Until recently, in order to play your favorite video game titles, you had to buy a game console or set up an expensive gaming PC, and to keep up with the increasingly detailed graphics, we had to constantly update the computer or buy one. new console approximately every 3-4 years. But with faster Internet connections, a new method of playing video games has begun to take hold: thecloud games.
Streaming Video Guide with Cloud Gaming by Stadia, Geforce Now, Playstation Now
The concept of cloud gaming is not very different from the classic online games found on the Internet, with the difference that through these cloud platforms it is possible today.
Play even the most advanced video games(like CyberPunk 2077), which generally require a PC with a dedicated graphics card or a console like Playstation 4 or 5.
Even using a normal PC and without buying any special device, therefore, it can be played without blocks and with high graphic quality, since the resources necessary to run the game are provided by powerful remote servers, to which we connect via the Internet to receive the game’s audio/video streaming and send the command input.
In this guide, we will show you how to play online without console or gaming PC taking advantage of the cloud gaming services available and easily accessible even with an Internet connection that does not work particularly (obviously, we will always have to avoid slower connections or ADSL connections, now completely unsuitable for most of the services offered in the net).
How to play cloud games
As mentioned in the introduction, we can only play in the cloud if we have a discrete internet connection – on practically all services this is the only requirement (apart from GeForce Now) aswhat happens on our screen is a compressed streamit can handle any PC even with 7 years or more on its shoulders.
After seeing the requirements, we will show you what services you can use in Italy for cloud gaming and what accessories it is advisable to use to make the gaming experience truly complete.
System and network requirements
For cloud gaming, we need an internet landline with a flat subscription (therefore no pay-as-you-go subscriptions or wireless connections) capable of meeting the following requirements:
- Download speed: at least 15 megabits per second (15 Mbps)
- Upload speed: at least 2 megabits per second (2 Mbps)
- Whistle: less than 100 ms
To obtain the best result we avoid the use of the Wi-Fi connection between PC and modem and prefer the Ethernet cable connection: if the modem is too far from the PC we want to play on, we can or bet on Powerline connections or on 5 GHz Wi-Fi repeatersto improve stability and connection speed.
To test your home internet connection and find out if it is suitable for cloud gaming, we recommend that you run the speed test in our article “ADSL and Fiber Test: How is Internet Speed Measured?“, where it is enough to scroll down the page and press the Start test button to immediately know if we meet the requirements established above.
Cloud games available in Italy
If our Internet connection is adequate to take advantage of cloud games, we can choose from numerous services to start playing online immediately without a console and without a gaming PC.
The first service we recommend you try isGoogle Stadia, accessible from the official website and running with the Google Chrome browser (to be installed on our computer).
With this service, it is enough to have a Google account and subscribe to a monthly subscription of € 9,99 to immediately play many games, even very recent ones, with a very high transmission quality and command response at the highest level ( thanks to Google’s dedicated servers).
If we want to bring Google Stadia into the living room and play games on the TV, we can consider buying the Stadia Premiere Edition bundle, which offers astadia wifi controlleris aChromecast Ultrato play in the cloud on any TV.
NOTE: If you wanttry Stadia for freeand verify that your internet connection is fast enough to stream video games, you can do so without providing a credit card.
You only need to register for a trial account and before finalizing the registration, use the option to test the service for 30 minutes. Next, claim one of the free games provided by Stadia Pro and start playing to see if it works well on your PC.
Another service that we can use for cloud games isGeForce NOW, operated by NVIDIA and available on the official website.
By subscribing to the service and downloading the specific application on our device, we can play for free without limits for one hour a day, but with staggered access (we will have to find a free place on the servers);
To play all games immediately, without waiting and with high graphic quality (with the activation of NVIDIA Ray Tracing), just subscribe to the subscription for € 27,45, to be paid every 6 months.
To be able to play there are also minimum requirements for the PC in use, since the application uses a minimum part of the system resources: to play well it is enough to have a PC with 4GB of RAM and a video card that supports DirectX 11, such as seen on the official requirements page.
To play carefree immediately, we may consider using theNVIDIA SHIELD TV, an HDMI dongle ready to use with cloud games and available on Amazon for less than € 200.
Another good service that we can try for cloud gaming isPlayStation now, provided by Sony and accessible from the official website.
With this service we can play the titles available on PS4 and PS5 also from PC, all we have to do is download the specific application for Windows PC, log in with a Sony account and pay the monthly subscription (€ 9,99 per month).
If we want to play in the cloud in the living room in front of the TV, we can very well take advantage of PS Now on PS4 Pro or PS5, to avoid buying games and playing Online with the highest quality.
Conclusions
By choosing one of the cloud gaming services shown above, we will be able to play online without a console and without having to set up a gaming PC (very expensive), pay a fixed monthly fee, or buy some titles for our personal collection. (on Google Stadia).
Some services are also completely free, but have time and bandwidth limitations, so it is not always possible to play as seen with paid services.
If our Internet connection allows it, let’s give cloud games a try, since now the servers and connections used are mature to be able to move the entire gaming experience online, avoiding all the problems related to old components ( video card not working or PC with poor performance).