The competition is on for gaming platforms now that the Nintendo Switch is one of the best-selling consoles of all time. Companies like Acer are quickly designing their own products to increase sales on platforms like PC gaming. Meanwhile, Verizon is brewing up their own version of a gaming platform. The massive US-based network is currently, yet quietly, testing a cloud-based gaming platform rthat’s apparently comparative to Netflix. These cloud-based platforms already exist, as EA’s Origin has been around for quite some time and virtually every console has its own version of an eShop. What makes this one different?
The Netflix of Gaming
A key comparison here is that Verizon’s new cloud-based gaming platform is being called the Netflix of gaming. A select number of users have been invited to test the platform that currently offers around 135 games. Participants in the testing process received an Nvidia Shield tablet, along with an Xbox One controller and the pre-installed Verizon Games app with login capabilities. Once users completed the test, they were awarded an Amazon gift card.
Screenshots of the gaming platform looks just like Netflix, only popular game titles and covers are in the place of streamable movies and TV shows. In an in-depth report provided by The Verge, the workers on the gaming platform are still in a super early phase of the platform. Users complained about severe lagging when using the platform. But the main focus of the team is currently to get the platform up and running before they can work on things like game selection and polishing over user experience.
Acer’s New Computers
Acer announced the release of two new gaming laptops at CES this year. The company’s new gaming laptops are reminiscent of Lenovo’s line of Yoga tablets—but with a hardcore techie twist. The new laptops, made just for running games, will be able to flip and fold so that users can use it as both a tablet and laptop depending on their needs. Creating new hardware specs isn’t super common for a piece of gaming tech. But it adds a cool new feature that will compete with tablet-like consoles such as the Nintendo Switch. Since it’s a laptop, too, it will be just as easily portable.
Verizon hasn’t made any official announcement regarding its gaming service, so we can write it off as basically a rumor at this point. We don’t know when we can expect it, but it probably won’t be for awhile. Acer’s Predator Triton 900 will come pre-installed with Nvidia RTX 2080 and is just about what you’ll want out of a gaming laptop these days. The laptop gaming computers will retail for a couple grand, depending on what you want them to come with. They start at around $4000 and go up if you want to add more features. Some of these features include a faster processing unit, better cooling power, or just an all-around thinner computer.
