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07 Jul, 2022

Cloud gaming, the comparison. Which solutions to choose from those on the market?

Why gaming is becoming cloud, the most famous services compared

cloud gaming

The increase in the average speed of Internet browsing, combined with the increasingly reduced cost of servers and online storage systems, has led many activities to be "relocated" to the cloud.

This also includes gaming, with cloud gaming gaining great interest among players around the world.

The advantage is notable and immediate. As already happens with films and TV series (think of Netflix or Amazon Prime), in cloud gaming everything remains on the server and the information is sent to us only when we need it.

No purchase of games or even consoles, everything is available online, with the great advantage of being multi-platform and synchronized between the various devices.

How does cloud gaming work?

As can be seen from its translation, cloud stands for cloud. Not the rain cloud that arrives at the weekend, but a symbolic and metaphorical representation of data and information always available to us, when we want it, with the sole condition of being connected in order to receive it.

Cloud gaming therefore consists of a series of powerful dedicated servers on which these games are run. With our device we act as a "client" and receive audio and video signals. At the same time, we simultaneously send data which is a conversion of a physical movement (pressing the button on a joypad or sliding the finger on a touch display).

A continuous exchange which therefore requires a stable and very fast network connection.

cloud gaming

Why choose cloud gaming?

There are many reasons that lead more and more users to choose cloud gaming , in particular:

Cloud Gaming Requirements

As already indicated, the most important if not only requirement for Cloud Gaming is a stable internet connection with high bandwidth.

Connection that must be fast, constant and fluid in both directions to avoid annoying lag that would make the game unpleasant if not frustrating.

The more complex and detailed the game, the greater the speed required, so it is not possible to determine what connection speed is necessary regardless. In general, however, we can consider that at least a connection is needed that guarantees a bandwidth of no less than 75 Mbit/s.

Once this important prerequisite has been overcome, what will be needed next is adequate hardware, which can however also be a simple personal computer, a laptop or in many cases even a Mini PC. As already indicated, the game processing takes place on a dedicated server, so a dedicated gaming computer is not necessary.

Cloud Gaming also works on the most established gaming consoles, allowing owners to alternate between offline gaming and cloud gaming. To top it off, Cloud Gaming also works on many Android devices, such as smartphones, tablets or portable gaming consoles.

An example of a well-known and renowned portable gaming console is the Steam Deck, the hardware user interface of the Cloud Gaming services of the Steam project.

The advantages of Cloud Gaming

We have already listed some of the advantages of Cloud Gaming , but here they are specifically indicated:

Considering that all the "hard" work is done by the server, to practice cloud gaming it is not necessary to have an expensive gaming PC or a dedicated gaming console

There is no risk of losing your save. This operation is performed on the server and remains there at our complete disposal

Ability to switch between devices seamlessly. Since everything is saved online, it is possible to "jump" from a fixed location "at home" to a mobile one (and vice versa) in a few moments, with the certainty of restarting from the point where you stopped.

Immediate playability. No loading or power-up time to wait. The server is always ready, as soon as you connect you can immediately start playing.

There are obviously also disadvantages, but many of them are only considered "temporary" and destined to disappear in the short term, here they are:

The disadvantages of Cloud Gaming

Without an internet connection you cannot play. There are no tricks, working connection you can play, intermittent connection, very slow or missing, you can't play

The presence of the game is not guaranteed forever. When you purchase the game on physical media it remains your property "forever", this does not happen for the cloud.

Experienced or very demanding players complain about the few customization possibilities, which are obviously inferior to the game played locally.

Cloud Gaming operators

In a context in which the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, it is correct to start looking at what the proposal of the operators offering Cloud Gaming consists of. We found eight operators who offer cloud gaming services in various forms.

However, we have decided to focus our attention on the four best-known platforms with a more complete offering. Here they are:

Google Stadia

Certainly not the first to appear on the market, but certainly the one that made cloud gaming famous to those who didn't follow industry news.

The Google Stadia proposal presented in 2019 is one of the best for players who do not have super-performance gaming hardware.

Best experience in our opinion among the four platforms, although the game catalog could be better.

Project XCloud

Microsoft's (and consequently Xbox) response was not long in coming and is called Project XCloud. Not the best platform in terms of playability and streaming, but it makes up for it thanks to the experience and immense catalog of Xbox.

PlayStation Now

Same reasons also for Sony Playstation, which is probably the operator with the most extensive catalog of all at the current date.

Huge catalog to draw on freely without having to purchase individual games, but with the risk that they may leave the catalog without any kind of notice.

GeForce Now

The leap from video cards to Cloud Gaming could be challenging for anyone, but certainly not for GeForce Now, which, free from commercial constraints, has been able to create a perfect and very functional platform. Among other things, it is also the only one that connects with Steam.

It runs all the games in its catalog very well on any device, the only problem is that the catalog is still small.

Four solutions to start with but many others will arrive, such as Amazon Luna, Jeff Bezos' solution expected to be launched on the market in these days.

Cloud Gaming is already the present and will certainly also be the future. It only remains to understand whether this fragmentation will remain or whether one of the players will have the strength to impose itself on the others or whether shared parameters will be established.