Popular tech YouTuber Linus Tech Tips sat down with four different game streaming services to test them out, and discovered why the concept probably won’t be replacing your console or PC anytime soon.
Game streaming services offer players a way to play a game without having to download or install the software, as long as you have a powerful enough internet connection, that is.
Linus and tech writer James Strieb tried out the NVIDIA GeForce Now, Google Stadia, Project xCloud for Xbox, and PS Now for PlayStation, but in the end determined it all came down to which games you want to play.
Both the Stadia and GeForce came with a small amount of input lag, but Linus admitted if he were just an average gamer, he probably wouldn’t be able to notice it.
When it comes to graphics, NVIDIA definitely had Google beat, with the Stadia’s rendering of Destiny 2 not impressing the YouTuber or his partner at all.
The fact that Stadia will eventually have its own exclusive games didn’t seem to win over Linus either.
“Am I going to care about them?” Linus asked, after Strieb told him about the Stadia’s supposed upcoming exclusives.
“Give them time,” Strieb replied with a laugh. “Hey if Google doesn’t cut this program like they do all their other ones, maybe it’ll end up being good some day.”
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Next up was Project xCloud, which was the only service to rely completely on WiFi since you use it on your phone. xCloud offers a number of Xbox titles to stream on your phone, including HALO.
Other than a few stutters and discovering that HALO wasn’t meant to be played on a tiny smartphone screen, Linus didn’t seem to have any majors issues with it. If you have anything less than amazing WiFi however, things might be a different story.
PlayStation now is the oldest of the game streaming programs that were reviewed, and it’s only available on PC (or PlayStation 4, obviously).
It doesn’t offer the highest quality graphics, but it’s library of over 800 games from PlayStation 2, 3 and 4 make it worth the subscription price, according to Linus.
While each of the services offers their own pros and cons, Linus made it clear straight away that they’re still no match at all for your console or PC.
If you don’t have a physical console you can access then streaming services might be able to do the job, but as we mentioned before, which one you choose all comes down to which games you want to play.