Game Streaming Platforms and Technology (xCloud, PSNow, GeforceNow, Luna) (Rip: Stadia)

[trinibwoy]

At no cost to the consumer, but not necessarily no cost to the publisher.

It's not clear whether Geforce Now requires enhancements to the various launchers in order to work - Ubi, Origin, Battle.net etc. If that's the case then there's certainly some cost involved.

Then there's the fact Nvidia is offering a paid service. It's likely due to pure greed but where there's cash involved everyone will want their cut. Though I'm struggling to see why publishers should be paid to allow you to play games you own on cloud hardware.

 

[Deleted member 2197]

Then there's the fact Nvidia is offering a paid service. It's likely due to pure greed but where there's cash involved everyone will want their cut. Though I'm struggling to see why publishers should be paid to allow you to play games you own on cloud hardware.

It is strange but maybe publishers see it as a new, continuous revenue stream. They could also do the same to the console industry and offer an alternative, online gaming machine for their products that offer a monthly revenue stream. There would be no need for a physical console device if the user's only intent is to play games.

 

[AlphaWolf]

It's not clear whether Geforce Now requires enhancements to the various launchers in order to work - Ubi, Origin, Battle.net etc. If that's the case then there's certainly some cost involved.

Then there's the fact Nvidia is offering a paid service. It's likely due to pure greed but where there's cash involved everyone will want their cut. Though I'm struggling to see why publishers should be paid to allow you to play games you own on cloud hardware.

1. A bad experience on Geforce may reflect poorly on the publisher. There may be patching required to mitigate this.
2. Matching services will be required for multiplayer games, is Nvidia providing that? Allowing people to play 'more' will have a cost.

 

[Kaotik]

1. A bad experience on Geforce may reflect poorly on the publisher. There may be patching required to mitigate this.
2. Matching services will be required for multiplayer games, is Nvidia providing that? Allowing people to play 'more' will have a cost.

2. is excellent point and not limited to GeForce Now - these online streaming services can ruin the game for the rest if someone is using streaming service to play with added latencies

 

[manux]

2. is excellent point and not limited to GeForce Now - these online streaming services can ruin the game for the rest if someone is using streaming service to play with added latencies

Shouldn't it be opposite? Gameserver(all game logic) runs in datacenter and the machine used by streamer also is in datacenter. From other players pov streaming players would look like very low latency? Only the streaming players would have extra latency? Streaming player would be slow to react due to latency but as all the real logic is inside datacenter the streaming players looks like very low latency players that have slow reaction times?

 

[Kaotik]

Shouldn't it be opposite? Gameserver(all game logic) runs in datacenter and the machine used by streamer also is in datacenter. From other players pov streaming players would look like very low latency? Only the streaming players would have extra latency? Streaming player would be slow to react due to latency but as all the real logic is inside datacenter the streaming players looks like very low latency players that have slow reaction times?

They're in datacenters, but quite surely not in the same one. The GeForce Now -center uses exact same lines to get to Game Server -center as anyone else

 

[Deleted member 2197]

I believe the connection was tested about 2 gbps.

User Aveniir was also able to find out the internet speed used by the GeForce Now service. According to speedtest.net link posted in the comments, the service makes use of an insane 2Gbps internet connection which allows it to smoothly stream games to multiple users at once.

https://beebom.com/nvidia-geforce-now-server-specifications/

 

[BRiT]

So 100 users and it's down to only 20mbit streaming?

I know they wouldn't have just a single link only having 2Gbit. So not sure how relevant speed-test are for user experience.

 

[manux]

They're in datacenters, but quite surely not in the same one. The GeForce Now -center uses exact same lines to get to Game Server -center as anyone else

The root of my thought is that streaming doesn't necessarily add latency visible to other players in multiplayer context. It's another argument to debate if datacenter to datacenter traffic is slower/faster/same as random player(s) to datacenter traffic. I believe it's likely streaming players in multiplayer would look like low latency slow reaction time players.

 

[manux]

1. A bad experience on Geforce may reflect poorly on the publisher. There may be patching required to mitigate this.
2. Matching services will be required for multiplayer games, is Nvidia providing that? Allowing people to play 'more' will have a cost.

Nvidia's service in essence is a VM in cloud. You can use whatever matching service works in windows? You buy or use your existing pc games via steam or some other pc service.

 

[Deleted member 2197]

I know they wouldn't have just a single link only having 2Gbit. So not sure how relevant speed-test are for user experience.

Agreed, the speed test likely is not very relevant.

 

[AlphaWolf]

Nvidia's service in essence is a VM in cloud. You can use whatever matching service works in windows? You buy or use your existing pc games via steam or some other pc service.

Yes. More usage equals higher costs.

 

[trinibwoy]

1. A bad experience on Geforce may reflect poorly on the publisher. There may be patching required to mitigate this.
2. Matching services will be required for multiplayer games, is Nvidia providing that? Allowing people to play 'more' will have a cost.

Don't agree with either of those points. I don't blame Marvel Studios for Netflix streaming issues and I'm sure nobody else does either.

On the second point people will not be playing "more" in any way that impacts the publisher. Unless you're implying that publishers count on people buying games but not playing them due to having inadequate hardware. Which would be silly of course.

Nvidia's datacenters will be sitting closer o the internet backbone so if anything multiplayer latency between cloud gamers should be quite low. Latency between cloud and regular gamers shouldn't be any worse than peer latency today.

 

[Malo]

@AlphaWolf keep in mind that Nvidia isn't providing any kind of multiplayer services. They're providing a cloud-based PC for rendering and controlling the game. The game itself, using whatever services it was built to use (ie. Steam, battle.net) will still using the same system.

 

[AlphaWolf]

@AlphaWolf keep in mind that Nvidia isn't providing any kind of multiplayer services. They're providing a cloud-based PC for rendering and controlling the game. The game itself, using whatever services it was built to use (ie. Steam, battle.net) will still using the same system.

I refer you to post #252

 

[Malo]

I refer you to post #252

ok? Elaborate? Higher costs to who exactly?

 

[AlphaWolf]

Don't agree with either of those points. I don't blame Marvel Studios for Netflix streaming issues and I'm sure nobody else does either.

On the second point people will not be playing "more" in any way that impacts the publisher. Unless you're implying that publishers count on people buying games but not playing them due to having inadequate hardware. Which would be silly of course.

Nvidia's datacenters will be sitting closer o the internet backbone so if anything multiplayer latency between cloud gamers should be quite low. Latency between cloud and regular gamers shouldn't be any worse than peer latency today.

Streaming a movie is not the same as streaming a game. Hiccups are mostly covered by caching, at worst you get a pause or a dc and start watching where you were.

In a game you dc while capping the flag and cost a bunch of teammates a game and they kick you to the lobby.

If people are paying for a streaming service to play a game they already own, I presume they want to play it more.

 

[AlphaWolf]

ok? Elaborate? Higher costs to who exactly?

It costs the publisher money to maintain a game, it costs them money when you log in to their servers, it costs them money to run matchmaking services. People playing games more incurs a higher cost.

You can claim it's a small amount and I don't doubt that, but the fact is that it is their money and not supporting a service to make money for another company is a pretty easy decision to make. If Nvidia wants this to go anywhere they are going to need to pay for the rights, just like Netflix.

 

[Malo]

It costs the publisher money to maintain a game, it costs them money when you log in to their servers, it costs them money to run matchmaking services. People playing games more incurs a higher cost.

You can claim it's a small amount and I don't doubt that, but the fact is that it is their money and not supporting a service to make money for another company is a pretty easy decision to make. If Nvidia wants this to go anywhere they are going to need to pay for the rights, just like Netflix.

That makes no sense. How is it different from someone buying the publisher's game and playing it on their PC only? They (the consumer) still have to buy the game, thereby paying the publisher to support the game and their online services.

 

[upnorthsox]

That makes no sense. How is it different from someone buying the publisher's game and playing it on their PC only? They (the consumer) still have to buy the game, thereby paying the publisher to support the game and their online services.

So then whenever you want to play you have to upload it to GeForceNow to install? Not sure about you but my upload speed sucks ducks. If its running in the cloud, then can't it also run be running on your PC? Can you have multiple iterations running in the cloud? Why not?