What you need to know about cloud gaming: top 5 questions

What are clouds for and how do they work?

Modern games are very demanding on hardware. To enjoy the efforts of game designers and appreciate the graphics in every detail, you need to purchase a powerful graphics card. Not all processors provide protection against lags. Those that can cope with the load and save the player from an offensive one-shot after a freeze should also be insured with an impressive RAM. As a result, not everyone will be able to wander around Night City or Nilfgaard at maximum settings.

Cloud gaming aims to recreate equality in gaming opportunities. All you need to connect to your favorite cyberworlds is a stable internet connection. The player "rents" the hardware on the service and goes to a remote location. A picture comes to the monitor, the gamer presses the buttons, clicks the mouse and controls the characters. And somewhere in a couple of thousand kilometers, a powerful server with expensive video cards works at maximum loads.

What are the requirements for computers?

Different streaming services have different hardware requirements, but they are all minimal. Most often, having macOS from 10.10 or Windows no older than the seventh version will be enough. It is not the characteristics of your device that are more important here, but the speed of your Internet connection - for high graphics settings it should be at least 25 Mbps. At the same time, it is important to understand that e-sports players who play first-person shooters should not rely on cloud gaming. Each click and click on the button is transmitted to a remote server, and this takes time. For most genres, this is not critical, but it is in professional shooters that every millisecond matters.

Where and how can you play?

For those who cannot live without games, but are often on business trips or move, cloud gaming will be a lifesaver. The fact is that streaming services open doors to cyberspace from almost any device. For example, you went on vacation without your laptop. If there is a smart TV or an old tablet with at least the fifth version of Android at hand, it will turn out to be a free evening launch even AAA titles - high-budget games that can become a serious test for an average PC strength.

You can even play from your smartphone. Let's say that in the morning you launched a cyberquest at the computer. The most interesting part of the plot has just begun, but you need to go to a meeting or study. Save to the cloud and continue on your phone while riding the subway or bus. Android or iOS - it doesn't matter, the streaming service will open a teleport to the virtual space from both systems.

What about consoles and old game collections?

Consolers no longer need to collect collections from consoles in order to evaluate games from different manufacturers. In cloud gaming, you can play with familiar gamepads - streaming services are compatible with boxing and curling iron joysticks. Unfortunately, some platform exclusives are not available even with the cloud, but the number of lost projects in the case of streaming services is minimized.

And game collections are worth preserving, multiplying and using. Cloud services do not produce games, and you cannot directly buy known releases there. But you can bring your own. Many streaming platforms allow you to connect a library of games from popular catalogs to the server. This means that your favorite titles purchased earlier will also be able to teleport to your smart TV or tablet at any convenient time.

How long does it take to download and install?

Many games today weigh 70-100 GB. Even with high-speed Internet, it will take several hours to download. And after all, after that you have to wait for the installation. Console fans might object that on their devices, downloading and installation take place in parallel, but the time investment is still significant.

With cloud services, you can skip the unpleasant wait, because you do not need to download and install games on your device. Moreover, you do not need to install additional software and change computer settings in order to optimize them for a specific title. In addition, heavy modern games take up a lot of space. Cleaning disks and freeing up memory for each new release is also a dubious pleasure. And with cloud gaming, it will go into the archives.