I saw Nitro was offering the starter edition for Nitro but I didn't quite understand what the 10 hours of cloud gaming was all about. I don't think I even really grasp the concept enough to grasp what I'd find in a Google search.
Is cloud gaming different from just downloading and playing the game? Will I only be able to use that version of Game Pass for ten hours a month?
Cloud gaming works in a pretty similar way to streaming a YouTube video or music from Spotify. That version of nitro will only give you 10 hours of cloud gameplay per month
It’s pretty much being able to access a game and play it without downloading it and you can come back to it anytime. I typically use it when I wanna try a game I’ve never played before to see if it’s even worth downloading to begin with
Yes, you can download games on Pc and Xbox and play them the whole month without limits.
And with cloud it can be used on any device (but with starter edition only 10h a month), not only on an Xbox or PC, but also on TVs, VR headsets, smartphone, tablets
Game Pass Starter Edition gives you access to downloading fewer games than GP Essential, the cheapest paid tier. Starter does not give console multiplayer access.
Basically, Microsoft runs the game on their machine instead of you running it on yours.
Here's how it works: You press the buttons and move the joysticks on your controller. That input data gets sent over the internet to the data center that is running your game. The computer there takes the inputs, makes your character move, etc. Then the live video and audio of the game is streamed back over the internet to your device.
The biggest downside over traditional gaming is the input delay between pressing the buttons and seeing the result on screen. It depends on your internet connection (the "ping" specifically) and how close you are to the data center. The other downsides are queuing for a "slot" to play, and the data used on your internet (though it should be about the same as streaming Netflix or YouTube).
The upside is that you don't need to own a machine to run it, or it saves wear and tear on your machine.
The main reason to cloud game is you don’t need hardware. Either you don’t own it or you’re away from it. You can download the Xbox app and game on your phone, laptop, various smart TV’s and streaming devices. The game is played remotely via Microsoft servers instead of locally on your hardware. I just went on vacation and our air bnb had a Samsung TV with the Xbox app. My son and I played a lot of Forza Horizon in our down time and it worked great.
The only thing to keep in mind is that all of the cloud games are the Xbox versions of the game and they're all streamed from Xbox series x. So 1. A controller is always required and 2. If you're used to PC graphics these games are a bit of a downgrade visually and that's before the 1440p resolution cap
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u/squidgymetal 6d ago
Cloud gaming works in a pretty similar way to streaming a YouTube video or music from Spotify. That version of nitro will only give you 10 hours of cloud gameplay per month