Nvidia is 10 years ahead of Xbox
We were able to test Nvidia’s new GeForce RTX 4080-powered GeForce Now Ultimate offering for a few days. Breathtaking performance and a few glitches still present.
With the death of Google Stadia now recorded and the absence of Amazon Luna in Europe, Microsoft and Nvidia are now the main competitors in the cloud gaming sector. It is interesting to note that these two propositions are very different. Microsoft is betting on Netflix, which has a large catalog of video games that are very easy to access on many devices, while GeForce Now is betting more on technical quality and integration of already existing games.
At CES 2023, Nvidia wanted to give its service a new boost by introducing GeForce Now Ultimate. This formula replaces the GeForce Now RTX 3080 subscription and represents the pinnacle of cloud gaming on Nvidia in a more stable way.
What is GeForce Now Ultimate?
With this new package for €19.99 per month (or €99.99 for 6 months), Nvidia now wants to offer a platform based on the GeForce RTX 4080. We will be entering a machine equipped with a 16-core AMD Ryzen processor supported by exactly 28 cores. It runs on GB RAM and Windows 10.
On its website, Nvidia promises that this will allow for 8-hour sessions on the fastest servers with up to 4K definition and up to 120 frames per second refresh rate.
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In addition to this new computing power, Nvidia is taking the opportunity to integrate some really welcome new features.
In particular, we are thinking of support for 21:9 or 21:10 ultra-wide screens with supported resolutions of up to 3840 x 1600 pixels at 120 Hz. Here, Nvidia makes full use of the PC architecture that can adapt games to any type. from screens. Nvidia also integrates Reflex technology to reduce latency.
What gives?
We were able to test the Nvidia GeForce Ultimate offering by connecting to the Frankfurt servers. Indeed, according to Nvidia, the deployment of the GeForce RTX 4080 will be gradual and France will only have to worry after a few weeks.
As with the launch of the RTX 3080 offering, the experience is simply amazing. According to the power of the GeForce RTX 4080, we are able to run all available games with the best settings and very fluidly.
Like the latest generation open world game Watch Dogs Legion so it can run at an average of 69 frames per second at 3440 x 1440 pixels. ray tracingand without using DLSS.
If your Internet connection allows it, the game works without visible image compression and noticeable lag. It feels like playing a local game.
The magic of cloud gaming is at work when you find yourself playing cutting-edge games on machines that shouldn’t be allowed on a MacBook Air, tablet, or Nvidia Shield box. It should also be noted that Nvidia’s service goes beyond its box from a technological point of view. The Nvidia Shield’s HDMI port is not capable of delivering 4K at 120Hz.
We updated our experience with other games like Fortnite Where Cyberpunk 2077 and the same notification is repeated: graphics settings are maximum and lag is not visible. It is quite impressive that for this test we connected to the Frankfurt servers and not the French servers.
Among the shortcomings of the service is that it still offers a limited catalog, but there are big names that grow every week and that several publishers, such as Activision Blizzard, do not. You will need to own the games in this catalog, the subscription does not include an all-inclusive catalog like Game Pass. Finally, although Nvidia has greatly improved the system, we still encountered cases where the game launch was interrupted by the need to re-authenticate on Steam.
Ten years ahead of the competition
A quick math shows that this offering is just ten years ahead of Microsoft’s Xbox Cloud Gaming. Indeed, the Redmond firm has chosen to base its cloud offering on Xbox consoles. The latest version features games based on the X series.
The Xbox Series X generation, launched in 2020, should logically find its successor in 2027 if Microsoft and Sony keep up their pace. Given the power delivered by the GeForce RTX 4080, it’s still doubtful that the possible next Xbox will offer anything comparable for a machine that should remain very affordable and compact for your living room. It also takes time for Microsoft to update its cloud gaming offering with these new machines.
In short, barring a surprise or strategy change by Microsoft, we’re not close to seeing an Xbox Cloud Gaming offering capable of handling games under the same conditions as GeForce Now. Technically, Nvidia was already unique. The company is now taking generations forward. Wondering if a possible next upgrade against a possible GeForce RTX 5080 would make sense in the future.
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