Gaming is a hugely popular pastime all around the world. It is also a vat and thriving industry, which means that gamers are spoiled for choice when it comes to products and services. You would be surprised all the people who are into gaming – there is a perception that gaming is mainly for kids; but more and more adults are admitting that they are avid gamers. For instance, even companies are embracing gaming – organisations like TechQuarters, a managed IT services company London businesses partner with for all their technology needs, have many employees that are avid gamers, and use games for team-building.
Gaming Services
Traditionally, if you wanted a game, you needed to buy a physical copy to run on your games console. However, in the last few years, game streaming has become possible and a very popular way of accessing titles. Since then, it has taken off, and there are a lot of options for game streaming services – if you have a PC or a mobile smartphone, you will be spoilt for choice. Below are some of the options for gaming services on mobile and PC.
PC
Of course, PCs may be the best option for gaming, purely because of their power, and their interface – you get a whole keyboard and a mouse to play games with. Below are 3 of the best gaming services you can use on PC.
- Microsoft Game Pass for PC
Originally created for use with Xbox One, the Game Pass offers a wide catalogue of titles. In recent years, Game Pass also partnered with EA, meaning there is an excellent mix of mainstream and indie titles to choose from. Now, anyone with a Windows PC can use Game Pass, for just $9.99 a month (with the first month at $4.99).
- PS Now
The console war has raged for many years now, with the two biggest competitors being Microsoft, with the Xbox, an Sony, with the PlayStation. There have been merits to both consoles; the biggest merit to PlayStation has been the superb – and exclusive – titles released throughout the generations. Now, even if you don’t have a PlayStation, you can access those exclusive titles with PS Now for $9.99 per month.
- EA Origin Access
From Madden and FIFA, to Battlefield and the many Star Wars titles, EA is a hugely popular producer of video games. The EA Origin Access subscription service allows you to play all of their classic franchises, including old classics like Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, and much more. This service has two plans: The Basic plan at $4.99 per month, and the Premium plan at $14.99 per month.
Mobile
As smartphone technology increases, so does their ability to run games. Nowadays, you can stream console games to a smartphone, essentially turning it into one of the best handheld games consoles that money can buy. Below are your top picks for mobile game services.
- Google Stadia
If you have a Google phone, then this service is a given for you to consider. Google Stadia offers users over 100 different titles, and is capable of streaming games at 4K and 60 FPS. At $9.99, this service is currently working to expand to all Android devices that support the Stadia mobile app.
- NVIDIA GeForce NOW
Known for producing excellent graphics cards, NVIDIA’s gaming service offers a vast library of titles – over 500 different games. The premium version of this service costs just $4.99, which entitles you to 6-hour gaming sessions at a time; however, the service is also available completely for free, but you will be limited to gaming sessions of 1 hour at a time, and you will have to wait in a virtual queue to be let onto one of NVIDIA’s gaming servers.
