Cloud gaming is the next big thing, of this industry professionals seem to have no doubts. While I’ll concede that they’re probably right on that front, I think most people would agree that it hasn’t exactly got off to the best start with Google Stadia being a resounding failure as a product yet a remarkable success as a technical achievement. Still, people don’t give out money for technical achievements, they pay for services that are actually worth their cost and Stadia has not been that. So to compete with Google’s poor service model, Tencent and Nvidia have teamed up to create START, a new cloud-based gaming service that will be exclusive to China.
According to the press release, START will provide players in China a triple-A gaming experience on lower-end devices anywhere, anytime…if they have a fast, stable Internet connection, obviously. Nvidia have experience in the field of cloud gaming as they run Geforce Now in multiple Western countries as well as working on cloud gaming services for both Japan and Korea. Jeff Fisher, senior VP of Gaming at Nvidia stated, “As one of the leading global platforms for game development, publishing and operations, Tencent Games is set to deliver amazing cloud gaming. Combining the Tencent platform with NVIDIA’s GPU technology will provide a world-class experience for gamers everywhere.”
Stephen Ma, senior VP of Tencent echoed those sentiments, saying, “NVIDIA’s leadership in building the world’s most powerful GPUs paired with their experience in cloud solutions will empower us to scale our START platform to millions of gamers. Today marks a new opportunity for our companies to further push the frontiers of gaming.” Alongside START, Tencent and Nvidia will also be working in collaboration to advance the fields of AI in video games, new lighting innovations and game engine optimisations.
So good for Chinese players needing a cloud gaming service, I guess. As long as Nvidia doesn’t do something ridiculous and support Hong Kong, this should be a good deal for them.
Last Updated: December 19, 2019
