GeForce Now for iOS is here: https://blogs.nvidia.com/blog/2020/11/19/geforce-now-on-ios-safari/ Works nicely. Same slight lag as Stadia for me so I couldn’t play anything needing good twitch (not my forte anyway!) but I had a quick go on Portal 2 and it was great.
Indeed, and an hour limit per session. I like the way that you can give it a test drive with the free tier but if you wanted to use it in any meaningful way you’d have to put your hand in your pocket. 5/month seems like reasonable value if it was a service you’d get a lot of use out of.
I have no problem paying for it — I’m paying for Luna and bought the controller. But I’d love to give it a go on my phone before I shell out cash for another cloud gaming service. I found Stadia to be a major disappointment (both on desktop and on my phone).
I originally made a dedicated forum for game streaming talk, but on second thought decided to put these kinds of threads in general discussion since there might not be enough topics to carry an entire forum. Plus General has slowed way down so this will give it some life.
I tried one game so far and that was Half-life 2 (of course) and I was caught off guard by how sharp the games visuals were on the service (I was expecting a blurry stream for some reason). Very impressed with the streaming quality and I can’t wait for the future to arrive...unfortunately it is the future, for me, since streaming the game at a very high res and playing is just not plausible with the internet connection in my area. It’s not the fault of the service since the controller integration felt really good on the game but the stuttering every few seconds was unbearable after trying to play 10 minutes of the beginning tutorial-introduction. Still for those that have the ability to run the service with few hiccups I can see this being a game changer right now. Overall this tech one day is going to replace most hardware stored at home and I can see the future from Microsoft / Sony / Nintendo being fully software based in 15 or so years.
I tried to play a game on it and the quality is surprising and amazing I would say. Everything looks so cool and they have improved a lot of things that I didn’t expect. I played the game smoothly and I can’t wait for its further update. The only problem that I faced is, while I was playing, the speed of my internet slowed down. I thought it’s because of the game or because of this update but then I checked the speed of my internet and found out that it’s not because of the game. I wasn’t getting the actual speed of the internet and that’s why I got stuck.
What did you find disappointing about Stadia on a phone? As an ios only gamer for past 10 years, I had my mind blown. Can’t try Luna (I’m in Canada) and waiting impatiently for xcloud but Stadia has been super impressive on my “old” ipad 5th generation
Mainly, bad performance even in a 100+ Mbps connection. Disappointing graphical quality in games like Immortals Fenyx Rising and Control. Major input lag when using a Bluetooth controller. Poor selection of games with their Pro account compared to Luna or Xbox GamePass. Now that I have an Xbox Series S and a GamePass subscription, I’m failing to see the point of any of these streaming services — even Luna. I’d rather play big AAA consoles game on a big screen, and paying $60 for the “privilege” of streaming a particular title seems silly (keep in mind that with GamePass or Apple Arcade you get to download a game into your own system). Most of the smaller, indie games in those services, which work better on smaller screens, have already been released on iOS or Switch and, more important, adapted for handhelds. I get the wow factor of playing Cyberpunk 2077 or AC Valhalla on an iPad. But once you get past that, the fact that you’re dealing with a diminished experience kind of hits you — especially if you have other alternatives.
I think it might be your connection unfortunately. With game streaming it’s not good enough to have a fast connection (some people on the Stadia subreddit have had issues even with 1000mbps down) you need a good solid connection and where the issue lies can be anywhere from a router setting, a faulty cable, or all the way to the pole outside of your house. I have anywhere between 40mbps - 115mbps down when it’s just me using the internet and it has worked extremely well so far with zero input lag and no stutter on the Chromecast Ultra and minimal stutter on the iPad . Now when I’m trying to use game streaming on the iPad while someone in the household is streaming a movie then that’s a different story. I have quite a bit of stutter with my iPad although the Chromecast will power through and still give me zero stutter. For me the point is having less of a barrier between you and your software and the size of certain games is getting to a point where the initial storage just isn’t enough or at the very least inconvenient. Cloud gaming is rough in places and still has a ways to go but there will definitely be a change in the years to come in the way people consume games. I see cloud gaming where digital distribution was around in the early 2000s on the PC. Back then downloading your game instead of having the physical copy was looked down upon and was considered ridiculous by the majority of computer users and for good reason. Most digital distribution platforms had poor service and recovering your game was a bit of a hassle if you were lucky and were able to recover your game at all. Despite the fact that digital distribution had been around since the early 90s it was only a few short years later (early to mid 2000s), around 2006-2008, where digital distribution finally had a foot hold and became the most popular way to obtain games on that platform. In both cases cloud gaming and digital distribution were around a long time in some form but they finally got to a point where the services became attractive enough to finally see the potential in each and later became more of a reality than a pipe dream.
Now that I’m using (and loving) a Backbone controller, I decided to give Nvidia GeForce Now another go — this time paying for the pro service. Even with a next gen console at home, I still find it useful to stream games to my phone every once in a while, especially while the family wants to watch TV. Well, I’m impressed. Tried Half-Life 2 and Witcher 3, and both streamed with few hiccups. I own Witcher 3 on Switch, and the Steam version on my phone makes that one look like garbage — especially undocked. Very little input lag on the Backbone; I think it helps that it uses the lightning port and not Bluetooth. The fact that I can use the Steam version that I already own just makes GeForce Now a much better service. With Stadia seemingly on the way out (at least in its current form) and Luna offering a small library and a fair amount of connectivity issues, this is now my go to streaming service. Well worth $10 a month. (BTW, picked up Witcher 3 for $7 on Steam).
I’ve never regretted having an iphone and ipad until this whole xcloud business. Seriously impatient to be able to play xbox games on the cloud with game pass. Sure wish I had the extra funds to purchase an android tablet just for this.
It will happen soon enough. GeoForce Now shows that a browser-based system works like gangbusters. I would not be surprised if we see the GamePass version in the next couple of months. If you have games on Steam, Epic, or Uplay, you may want to give this a shot. I’m very happy with the service. Here’s a list of all supported games: https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce-now/games/
yeah I have none. Been a mobile only gamer for past 10 years and prior to wife/kids had an xbox 360 but that’s another lifetime ago lol I don’t own 1 pc game so geforce not my thing. Been doing Stadia Pro which runs really well on my ipad but I would much prefer the game pass library so impatiently waiting...and waiting...and waiting...
Oh, and BTW — you can literally buy something like The Witcher 3 on Steam ($7.99 on sale two weeks ago — more now), never install it anywhere, and start playing the game on your iPad with GeForce Now. You certainly do not need a PC or even a Mac.
Yeah good point. I should maybe consider a 6m pass on geforce and buy some cheap pc games. I just kinda like the whole netflix option of game pass. Suits my ADD type personality better lol I want a buffet of games...
I’m with you, man. I love, love my GamePass sub, especially on my shiny new Series S. There are several Steam free to play and demo titles available on GeForce if you want to give the service a try before plunking money one it.
