2023-12-30 03:30:00
2023 is almost over. During the year-end and New Year holidays, many people will return to their hometowns or go on a trip somewhere. As a gamer, you want to be able to play your favorite games wherever you go. However, gaming PCs and game consoles cannot be taken everywhere. There are ways to install notebook PCs for gamers that have become thinner and lighter, or portable gaming PCs, which have recently become a hot topic, but if you want to enjoy games with rich graphics more easily, I would like you to try ” Cloud gaming service.
In a typical game, almost all processing is done inside the PC, game console, or smartphone. Therefore, in order to run games with rich graphics, the machine at hand requires high processing power.
In contrast, with cloud gaming services, only the input processing for the keyboard, mouse, game pad, etc., and the processing of displaying images on the screen are performed on the machine at hand. What actually runs the game is a cloud server on the other side of the Internet. High-load processing such as image rendering is performed on the server side, so it is important that you can play games with rich graphics even on a weak laptop or smartphone as long as you have a sufficiently fast and low-latency internet connection. It’s attractive.
In addition, recent blockbuster games require a lot of storage space, and it’s not uncommon for titles to exceed 100GB, so you can quickly run out of storage space. On that point, with cloud games, you don’t need to install the game on your local machine, so one of the points is that you don’t have to worry regarding remaining storage space.
Cloud gaming services available in Japan include NVIDIA’sGeForce NOW” and Microsoft’s “Xbox Cloud Gaming“, Sony Interactive Entertainment’s “PlayStation Plus” cloud streaming is a typical service. Therefore, in this article, we will introduce the characteristics of GeForce NOW and Xbox Cloud Gaming, which can be used on PCs and smartphones.
GeForce NOW
GeForce NOW is a cloud gaming service provided by NVIDIA that allows you to play games purchased on platforms such as “Steam” and “Epic Games Store” via a cloud server.
GeForce NOW can be used on a wide range of devices, including PCs, Macs, iPhones, iPads, Android smartphones, and even TVs with built-in Chromecast and Android TV. The system requirements for operation are quite lenient (Related links 1，Related links 2), For example, in the case of a Windows PC, you will need an x86 CPU with 2 cores or more, a main memory with a capacity of 4GB or more, and a GPU that supports DirectX 11 or later, so even a laptop from regarding 10 years ago will be able to clear the test easily. . Requirements for smartphones are also lenient, such as an iPhone compatible with iOS 14.3 or later, and an Android device with Android 5.0 or later and 1GB or more of main memory capacity. The hurdles here are also quite low, and it may be more difficult to find equipment that is not available.
GeForce NOW is being rolled out around the world, but in Japan, Softbank isGeForce NOW Powered by SoftBank”, KDDI is “GeForce NOW Powered by auWe provide services as “.
GeForce NOW Powered by SoftBank
The plans and monthly fees for each are as follows.Table 1 GeForce NOW Powered by SoftBank plan free plan premium plan when crowded
Access Normal connection priority connection continuous play
Possible time 30 minutes 6 hours real time
Monthly fee for non-ray tracing support
free
550 yen
Table 2 GeForce NOW Powered by au plan au Smart Pass
Premium PlanPremium PlanWhen crowded
Access Normal connection priority connection continuous play
Possible time 1 hour Undisclosed real time
Monthly fee for non-ray tracing support
free
(*au Smart Pass
premium
monthly fee548 yen）
1980 yen(au/UQ mobile user
1650 yen) *New applications for GeForce Now for au Smart Pass Premium are temporarily suspended.
Softbank is worth noting, and the key point is that they have a free plan that you can start for free. The downside is that each play time is only 30 minutes, and when the server is busy, you often have to wait to start. ), it is also easy to try for those who are curious regarding what cloud gaming services are like. In addition,To use GeForce NOW, there is no need for a line contract with Softbank or KDDI.For example, people who have a contract with NTT Docomo or MVNO can apply for GeForce NOW Powered by SoftBank or GeForce NOW Powered by au.
We have provided an overview of the service so far, but the important question is, “What kind of games can you play?” In the case of GeForce NOW Powered by SoftBank, compatible titles that are publicly available (Related Links), we found over 1,800 games, mainly titles from overseas manufacturers such as “Cyberpunk 2077” and “Cities: Skylines II.” The lineup of games from domestic manufacturers includes the “Resident Evil” series. If anything, I get the impression that they have a wide selection of standard and popular games. However, it is important to note that only titles that users have purchased on Steam etc. can be played on GeForce NOW, and users must purchase the games themselves separately.
Example of compatible titles
We also have a lineup of free-to-play games such as “Genshin” and “Apex Legends,” so one of the attractions is that even people who have never purchased games on Steam can easily start playing. . GeForce NOW Genshin launch page
On the other hand, the list of compatible titles for GeForce NOW Powered by au (Related Links), the number is quite small at 750. I had doubts and checked with KDDI, and they said that “it supports at least 1,500 titles,” so it seems like the list simply hasn’t been updated.
NVIDIA adds GeForce NOW compatible titles every Thursday in the US as “GeForce NOW Thursday Updates.” It’s a good idea to check frequently to see if games you’ve already purchased or games you plan to purchase on sale have been added.
The addition of compatible titles will be announced every Thursday in the US (Friday in Japan time).
From here, let’s actually play the game we have on GeForce NOW. We tested it on the thin notebook PC “Razer Blade Stealth” released in 2016 and the Android smartphone “Pixel 7a”, but this time we will focus on testing on the smartphone.
In the case of GeForce NOW, which is available in Japan, the maximum resolution that can be set is 1920 x 1200 dots and the maximum refresh rate is 60Hz. The default setting for Android apps is 1280 x 720 dots (depending on the model, it will vary depending on the aspect ratio) because the screen is too small and difficult to read. This setting can be changed from “Streaming Quality” in the GeForce NOW settings.
Items that can be set from streaming quality.You can also select “Balance” to optimize settings according to the equipment you use.
First, I played Cyberpunk 2077. From the in-game settings, I set the resolution to 1680 x 720 dots and the image quality to “Raytracing: Medium” to enable raytracing other than path tracing. When I ran an in-game benchmark test in this state, the average frame rate was 42.6fps. It’s not the smoothest display, but it’s fine for gameplay. The video display is beautiful, and since ray tracing is enabled, even signboards reflected in puddles are rendered realistically.
There is a slight input delay, but it’s not enough to cause any problems with gameplay. Rather, I was concerned regarding screen display problems caused by communication conditions. GeForce NOW’s system requirements require a communication speed of 15Mbps or higher, and recommend a communication speed of 50Mbps or higher. The communication environment I tested cleared 50Mbps, but the screen display momentarily collapsed or stuttered. In RPGs like Cyberpunk 2077, you can play it by asking, “This might happen,” but it can be unsettling in competitive games, especially ranked matches where winning and losing are important, so it’s probably best to avoid using it. Speed test results provided by CDN (Contents Delivery Network) service “Cloudflare”
Next, let’s play Genshin. Genshin will be available to play on GeForce NOW in June 2022 (related article). At the time of the service launch, it might only be played on a PC, but later in August it became possible to play cloud games on smartphones.
You might be thinking, “Genshin also has a smartphone version, so why not just play that?” However, Genshin has particularly rich visual expressions among smartphone games, and requires a fairly high-performance smartphone to play comfortably. To play on entry-level to middle-class devices or older devices, you will need to reduce the image quality settings considerably.
Additionally, the size of the app is large, making it difficult to manage storage space on smartphones with built-in storage capacity of 128GB or less. With cloud gaming services, you can play without worrying regarding these problems.Genshin is one of the heaviest smartphone games
I tested it with the image quality setting set to “High” and the frame rate set to 60fps, and it worked smoothly even on maps such as Smail, which has a high drawing load. The loading time before entering the unexplored area is also a little shorter than when playing the regular smartphone version. Just like Cyberpunk 2077, there are some scenes where it stutters a bit, but it’s safe to say that I was able to play the game basically without any problems.
Finally, I would like to introduce two points to be careful regarding when using GeForce NOW, or rather, “If you want to play comfortably, you should do this.”
The first is that if you decide to join, you should choose the premium plan. Softbank has a free plan that can be used for free, but as mentioned earlier, the play time per play is short. Even if your session ends following the playable time has elapsed, you can still play by reconnecting, but depending on the time of day the server may be busy and you may have to wait a long time. It is not unusual for there to be several hundred people waiting on weekend nights. Premium plan subscribers have priority access to servers. After the price reduction, the waiting time increased even with the premium plan, but compared to the free plan, the wait was not long.
When the server is busy, there will be a waiting list.
I used to subscribe to the free plan, but I mightn’t stand the long wait times and switched to the premium plan. It would be best to think of the current free plan as just something you can try to see if it can be used in your own environment.
Another thing is that if you want to play on a smartphone, you’ll want to prepare a gamepad.
GeForce NOW has a virtual gamepad function and can be operated by touch, but this is difficult to use. SoftBank’s FAQ even states that “Using the virtual gamepad for concentrated gameplay or long game play is not recommended.”
GeForce NOW virtual gamepad.Difficult to use as it blocks the screen
System requirements (Related Links) lists peripheral devices that have been confirmed to work on each platform, so be sure to check them out.
By the way, there are exceptions such as Genshin and Fortnite, which can be operated by touch in the same way as the smartphone version without using the GeForce NOW virtual gamepad. If you’re more accustomed to using a smartphone than a gamepad, you might want to give it a try.
Xbox Cloud Gaming
Next, let’s introduce Xbox Cloud Gaming.
Xbox Cloud Gaming is a cloud gaming service provided as part of Microsoft’s subscription service “Xbox Game Pass.” Xbox Game Pass
Xbox Game Pass offers multiple pricing plans.If you want to use Xbox Cloud Gaming, you must subscribe to the top level “Xbox Game Pass Ultimate”I would like to note that.
The monthly fee is1210 yenHowever, we are also running a campaign where you can get it for 100 yen for the first 14 days, so you can easily try it out. Xbox Cloud Gaming is only available with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate
The system requirements are not as clear as GeForce NOW, and Windows PCs must be installed with Bluetooth 4.0 or later with the “Windows 10 October 2020 update package” or later. For smartphones, see below.
- Android: Android 6.0 or later
- iPhone: iOS 14.4 or later
- iPad: iPadOS 14.4 or later
According to Microsoft, it has published a list of verified devices on its Reddit forum (Related Links), when I actually checked it, the number was quite limited and it was not helpful. However, like GeForce NOW, it will basically be able to operate on many devices. I was actually able to use it on my Razer Blade Stealth and Pixel 7a without any problems.
The number of supported titles is small at 347. Not limited to Xbox Cloud Gaming, the games offered by Xbox Game Pass change once or twice a month. On the other hand, the key point of Xbox Game Pass is that it has a “Day 1 release” where you can play new titles from the day they are released. “Ryu ga Gotoku 7 Gaiden: The Man Who Erased” and “Persona 5 Tactica,” which were just released in November 2023, can also be played as Day 1 releases.
Other popular titles such as “Starfield” and “Lies of P” are also included in the lineup.
Example of compatible titles
Also includes the latest games
It’s interesting to see the differences between GeForce NOW and Xbox Cloud Gaming clearly visible in the titles that can be played. GeForce NOW allows people who regularly buy PC games to play the titles they own as cloud games, and Xbox Cloud Gaming allows them to experience the latest games they’ve been interested in. It would be a good idea to choose the service that suits your preferences and purposes.
In addition, when you look up compatible games using the smartphone version of the Xbox Game Pass app, you can see icons that indicate which games are optimized for smartphones or which can be operated by touch. There’s no doubt that it’s easier to play with a gamepad on Xbox Cloud Gaming, but it’s useful if you’re looking for a game that you can easily play with touch controls.
The Xbox Game Pass app for smartphones allows you to see which games are compatible with touch controls.
Now, let’s actually play the game on Xbox Cloud Gaming.
First up is “Lies of P,” a soul-like action RPG. For the image quality setting, I selected “Performance Emphasis”. Although this game has a lot of intense battles, the delay in operation seemed to be very short and I was able to play it comfortably. However, just like GeForce NOW, there was some screen display distortion depending on the communication environment.
Next up is “Jusant,” developed by DON’T NOD, who worked on “Life is Strange.” This is an action game where you climb a tower that rises over a devastated land. It’s a title that you play while carefully thinking regarding the route you’re going to climb, so even though it’s an action game, it’s less affected by operational delays, so it might be a work that’s suitable for cloud gaming services.
Although the gameplay itself was generally comfortable, I did encounter a problem where the game would suddenly end several times. Jusant has an auto-save function, but it seems that there are cases where this doesn’t work well, and I ended up playing the same scene over and over three times. In games that don’t have autosave, you’ll want to save more frequently than usual to protect yourself.
Lastly, I played the latest installment of the racing game “Forza” series, “Forza Motorsport Standard Edition.” Racing games require severe operation, but they can be played comfortably enough on Xbox Cloud Gaming.
Unfortunately, not only Forza Motorsport, but Xbox Cloud Gaming only allows for simple image quality settings. One of the highlights of Forza Motorsport is its support for ray tracing, but Xbox Cloud Gaming seems not only to be unable to set ray tracing, but also to enable HDR.
Image quality settings are simple
GeForce NOW allows ray tracing and HDR settings for compatible games, so there is a clear difference. This point will also serve as a guideline when choosing a service.
A cloud gaming service that will greatly change your gaming experience
Let’s try it first
Both GeForce NOW and Xbox Cloud Gaming were able to play the game more comfortably than I expected. Unlike playing on a high-performance gamer’s PC or game console, it is true that there are limitations in terms of image quality and frame rate, but the big appeal is that you can easily play games on any device.
I would like people who don’t play many PC games to try out cloud gaming services. Xbox Cloud Gaming is recommended for beginners. Compared to GeForce NOW, there are fewer playable titles, but the point is that there is no need to purchase games separately. Another benefit is that you can immediately try out popular new titles. If you find a game that you want to play over and over once more, it might be a good idea to purchase it, then switch to GeForce NOW as you own more software, or use it in conjunction with GeForce NOW.
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