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Agent X
Member
It looks like Amazon is finally making a real push with Luna. Here are some highlights from the Luna blog post from September 9.
Amazon Prime members can access a four-game trial of Luna for free until September 15. The games available on the trial are Resident Evil 7, Metro Exodus, Katamari Damacy Reroll, and Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom.
As you could see in the post by
Fat Frog
above, Amazon also announced a new Family Channel for Luna, which has 35 "family friendly" games (rated E or E10+) for only $2.99 a month. Some of the games in Family Channel include SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom — Rehydrated, Garfield Kart — Furious Racing, Space Otter Charlie, DreamWorks Dragons: Dawn of New Riders, Transformers: Battlegrounds, and SkateBIRD (launching later this month).
There will also be a Retro Channel coming later, featuring beloved classic, arcade-style games from publishers like Atari, SNK, and more. There will be classics like Another World, Dragon’s Lair, and King of Fighters, among others.
There's also a new feature called Luna Couch, which enables you to play local cooperative and multiplayer games (such as Team Sonic Racing and Overcooked 2) with a friend remotely. The other player does not need to be a Luna subscriber. According to the blog post:
This reminds me somewhat of SharePlay on PlayStation 4, where you could stream a PS4 game to another friend with a PS4, and he could join your session even if he doesn't own that game. Luna Couch takes that concept a step further, as your friend doesn't need to own a video game system, or even be a subscriber to the service. He'll still need to have access to a device that satisfies Luna's requirements.
Amazon Prime members can access a four-game trial of Luna for free until September 15. The games available on the trial are Resident Evil 7, Metro Exodus, Katamari Damacy Reroll, and Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom.
As you could see in the post by
Fat Frog
above, Amazon also announced a new Family Channel for Luna, which has 35 "family friendly" games (rated E or E10+) for only $2.99 a month. Some of the games in Family Channel include SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom — Rehydrated, Garfield Kart — Furious Racing, Space Otter Charlie, DreamWorks Dragons: Dawn of New Riders, Transformers: Battlegrounds, and SkateBIRD (launching later this month).There will also be a Retro Channel coming later, featuring beloved classic, arcade-style games from publishers like Atari, SNK, and more. There will be classics like Another World, Dragon’s Lair, and King of Fighters, among others.
There's also a new feature called Luna Couch, which enables you to play local cooperative and multiplayer games (such as Team Sonic Racing and Overcooked 2) with a friend remotely. The other player does not need to be a Luna subscriber. According to the blog post:
This reminds me somewhat of SharePlay on PlayStation 4, where you could stream a PS4 game to another friend with a PS4, and he could join your session even if he doesn't own that game. Luna Couch takes that concept a step further, as your friend doesn't need to own a video game system, or even be a subscriber to the service. He'll still need to have access to a device that satisfies Luna's requirements.
Agent X
Member
I just jumped on Luna for the first time in a couple of weeks. In addition to the new features that I described above, they added a lot of new games to the Luna+ channel. I'd estimate there are at least 20 new games. There are 96 games in all on Luna+ right now. That's very encouraging, since they've been so slow to update over the last few months (usually only adding 3 or 4 games a month).
On the downside, it appears that the batch of games on the Family Channel are completely separate from those on the Luna+ channel. I was hoping that Family Channel was merely a subset of the full plate of games on Luna+, but that isn't the case at all. There is no overlap whatsoever. This means if you've got Luna+ and you want to play one of the games featured on Family Channel, you've got to fork out an additional $2.99 a month.
This leads me to believe that the upcoming Retro Channel will also have no overlap with Luna+, and will again require a separate fee.
On the downside, it appears that the batch of games on the Family Channel are completely separate from those on the Luna+ channel. I was hoping that Family Channel was merely a subset of the full plate of games on Luna+, but that isn't the case at all. There is no overlap whatsoever. This means if you've got Luna+ and you want to play one of the games featured on Family Channel, you've got to fork out an additional $2.99 a month.
This leads me to believe that the upcoming Retro Channel will also have no overlap with Luna+, and will again require a separate fee.
sounds like the piece meal streaming stuff like Sling TV
Agent X
Member
It's possible. Keep in mind that Amazon chosen to group games together in batches that they've branded as "channels". They're clearly drawing a comparison with TV channels here.
The first two channels were "Ubisoft+" for Ubisoft's games, and "Luna+" which (until very recently) encompassed "everything else". I assumed that they might eventually have other publisher-centric channels like a Square Enix channel, Bandai Namco channel, Take-Two channel, and so on, with all the miscellaneous games from small publishers or independent studios going to Luna+. It appears there hasn't been much interest (yet) from big publishers, so Amazon's decided to start creating their own themed channels.
This might work, as long as the channels are relatively cheap and contain some decent games. I'm just afraid that this concept might balloon out of control, and Luna subscribers with eclectic interests will be asked to spend $30 or more a month for access to a lineup of games similar to what competing services offer now for a fraction of the price.
Fat Frog
I advertised for Google Stadia
Average internet speed in India 55 mbps, in China 180 mbps.(only 40 mbps are needed for a solid 4K stream)
JUST WOW ! China alone has more than 800 million gamers... (And hundreds million people all around the world have a good internet speed).
Sorry, the market is ready (more than 500 million persons in the world can already run cloud gaming properly and it will be billions in ten years.)
The tech is ready (Stadia, GFN, PS Now has proven it and it will get better with closer servers, optimisation of algorithms...)
GFN passed 10 million sub, Stadia/PSN (almost 5) and Tencent will soon attack the chinese market.
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Fat Frog
I advertised for Google Stadia
Stadia hired engineers last month and it's not over:
www.roadtovr.com
VR related ?
New Google Stadia Job Listings Suggest VR Cloud-gaming Ambitions
Stadia, Google’s cloud-gaming company, is looking for new hires with a preference for virtual reality development experience. Stadia is Google’s cloud-gaming service which runs games on powerful computers in the cloud and then streams them to your PC, laptop, or even smartphone. The idea is to...
www.roadtovr.com
BadBurger
Many “Whelps”! Handle It!
It should. Almost all phones now, even cheap ones, have very high resolutions. Most of the compute would be handled by Stadia.
Fat Frog
I advertised for Google Stadia
This Week on Stadia: New add-on content for Streets of Rage 4
The fight continues in Wood Oak City! After the events of Streets of Rage 4, our heroes wanted to prepare themselves for future threats. With the Mr. X Nightmare add-on content, you’ll find two new playable characters, a new Survival mode with weekly challenges, and new weapons and enemies...
Fat Frog
I advertised for Google Stadia
PS5 Games on PS Now May Soon Be a Reality
Recently published Sony patent reveals upgrades to provide PS5 games on PS Now along with possible future-proofing for PS6 titles.
www.dualshockers.com
Agent X
Member
PS5 Games on PS Now May Soon Be a Reality
Recently published Sony patent reveals upgrades to provide PS5 games on PS Now along with possible future-proofing for PS6 titles.
I saw this article yesterday. Here's a paragraph that I found interesting
I believe that this could be true. There's a strong possibility that Sony already started integrating PS5 hardware into PS Now for a while.
If you remember, back in April of this year, Sony announced that games could be streamed at up to 1080p video quality. Prior to that announcement, games could only be streamed at 720p maximum.
Since PS4 streaming (for Remote Play) tops out at 720p, this would hint that Sony's using more advanced hardware to encode 1080p. The possibilities are:
- PS4 Pro
- PS5
- Some sort of custom hardware modification applied to the base PS4
Sony surely wants to keep costs down, but also be able to prepare for a future (hopefully a very near future) where they would enable PS5 games to be playable on PS Now. With that in mind, the only sensible choice would be #2.
Let's get #3 out of the way first. This is kind of what they did for PS3 (using modified PS3 hardware with video compression added), way back when PS Now first went into operation several years ago. This just wouldn't be cost effective, and I'm not even sure if it's easily executed from a technical perspective.
#1 would be cheaper and technically feasible, but it would be a very short term solution. They'd surely have to "upgrade" their hardware again in a year or two for games anyway, which would cost them more in the long run.
With all of this in mind, I think they've already begun the transition to PS5 hardware, but haven't publicly announced this because it would cause confusion for many people. It would raise questions like, "If you've got PS5 hardware on the back end, then why aren't PS5 games available yet?" This would have to be a gradual transition, and they probably want to wait until there is a sufficiently large number of PS5 blades available before they "flip the switch" and start offering PS5 games.
Fat Frog
I advertised for Google Stadia
I saw a Judgment video on PS Now, it was the PS4 version. (yellow filter, long loadings)
Do you think it's related or just an agreement with Sega (using the old game). Is PS5 enhancing loadings on PS4 games ?
A final question for you, can i buy games on PSNow without sub ? (cloud versions)
Fat Frog
I advertised for Google Stadia
What do you mean ? Game purchase ?
Fat Frog
I advertised for Google Stadia
1/All xbox games cloud ready ?
2/All xbox games cloud ready without sub ?
3/All xbox games cloud ready without sub, without xbox ?
Which one ? 1 i guess ?
The cloud supported ones on gamepass
Agent X
Member
Right now, there are no PS5 games available through PS Now, regardless of whether you choose to stream or download the game. If a game is normally available for both PS4 and PS5, then the version you get through PS Now will always be the PS4 version.
This is one of the more frequent complaints about PS Now lately, especially from PS5 owners, who would like to be able to at least download the PS5 version (even if streaming is still limited to the PS4 version).
In the long run, the goal would be to get PS5 games fully available on the service, so that they could be streamed as well as downloaded.
Not at this time. This seems to be one of Sony's eventual goals, as they alluded to it in a presentation a while ago.
Fat Frog
I advertised for Google Stadia
Why did the filesize of nearly every game became so big.
From is the king in this regard , Sekiro is only 16GB while breathtakingly beautiful for graphics and music. Dark Souls 3 is also pretty small. Bloodborne is exception.
"It is getting pretty crazy. Especially in the age of smaller SSDs.
I just downloaded Halo MCC on PC a couple of days ago.......182 GBs! I know its multiple games, but that still blew my hair back.
COD Warzone is crazy too, and it really has no excuse"
Cloud gamers reading this are like:
182 GB ? 3 Tera open world ?Who cares ?
Agent X
Member
That's a solid deal if you want to score a Chromecast Ultra and a Stadia controller. They previously had similar offers for people buying Cyberpunk 2077 and Resident Evil 8, but this deal would cover a much wider selection of games.
I don't see any mention of this on the Stadia community blog, but their blog post from September 28, 2021 tells us what Stadia Pro games will be added on October 1, 2021:
- DreamWorks Spirit Lucky’s Big Adventure
- Hello Engineer - Early Access
- Cake Bash
- Unto The End
- Control Ultimate Edition
Also, Human Fall Flat will be leaving Stadia Pro after September 30, 2021.
The blog post also describes a new feature called Phone Link, which allows you to use your mobile phone as a controller while you play Stadia games on another device.
You can connect your phone to your compatible TV as a touch controller, or even use your phone to link your favorite compatible third-party controller. More information about this feature can be found at this link.
Fat Frog
I advertised for Google Stadia
Xbox Cloud Gaming Launches in Australia, Brazil, Japan, and Mexico - Xbox Wire
At Xbox, our mission is simple: bring the joy and community of gaming to everyone on the planet. To achieve that, we aspire to empower everyone to play the games they want, with the people they want, anywhere they want. We are creating a future that combines the gaming heritage of Xbox and the...
news.xbox.com
and again
Good for cloud services.
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Fat Frog
I advertised for Google Stadia
Assassin's Creed Valhalla To Get a 60FPS Option On Stadia
Another big Assassins Creed Valhalla will sail in tomorrow,...
stadiasource.com
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Agent X
Member
According to this PlayStation.Blog post, here are the new games being added to PlayStation Now in October 2021:
These games will be available to play starting tomorrow, October 5. Note that Victor Vran: Overkill Edition was already available on PS Now in Europe, so this is only a new addition for other regions.
- The Last of Us Part II (until January 3, 2022)
- Fallout 76
- Amnesia: Collection
- Desperados III
- Final Fantasy VIII Remastered
- Victor Vran: Overkill Edition
- Yet Another Zombie Defense HD
These games will be available to play starting tomorrow, October 5. Note that Victor Vran: Overkill Edition was already available on PS Now in Europe, so this is only a new addition for other regions.
Fat Frog
I advertised for Google Stadia
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Shaqazooloo
Member
Kingdom Hearts games coming to Switch in cloud form
Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 Remix, Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue, and Kingdom Hearts III Cloud Versions coming to Switch.
nintendoeverything.com
Fat Frog
I advertised for Google Stadia
Xbox’s Cloud Streaming Upgrade Means You Might Not Need A Series X
In light of console shortages, the ability to stream next-gen games is enticing
kotaku.com