebook. 

What Is Google Stadia?

Stadia is a game streaming service by Google. It works like NVIDIA GeForce, and now this platform allows you to enjoy fantastic video games virtually on any device. Google is not planning to launch a new physical console supporting Stadia and they allow you to play games on the tech that you already own. You can use it on your tablets, computers, Pixel devices, and many more. At the Game Developers Conference, the organization showed that Stadia could work fluently on the Pixel 3 XL, Pixelbook, Pixel Slate, and on a Smart TV that supports the Chromecast Ultra. 

You don’t need to worry about the capability of the streaming of the games on Stadia. Google Stadia is capable of streaming most of the games with the 4K quality with 60 frame-per-second. Google also promises that they are working on a project that will allow its users to enjoy the games on Stadia with 8K resolution at 120 frames per second.

Which Games Can You Play On Stadia?

If you buy Chromebook, then you will get two Stadia Perks. The first perk is that they are offering Stadia Premiere Edition with a $20 discount.

As the second perk, you will get the three months of the Stadia Pro Subscription. It is a cloud-based gaming service that doesn’t require Premier Edition’s Hardware. Even Google shipped some Chromebooks with a three-month subscription.

After three months, you need to pay $9.99 per month. There are some terms and conditions for running stadia on your Chromebook. The first and the important condition is that you need to have a Chromebook that was released after May 2017.

Currently, if you are using any Chromebook released after 2017, then you might know that you can use Chrome and Android Apps on their devices. There is a recent addition of Linux support. Due to the latest addition, there is a possibility that a single device can run four different operating systems, which will be a unique feature of this device.

Google keeps offering exclusive perks such as apps and free games. Currently, Google is offering a 3-month Stadia Pro trial to Chromebook owners.

Source : Google Stadia Service

Google Stadia: All the Latest Updates and Features

Last year, at Game Developers Conference (GDC), Google announced the arrival of Google Stadia – a game streaming service that supports every screen the world owns. It is Google’s best attempt to ensure the users that they can play AAA games on laptops, PCs, phones, and television. Since Google runs the games, the world of high-quality graphics-integrated gaming experience unleashes. Unfortunately, Stadia doesn’t support VR gaming yet.

Since it’s a cloud-based service, it can be streamed seamlessly on any platform, including Chromecast Ultra, Samsung Galaxy phones, Google Pixel phones, Asus phones, and OnePlus handsets as well. In June 2020, Google confirmed that Android users wouldn’t be devoid of their services. Users can effortlessly switch between the devices while playing games without losing their points. Until July, all the features and benefits applied to Wi-Fi connection only. The company started to test their services on 4G and 5G connectivity. Now, users can use their mobile data to try the latest cellular support on the Stadia app itself. After installing the Google Stadia app, click on the avatar, and select Experiment to test the mobile data services.

These were some of the basics and software integration of the service. Below, we have mentioned the details about hardware and some salient features of Stadia:

• The cloud-based service does not discriminate between the devices and offers similar gaming experience, regardless. But, make sure you have a stable internet connection. Also, the graphics can automatically tweak itself based on the device you use.
• At the conference, Google mentioned that Stadia uses a customized AMD 2.7GHz x86 processor with 16GM of RAM that gives up to 484GB/s of transfer speed. The GPU on Stadia has 10.7 teraflops of power. However, enjoying the game in 4K is possible in the Chromecast Ultra device only.
• Another unique feature Stadia launched is Crayta that will allow the users or players to create and share games at any moment. Some noteworthy features include Google assistant support, in-game achievements, and game sharing. Purchased games can also be shared with family and friends from any device.

All of these inputs have created a buzz in the market, making Google Stadia the most potent service when compared to any gaming console. Due to the hardware used in Stadia, the device will go easy on updates making it an ideal choice for everyone. Google claims to offer 8K gaming experience in the future, but the exact details have not been specified yet.

Moreover, if you want a proper gaming experience, it will be ideal to invest in Stadia’s proprietary controller for $69 only. Connect it to Wi-Fi on Google’s servers for a lag-free experience. Connect the controller using a USB cable, or wirelessly with the Chromecast Ultra.

Source : Google Stadia