Tag Archives: game streaming

Gaming, News

XBOX Game Pass Comes to NVIDIA GeForce NOW

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Gaming is quickly growing to become one of the largest industries in the world. However, gaming itself is on the verge of a revolution that could change the way we enjoy our blockbuster AAA games forever with Cloud Gaming. While not many companies have offerings, companies like NVIDIA and Microsoft are looking to cash in early with services like XBOX‘s GamePass and NVIDIA‘s GeForce NOW. NVIDIA’s GeForce NOW is about to get a little bit more interesting with XBOX’s GamePass in a new collaboration.

NVIDIA and Microsoft are further accelerating this trend with a groundbreaking partnership that extends access to Xbox’s PC Game Pass and select Microsoft Store titles to the GeForce NOW streaming platform. This partnership will bring AAA titles to a myriad of devices including Android smartphones and tablets.

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GeForce NOW members will now notice a new Xbox button on supported PC games, enabling seamless launches of titles on different devices. This integration extends to those who have purchased standalone games through the Microsoft Store or hold active subscriptions to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate or PC Game Pass. However, it’s important to note that not all PC Game Pass titles will be immediately available on the NVIDIA streaming service. While the integration is live, the complete library of Game Pass titles will be gradually introduced to GeForce NOW over time.

The synergy between NVIDIA and Microsoft reflects a commitment to enhance cloud gaming options for enthusiasts. The integration comes after Microsoft and NVIDIA solidified a decade-long Xbox games licensing agreement in response to concerns arising from Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard last year.

Among the initial wave of titles available on the service are WrestleQuest, Jumplight Odyssey, Blasphemous 2, Crusader Kings III, and No Man’s Sky. As both companies collaborate to onboard and test each game, NVIDIA assures members of a smooth streaming experience across all supported platforms, albeit with a slight delay due to testing requirements.

As cloud gaming continues to flourish, the NVIDIA and Microsoft partnership brings the Xbox PC Game Pass closer to gamers, expanding the options for an enriched gaming journey. With new games set to be added each month, this collaboration signifies a compelling leap forward in the world of cloud gaming. NVIDIA’s GeForce NOW was announced recently in Malaysia in partnership with YES 5G.

Gaming, News

Alienware Looks to Redefine Gaming Experiences with Concept Nyx

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Alienware is staying true to its heritage and name. The brand is looking to expand the realm of gaming with their new Concept Nyx. The brand is looking to leverage the momentum that we’re seeing in edge computing to enhance gaming experiences.

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Alienware Concept UFO controller // Source: Alienware

With the rise of cloud gaming services like NVIDIA GeForce NOW, XBOX Cloud Gaming and Google Stadia, it comes as no surprise that Alienware is looking further into the future with Concept Nyx. It’s looking to empower gamers to game seamlessly on any device. The brand is looking to create an uninterrupted, low latency experience that allows gamers to move from device to device.

Alienware’s Concept Nyx seem to be a standalone device that is designed to do the processing and computing needed to stream and play games over the internet. This means that when you stream your games over the internet, Concept Nyx would take on the workload that services like Stadia and GeForce NOW use servers for. This reduces the bandwidth needed to stream the game significantly as it would be done over your local WiFi connection. This would also mean that you’d have single-digit response times and latency when playing the game; doing away with things like predictive algorithms which can detract from gameplay. It could also remove lag during gameplay altogether.

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Concept Nyx isn’t just stopping at that. Alienware’s Experience Innovation Group (EIG) is also working on creating a central game library. This library will aggregate your games regardless of where you got them from. The central library would be able to draw and access games you purchase on Steam, EPIC, GoG, Uplay etc. They are trying to make accessing and playing your games as seamless as streaming your favourite shows and music. The seamless experience also includes being able to take off exactly where you left off when moving from device to device.

Alienware Concept Nyx

While Alienware’s Concept Nyx is intriguing and definitely a potential game-changer, it’s still in conception. Alienware has had many a concept device like its Nintendo Switch like Concept UFO that we haven’t seen available commercially. However, the experiences it unlocks definitely keep us on our toes to see what Alienware is going to bring next.

Gaming, Lifestyle, News

Twitch Has Been Breached – Here’s What You Need to Know

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Big tech and data breaches are becoming inseparable. We’ve been getting news of breach after breach since early this year. Nearly every tech space from Facebook to Neopets has been breached in the recent past. The latest platform added to that list is the popular streaming platform – Twitch.

Twitch’s data breach could be one of the largest to date. A whopping 125GB of data was uploaded to a (now removed) thread on 4Chan by an anonymous user. The data contained within the files date back to the early beginnings of Twitch. Everything from the platforms source code to their most recent Git commits has been uploaded. Together with this, payout information to the platform’s largest creators since 2019 have also been uploaded.

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Photo by Caspar Camille Rubin on Unsplash

In addition to this data, the leak also contains data on Twitch’s network backbone which runs on AWS. It apparently contains some proprietary SDKs (Software Development Kits) and also information on “Every other property that Twitch owns” including IGDB and CurseForge. It seems like an unannounced competitor to Steam called Vapor for Amazon Game Studios is also contained within the files. Basically, it seems like everything and anything related to Twitch is within the 125GB.

Some users who have been looking through the data have also found that encrypted passwords and user information. So, it goes without saying that you should change your Twitch password if you have an account and activate two-factor authentication. You can do this in the privacy settings on Twitch itself.

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Source: Ars Technica

The leaker made their motives crystal clear in their post. Noting, “Their community is also a disgusting toxic cesspool, so to foster more disruption and competition in the online video streaming space, we have completely pwned them.” The hackers also ended the post with #DoBetterTwitch. More worryingly, the 125GB of data was labelled as “part one” which indicates there could be more incoming.

It’s probably apt to mention that the leak comes in the wake of the #ADayOffTwitch protest by creators who are trying to get the platform to take hate raids more seriously. The platform has been plagued by users who have used the Raid and tags features to actively harass others. While Twitch has been trying to be proactive, the most it has done is provide streamers with tools to try to control raids and even sue perpetrators.

The breach has since been confirmed by Twitch itself on Twitter.

A cybersecurity firm, Acronis, has chimed in calling the breach “one of the most severe data breaches of late”. In fact, they say that there is, “a lot more damage now in store for Twitch”. Candid Wuest, Vice President of Cybersecurity Research at Acronis, also noted that “While [it is] yet unclear how the breach happened, it’s already harming Twitch on all the fronts that count – revenue, operations, users, influencers, market positioning.” He also noted that Twitch could be at greater risk as the availability of the source code will make it easier for malicious actors to attack the site. More importantly, the company is advising that users be wary and change their passwords as well as activate two-factor authentication on their accounts.

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Candid Wuest, Vice President of Cybersecurity Research, Acronis

“Leaked data could contain nearly the full digital footprint of Twitch, making it one of the most severe data breaches of late. The 125 GB of data leaked so far might just be the start, according to the comments of the attacker. Internal network plans and marketing plans for future products could now be misused by attackers or sold to competitors. If the source code is exposed, we will see a spike in vulnerabilities discovered in related software. Having access to the source code makes it easy to find weak spots.“

Candid Wuest, Vice President of Cybersecurity Research, Acronis

Accessories, Camera, Gaming, Lifestyle, News

Razer Unveils the Kiyo X Webcam and Ripsaw X Capture Card – Streaming Does Not Have to be Expensive

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The gaming industry is huge today. A part of that industry is also contents that you can watch and enjoy. That is the game streaming industry that is made popular by people like PewDiePie, and even Markiplier. As the eSports scene sees a huge surge in recent years, the game streaming industry also blew up. This leads to the creation of specialised hardware and accessories just for game streaming.

Webcams, for example, used to be telecommunication devices that you can use for video conferencing. Full HD webcams technically has existed forever, but never meant to be used for game streaming, although that is still possible. Capture cards was also a thing that was used by studios for both live production and regular production usage. With game streaming though, these once premium items were more in demand and more purpose built than ever. That does not mean that they become more accessible in price.

Introducing the Razer Kiyo X and Ripsaw X peripherals made for streaming. These are made specifically for streaming, but they are also made with budget in mind. These products are really designed for newer streamers who just got started in the streaming industry and looking to upgrade their gear without breaking their banks.

Razer Kiyo X

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    Source: Razer
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The Razer Kiyo X is really a littler, more budget version of the Razer Kiyo. The ‘X’ moniker really gave it away as the more budget friendly companion in the line-up. It is capable of shooting videos at Full HD at 30fps to boot. If you want your videos to be extra smooth, you can get it to shoot at 60fps with a resolution penalty at 720p.

The USB plug and play webcam can be controlled via Razer’s Synapse software. While it does not come with its own right light, it still has something called The Razer Virtual Right Light software that goes along with it. In that case, the display becomes a light panel for the Razer Kiyo X for both video calls and streams.

Razer Ripsaw X

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    Source: Razer
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Another very important item for live streaming is the capture card. A capture card functions either as a platform to record and project your games into the streaming software. From there, the software broadcasts the image that is captured from the capture card. It is commonly used in a two PC configuration, or when you want to use a regular camera as the webcam.

The Razer Ripsaw X is also technically a smaller version of the Ripsaw. It is quite a little bit more powerful than the old Ripsaw though. Where the Ripsaw could only capture streams at Full HD at up to 60fps, the new Ripsaw X can capture videos at 4K resolution at up to 30fps with HDMI 2.0 and a USB 3.0 interface. The Ripsaw X is also supposed to offer near-zero latency, which also means you do not have to be doing a lot of guess and calculation work done for streams.

Price and availability

The Razer Kiyo X and Ripsaw X will be is now available from Razer.com in the United States, Europe, and Singapore. There is no word on its availability in Malaysia, but we are expecting them to hit shelves in Malaysia soon. The Razer Kiyo X will set you back US$ 79.99 (MYR 334*) when it is available. The Ripsaw X will be available oat US$ 139.99 (MYR 585*).

*Approximately based on exchange rate of US$ 1 = 4.18 on xe.com as of 02/10/2021

Gaming, Lifestyle, News

1080p Full HD Comes to PlayStation Now!

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Sony is one of the most successful brands in gaming and they are sort of expected to get cloud gaming right. They have the expertise and infrastructure to do so, in the eyes of many in the industry at least. So far though, the reception and implementation has been less than stellar at best; but it works. Do not get us wrong though, cloud gaming is a great alternative to buying your own consoles or build expensive gaming PCs at this day and age, especially when everything is in shortage. To be fair, we have not even gotten our hands on a PlayStation 5 yet.

In that case, Sony’s announcement and launch to PlayStation Now is a great welcome to not just us. It is a huge welcome to people who are stuck at home due to the pandemic in 2020; that is almost every single one person in the world. It is a big welcome to those who cannot afford a console, or even a gaming PC at the moment. It is also the perfect solution to portable gaming, because you can technically play games on your GPU-less slim and light notebook PC. You can technically play games on PlayStation Now on your TV without ever owning a console.

There are some good things to PlayStation Now. Other than playing it on your PC and on your TV without a console, you can do it over your PlayStation 4 as well. While you can only play at 720p, it also means that you spend less on buying games since it is a subscription-based service. You also do not need the game to be installed in your console, which also means you do not need to upgrade your HDD or SSDs when it gets full in the console. The best thing is though, you get to play all of PlayStation’s exclusive titles and all the AAA titles available to the PlayStation console with one subscription. From plenty of reports too, PlayStation Now works, and that matters.

There is a caveat though, you were only streaming the games over at 720p. There are some obvious reasons why, which we will not get into in this article. But that caveat may be no more.

Sony PlayStation has just announced that Full HD 1080p streaming will be available starting this week. Implementations globally will vary depending on regions, but it will happen across regions that already has PlayStation Now available. The addition of Full HD streams also comes with a slew of new games to play from April 2021 onward.

There are no mentions yet on whether Full HD 1080p game streaming will be available across the entire PlayStation Now platform or limited to selected games. The Full HD 1080p stream though brings PlayStation Now up to par with game streaming services like Amazon’s Luna which streams games at a maximum of Full HD 1080p. Google Stadia still boasts 4K resolution support for selected titles, to a degree of success. Competing streaming services are also testing and moving toward Full HD 1080p support so we can expect more cloud gaming services to join PlayStation Now to offer Full HD 1080p gaming experience; a big step up from HD 720p.

Sony’s PlayStation Now is not officially available in Malaysia just yet. If you are planning to look into getting PlayStation Now though, subscriptions start at US$ 9.99 (MYR 41*) a month onward. For now, if you already own a PlayStation 4 or PlayStation 5 console but still want to have the freedom to game anywhere, there is PS Remote Play available as long as you can hook yourself up to a stable high-speed internet connection anywhere in the world.