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Amazon’s streaming platform Luna has fully launched in the US, with free Prime games

Draugoth

Gold Member
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Amazon has launched its game streaming platform Luna for US-based customers.

Luna, which is Amazon’s alternative to Microsoft‘s xCloud and Google’s Stadia, has been available via invite-only early access since October 2020.

The cloud gaming service is powered by the Amazon Web Service infrastructure and allows users to stream games at up to 4K/60fps on multiple devices including Fire TV, PC, Mac, Android and iOS (through a browser).

Luna’s setup sees it offer a library of games behind a subscription service, plus the option of adding a number of additional paid channels themed around retro games, family games or publishers such as Ubisoft.
 

BeardGawd

Banned
I wonder if they will make it part of amazon prime video app, forcing sony and ms to put it on there consoles.
I doubt Sony would approve an update that enabled that. MS might allow it because any Xbox can use the Edge Browser and access Luna from there.
 

ANDS

King of Gaslighting
I mean, if you have PRIME, and a lot of gamers do, why the fuck not try it out. COMCAST is still evil and represent a barrier to truly affordable internet, but - at least on their gig lines - they've done away with data caps (never should have been a thing, it's just free money for them) so this is attractive for those who already have the service.

Cloud gaming sucks

This is the scintillating and hard hitting kind of commentary I'm glad we're getting with the influx of new members.
 

Fbh

Member
At least it's subscription based, I still don't get how anyone at google thought paying for individual games was the way to go for Stadia.

Though out of all the current services I still think Xcloud has the higher chances of success as MS has the most robust subscription service and, unlike google and Amazon, a ton of first party devs making games for it.
 

kingfey

Banned
Here are Luna channels incase you want to know about it.

Retro channel

Luna+ channel
 

MrFunSocks

Banned
if it comes to Australia and is included with Prime I’ll give it a go. Xcloud is amazing here for me so I’m keen to try as many services as I can.
 

Agent X

Member
Great value for $5.99/month. You have to buy their controller though that connects directly to Wifi.

It is a great value for $5.99 a month. However, they will be increasing their fees soon. As seen in this Luna blog post from March 1, 2022:

Existing early access customers and customers that sign up for Luna+ or Family Channel by March 31, 2022 can lock in founder pricing and keep Luna+ at $5.99 per month and Family Channel $2.99 per month for so long as they maintain their subscriptions in good standing. On April 1, starting a new subscription for Luna+ will cost $9.99 per month and Family Channel will cost $5.99 per month. The Retro Channel and Jackbox Games Channel are $4.99 each per month, and the Ubisoft+ Channel is $17.99 a month.

If you've been considering a Luna+ or Family Channel subscription, then it would be to your benefit to do so before the month is over.

Also, it is not actually necessary to use Amazon's special controller. As seen on this page:

Which controllers are compatible with Luna?

You can play with the Luna Controller, Xbox One Controller, DualShock 4 Controller, Razer Kishi Mobile Game Controller, or use a mouse and a keyboard.

I've been playing the entire time using a DualShock 4, and it works very well. It is possible to set up a wireless connection between the DualShock 4 and the Fire TV Stick, too.

If you've got an Amazon Prime subscription, then it's worth trying out the batch of streaming games that they're giving you access to. It's a great way to to test out the service without having to commit to a separate subscription.
 

01011001

Banned
The retro channel is funny, something about using hundreds of megs of streaming bandwidth to play a 4 kilobyte ROM of Missle Command is hilarious.

there is a whole dedicated 8bit/16bit retro streaming service out there called Antstream.
you are literally streaming hundreds of megabytes of video data to play a 64kb big game that can be emulated on literally every SOC of any modern device that has a screen on it

legitimately the dumbest fucking idea of all time! xD

-Retro games are very dependent on low input latency
-Retro games are super small and fast to download
-Retro games are easily emulated on literally every device that supports such a streaming app

you basically get all the bad aspects with zero of the good ones... it's quite an accomplishment to release something so stupid 🤣🤣
 
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AV

We ain't outta here in ten minutes, we won't need no rocket to fly through space
What makes you say that? For someone who doesn't own a PlayStation, has a OXBO and a ancient PC, streaming has been incredibly beneficial to me.

If you don't notice the input lag and don't have data caps like many do in the US, it's incredible.

I had a go and it's not for me because I can immediately tell I'm not playing something locally and it feels off, if you don't notice, keep on streaming, the tech is only going to get better.
 

Schmick

Member
If you don't notice the input lag and don't have data caps like many do in the US, it's incredible.

I had a go and it's not for me because I can immediately tell I'm not playing something locally and it feels off, if you don't notice, keep on streaming, the tech is only going to get better.
I'm relatively close to a Azure Datacentre. Ping averages 35-45ms and since I live in the UK there's no need to concern myself over data caps.

Of course local install gives you the best gaming experience because image quality is better but streaming does not suck as described by SeraphJan SeraphJan .
 
This has a much more potential than Stadia just because of the subscription. No need to buy the games piecemeal and pay a subscription as well. They will also be able to push it hard with Prime and Twitch. They also don't have a history of killing off their services like Google. I still think they will have a hard time getting really big though. No good exclusives or studios will hurt them. Best case is they end up being Hulu (to use a streaming analogy), a mix of content from all kinds of developers and no defining games
 
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Guileless

Temp Banned for Remedial Purposes
Anybody else try this yet? The selection of games for $5.99/month is actually pretty good. But I already have Gamepass so doubt I need someone else on top of it.
 

jshackles

Gentlemen, we can rebuild it. We have the capability to make the world's first enhanced store. Steam will be that store. Better than it was before.
Anybody else try this yet? The selection of games for $5.99/month is actually pretty good. But I already have Gamepass so doubt I need someone else on top of it.
I was subscribed for a bit when it was beta / limited access. The selection of games is decent but not great, and falls really short of what Game Pass offers (especially since Game Pass offers streaming now as well). The $5.99 is an introductory price, after April 1st it goes up to $9.99 per month - although if you subscribe now you'll pay $5.99/month for as long as you keep it...

The channels are... an interesting idea? They're obviously taking a page from their "Prime Video Channels" which have been pretty popular, I guess. Subscribe to just the thing you want and pay just a little. But $18/month is too much for Ubisoft games. Honestly, all of them are pretty lackluster besides the main subscription - and even that starts looking a bit silly at $10/month.

There are better options out there if you're planning on subscribing to a streaming gaming service long-term. $15/month will get you Game Pass Ultimate (closer to $10/month if you subscribe multiple months) and that's the best deal going in my opinion. If you already have a huge library of Steam games or Epic freebies, then $10/month for GeForce Now is going to be a better deal. I know I'm going to get skewered for this, but I honestly feel like Stadia Pro's $10/month plan is a better deal than this - you get 4K streaming (and better streaming tech) as well as a rotating selection of games that you get to keep as long as you're subscribed (like Xbox Live Gold or PS+).

It's a decent enough deal at $6 with a low barrier of entry and a decent enough selection of games. Especially so if you haven't already played Devil May Cry 5, Control, or Yakuza Like a Dragon. But having to stay subscribed to lock in the promo price makes this a pretty big gamble.
 
there is a whole dedicated 8bit/16bit retro streaming service out there called Antstream.
you are literally streaming hundreds of megabytes of video data to play a 64kb big game that can be emulated on literally every SOC of any modern device that has a screen on it

legitimately the dumbest fucking idea of all time! xD

-Retro games are very dependent on low input latency
-Retro games are super small and fast to download
-Retro games are easily emulated on literally every device that supports such a streaming app

you basically get all the bad aspects with zero of the good ones... it's quite an accomplishment to release something so stupid 🤣🤣
This is such a perfect post for a hobbyist message board. I mean, everything in it is completely, inarguably true, yet it's completely out of touch with almost every human.

I love it.
 

manfestival

Member
Question regarding Twitch Prime and Luna. Are the games being offered on Twitch Prime free(within the service, not to keep) without having to pay for the sub for this service? I mean these games are only available for a month. Which leads me to believe that this is the case.
 

Kokoloko85

Member
Do we hate streaming and cloud gaming again? Just checking.

When its another super trillionnaire company that can fall back on its money and potentially buy its way into gaming then yes, they hate it again.

Im glad companies like amazon and google are here to compete with ms. Day 1
 

jshackles

Gentlemen, we can rebuild it. We have the capability to make the world's first enhanced store. Steam will be that store. Better than it was before.
What's weird about the Ubisoft+ "channel" is that it's literally the worst way to subscribe for what is already a bad deal.


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For the same price, if you subscribe with Ubisoft directly, you get a far larger catalog of PC games and also streaming on both Luna and Stadia.
 
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