First off, let’s make sure everyone is caught up with what GeForce Now is. GeForce Now is the newest endeavor from tech company NVIDIA. GeForce Now is their venture into a cloud-based game streaming service. NVIDIA's cloud service allows you to stream real-time gameplay from the cloud to your PC, Mac, or Android device. With GeForce Now, you have a catalog of games you can download (to the service) as well as the ability to play free-to-play games. Okay, now that we are all on the same page, let’s get into the current status of GeForce Now.
With regard to the catalog system utilized by NVIDIA’s service, there are a few points that are important to note when breaking down its capabilities. First off, a catalog is only as good as the contents it holds. In GeForce Now’s case, the catalog is quite expansive and is continuing to grow. But when we get to the second point, it gets a little tricky. The way game catalogs are negotiated in today’s age, game usage requires approval from publishers through commercial agreements. NVIDIA cannot simply add whatever title they want, whenever they want. We won’t call out names out of respect for all parties involved, but there have been instances where publishers have asked to have their titles removed, and they are in fact allowed to do so.
So, if it’s a catalog, what exactly would you be getting? Great question. Glad you asked. The catalog is not a free game library (except for the free-to-play games, of course). You are still required to purchase and download these titles. Where the benefit lies is in the cloud computing power. Many newer games require quite intensive PCs with a lot of storage. If you want to be a gamer in today’s gaming setting, it’s quite an expensive process. But with GeForce Now (and other cloud gaming services), you are simply streaming that computing power from NVIDIA. You don’t have to worry about CPU/GPU power because the service takes care of that. That’s the real value proposition of the service: its cloud-based computing.
The future of cloud-based streaming is at an interesting cusp. We can see the value proposition and limitations of NVIDIA’s GeForce Now. And many players have been going into a full “cloud-gaming” model, but how that relates to interactions with publishers isn’t set in stone. Freedom becomes an ambiguous question in most of these models. So the question becomes… is this model the only option?
What if the games were yours? Not “kinda” yours. Not “maybe” yours. 100% yours. Let us introduce ourselves. We are Shadow. Also a cloud-based streaming service, except you have complete ownership. How is it different, you might ask? Well, that’s simple. Because it’s your PC. It’s not a catalog that we adjust. We stream you an entire PC in the cloud (for a fraction of the upfront cost of a powerful gaming PC). Every game you purchase is yours. There is no limitation of session duration. And you don’t have to worry about canceling the service and losing anything you have bought, because they are connecting to your actual accounts.
That’s what Shadow is: Stream Freedom. We don’t limit you. We don’t push you into something you haven’t done before. All we give you is power. The powerful computer you need, where you can do what you want with it.
Also, we haven’t really touched upon a really big aspect (we were getting there - there’s just a lot to cover; it’s very exciting): it’s an ENTIREENTIRE computer not only for gaming (even though we admit it is quite amazing for gaming). You have a complete Windows operating system right in front of you. We embrace the PC as an open platform as well as the best platform for both developers and users. Play Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. Transition to League of Legends. Check your email. Surf the web. Watch Netflix until 4 in the morning (we do it too, there’s just so much content - it’s not our fault). And then go back to gaming. It’s your choice. We’re just here to help give you the powerful PC you want, without the huge upfront cost of a gaming rig.
Hey, we aren’t saying NVIDIA is bad or that GeForce Now is terrible. Quite the contrary. We are so excited that so many large players also believe in the value of cloud-based streaming. Shadow has been in this space continuously iterating and improving our service since 2015. And we’ll keep moving forward with everyone in this space. Because it’s the future. If you have any questions about who we are and what we do, click the link below to learn more. :)
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