As game streaming continues to move towards being a more viable option for gaming there is one thing that users need to remember and it’s that streaming services are really best when connected to WiFi, because 4G LTE is simply not fast enough to give the best experience when it comes to playing console and PC games over mobile data.
This is where 5G will help change things, and AT&T being one of the leaders in 5G development in the US is getting ready to show off what game streaming is like on a 5G connected smartphone. More specifically it’s preparing to show off a demonstration of how GeForce Now will look when played over a 5G network connection.
Some things to keep in mind. 5G is not truly available in the way that it will be when networks roll out the next generation of network speeds for mobile networks, but companies like AT&T are working towards that. Another thing to keep in mind is that AT&T’s demo that will be going on tomorrow and Sunday is in a controlled environment which AT&T’s 5G network vendors helped to set up.
The demonstration also receives collaboration from WarnerMedia and a “leading 5G smartphone manufacturer.” AT&T doesn’t mention who that smartphone manufacturer is, but it wouldn’t be surprising if that company was either Samsung or LG.
The demo will serve as an excellent way for consumers to see how great the possibilities of gaming are on a lighting fast network like what 5G will provide when it’s eventually completed and deployed. As for the actual experience of the demonstration that AT&T has lined up, it says that anyone who gives the demo a try will be able to play the latest PC games in “near real-time” through that 5G network connection.
This doesn’t note whether or not there will be any latency or lag, and really the only true way to figure that out will be to test it, but near real-time is not “real-time” so one can expect there to be a small delay (even if it’s very small) somewhere during the gameplay. There’s also no mention of which games will be playable as part of the demo, but some would likely pose more of a challenge than others so there are likely to be a handful of titles that were carefully tested and selected.
The demo will be using the Android version of NVIDIA’s GeForce Now cloud gaming service which doesn’t really differ from the one on Android TV or PC, but the UI will look a bit different as it’s designed and meant for smartphones and the smaller screens that come with them.
In addition to the GeForce Now demonstration, AT&T is letting people choose instead to see what it’s like to download an entire movie in just seconds over the same connection so that they can experience how quick 5G will be for downloading movies for on-the-go viewing, which is particularly important when you may end up without any internet connection for hours at a time, like say, on a long flight.
AT&T is hosting this demonstration at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas on July 13 and July 14 which means if you’re in the area at some point over the weekend you can stop by to give things a go and see what cloud gaming is like through mobile data, and this might be worth your time if you’re at all interested in using these services in the future on a mobile data connection.