A recent quote from Phil Spencer in an article by Protocol has painted a clear picture of where Microsoft thinks the gaming industry will be going in the future. Even though Microsoft will be launching a new Xbox console this year, Spencer sees streaming as the future of gaming.
Nvidia GeForce Now, a streaming solution that has been in beta for years was just launched by the hardware manufacturer, but once again, early impressions are not the best. Users are reporting a lack of clarity in the design of the program. Also, the service is hampered by the need for an excellent internet connection. It does have advantages over Stadia, however, as it will allow you to stream the games that you already own. Rather than purchasing games on the service, you pay a $5 a month fee, and the service can stream games from your Steam, Epic, Battle.net, and Uplay accounts. This severely undercuts the price of Google Stadia, making it a more attractive offer to people who already play games. The downside is that GeForce Now doesn’t support all the games you own, and titles from studios like Rockstar are notoriously absent from the service.
In many ways, game streaming feels a lot like the first time Virtual Reality arrived in gaming. We are being told that it will be the future of the industry, but the reality of the present is disappointing because the technology isn’t there to support the idea.
