14 DAY TRIAL // We didn't really think it would happen so quickly, but we suppose that cloud-based online gaming would have to be promoted fast in order to actually become reality. And NVIDIA definitely wants GRID to become a reality.
GRID is the name that the world now uses to refer to NVIDIA's concept for cloud-based gaming. And we don't mean online MMOs or little mobile Apps.
Originally the name of a server GPU adapter, GRID enables PC games to be played on smart TVs, or normal TVs via set-top boxes.
It should also allow you to play high-end games on regular and even low-end all-in-one PCs or monitors, as long as you have a good LAN connection.
It's all owed to the fact that the games are actually run on the cloud server, and you only get the video stream, like you would a video through YouTube, only that it's interactive.
NVIDIA's GRID will power the Playcast cloud gaming service of French fixed and mobile operator Bouygues Telecom.
Anyone who owns Bouygues Telecom's Bbox Sensation set-top box will be able to play over 50 titles. Not sure what those titles are though.
In theory, everything from Trine to The Eldre Scrolls V: Skyrim and the Assassin's Creed series should work. But actually getting the games takes lots of negotiations and contracts, so Bouygues Telecom might not have the games you wish for most.
To use the GRID-based online gaming service, you'll probably have to pay an extra fee, or maybe a tax calculated based on the time you spend playing.
There will probably be some lag issues at first, especially in shooters, but with the evolution of networking technologies, they shouldn't be too off-putting.
And since this deal between NVIDIA and Bouygues is, in a sense, a trial run for GRID, there is plenty of incentive to make it work as advertised. Even though success will, sadly, add another reason against buying a new high-end PC.