One of the major cons of modern gaming is the resources that it requires. To play such realistic titles, you need to spend heavily to acquire hardware capable enough to support these games.
But have you ever wondered how to play games cheaply? Is there a way? YES! With the rise of cloud-computing technologies, there has been a renaissance of cloud gaming.
Imagine yourself playing modern realistic games with high settings on your laptop device through a browser (Same as you stream a YouTube video). Doesn’t that sound exciting?
There are many popular cloud gaming platforms available, such as:
- GeForce Now
- Google Stadia
- Shadow
- Rainway
- Parsec
These popular cloud gaming services help you overcome your computer hardware limits. But the question here is which service to use? GeForce Now vs Stadia? Or Rainway vs Parsec? To answer the questions, let us focus on each of the cloud gaming services one by one.
GeForce Now
GeForce Now is a popular cloud gaming service provided by Nvidia. If you are a gamer, you will certainly know Nvidia and their popular Graphical Processing Units (GPUs). When it comes to modern gaming, Nvidia indeed leads the way.
Moreover, GeForce Now consists of a massive library of modern games that you can play. GeForce now supports games from Steam, Uplay, and Battle.net, but it is currently supported on limited devices.
Speaking of the limited services, GeForce does not allow you to work through virtual environments on your Windows or Linux machines. You can only play games supported by the GeForce Now gaming library. If you are looking to race your cars in an EA title, GeForce Now will disappoint you.
To cover your disappointment, the GeForce Now features almost every new modern game as upon their release. With new games, the GeForce Now library also has copious amounts of old games.
However, GeForce now library does not have games that are over a decade old. Thankfully, your laptop, PC, or gaming device should be capable enough to run these games, as their hardware requirements are not that high.
Another pro of using GeForce Now is that you can play the games directly from their library. It does not limit you to downloading the games first — resulting in the removal of storage limits. All you have to do is log in through your Uplay, steam, or gaming platform account, choose a game from GeForce Now and begin playing.
Currently, GeForce now supports a gaming resolution of 1080p. It is reasonable enough to enjoy the modern games out there. You might be worried about the lag through online gameplay. But GeForce Now’s reviews suggest that the games work pretty smoothly on balanced settings without any lag.
GeForce Now currently costs $10/month, but you can also avail it for free. You can register for GeForce Now for free, but you will have to wait for your turn because of the high traffic on the servers. As a paying member, you will be able to access the servers instantly.
Google Stadia
Google is the epitome of powerful technology. With Google entering into the cloud gaming arena through Google Stadia, cloud gaming has been legitimized. Google’s servers are powerful and promise to offer 10.7 terra-flops of GPU performance.
“Game with your browser” is Stadia’s tagline. Just open your browser and engage in a 120fps, 4K streaming experience.
To enjoy smooth and lag-free gaming, you need a minimum internet connection of around 10Mbps. This is to support 60fps gaming at non-4K resolutions. Stadia uses Stream to allow multiplayer gaming as well.
Stadia allows you to let your friends join the game even at your game’s current playing point, and there is a massive list of games that Google Stadia supports. Google Stadia pro services start at $9.99 per month, which is the plan that allows for 4K streaming.
Shadow
Another streaming service out there is Shadow by Blade. Shadow starts with a package of GTX 1080 GPU supported by 12 GB RAM and 256GB storage volume.
Shadow simple configurations can run many of the modern games out there. They have a 1ms internal ping, which ensures smooth and lag-free gameplay. The best thing about Shadow is that they give you the feeling of running an entire PC in the cloud.
The more advanced Shadow packages include RTX 2080 GPU supported by a quad-core 4GHz CPU and 16 GB RAM with 512 GB of storage volume. The plans can increase as the price goes higher. The basic package starts at $25 per month.
Rainway
Rainway is another name in the streaming industry. It is a video game streaming service. It allows you to run games on your Windows PC and play them on any other device using a stable internet connection.
They also provide complete compatibility on games purchased from Origin, Battle, GOG, Steam, etc. You can game right away through your web browsers or even mobile devices. Although Rainway is a small startup compared to the ones discussed above, it is worth mentioning.
Rainway is currently freely available to use, and you can download it from your mobile application store. The limitation of Rainway is that it does not offer any extra hardware resources and depends upon your computer system.
Parsec
Parsec is the last service that we are going to look at. Parsec not only allows you to the game but also helps you connect with your friends or work remotely. They do not have their high-end servers but allow users to integrate Amazon and Paperspace services.
Parsec allows you to connect with your friends and enhance the multiplayer experience. With Parsec, you can also use your computer as a host and let your friends and other people connect with it. Parsec is also free to use.
Although Parsec offers excellent free services that the others on this list do not; It fails to provide quality streaming services available to you by other service providers such as GeForce or Stadia.
Conclusion
The future of gaming through cloud-computing technology is here. The competition for the first place to lead cloud gaming is high. It all depends on the answer to the question, “Who is better?” Whether your comparing GeForce vs Stadia or Rainway vs Parsec, the big picture is hard to clarify.
The cloud gaming services may seem costly to you right now, but they are a hundred times cheaper than buying the hardware. Choosing between the best cloud gaming platform is all up to you and is not limited to one opinion. You need to assess your needs and budget and purchase the cloud gaming services and their plans accordingly.
