Amazon.com Inc on Tuesday launched its Luna video game streaming service for the public in the US, aiming to expand its multipronged empire into the booming gaming industry.
Luna allows players to access games directly online with no need for a console as part of the cloud gaming technology that is seen as a future direction of the industry.
“Luna harnesses the power of the cloud, enabling customers to instantly play high-quality, immersive games on the devices they already own,” Amazon entertainment services vice president Daniel Rausch said in a release.
Amazon had limited Luna to members of its Prime service as it fine-tuned the service, which takes on Xbox-maker Microsoft Corp and PlayStation-maker Sony Group Corp, as well as Stadia fielded by Google.
Luna+ subscriptions cost US$6 monthly, with that rate set to rise to US$10 at the start next month.
Other game channels at Luna, including one from French video game powerhouse Ubisoft, are available at additional costs.
Amazon is making some games available free to members of its Prime service, and weaving in features from Twitch game-play and commentary broadcasting platform, the release said.
Game software is hosted at data centers and streamed for play on an array of devices, including computers and many smartphones, “without lengthy downloads or updates, expensive hardware, or complicated configuration,” Amazon said.
Microsoft is considered the streaming video game heavyweight with its Xbox Game Pass service, and large community of players using its consoles and desktop computers.
Microsoft catapulted itself into the big league in one of the world’s most lucrative markets early this year by announcing a US$69 billion deal to take over video game maker Activision Blizzard Inc — the biggest acquisition in the sector’s history.
The deal would bring some of the world’s most famous games into Microsoft’s possession, including Call of Duty, Candy Crush and Warcraft, and make it the third-largest gaming company in the world, behind only Sony and Tencent Holdings Ltd (騰訊).
Pushing cloud gaming along with mobile platforms and gaining a bigger foothold in Asia are all part of Microsoft’s thinking, said Niko Partners, which specializes in the gaming sector in Asia.
The Eurovision Song Contest has seen a surge in punter interest at the bookmakers, becoming a major betting event, experts said ahead of last night’s giant glamfest in Basel. “Eurovision has quietly become one of the biggest betting events of the year,” said Tomi Huttunen, senior manager of the Online Computer Finland (OCS) betting and casino platform. Betting sites have long been used to gauge which way voters might be leaning ahead of the world’s biggest televised live music event. However, bookmakers highlight a huge increase in engagement in recent years — and this year in particular. “We’ve already passed 2023’s total activity and
BIG BUCKS: Chairman Wei is expected to receive NT$34.12 million on a proposed NT$5 cash dividend plan, while the National Development Fund would get NT$8.27 billion Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday announced that its board of directors approved US$15.25 billion in capital appropriations for long-term expansion to meet growing demand. The funds are to be used for installing advanced technology and packaging capacity, expanding mature and specialty technology, and constructing fabs with facility systems, TSMC said in a statement. The board also approved a proposal to distribute a NT$5 cash dividend per share, based on first-quarter earnings per share of NT$13.94, it said. That surpasses the NT$4.50 dividend for the fourth quarter of last year. TSMC has said that while it is eager
‘IMMENSE SWAY’: The top 50 companies, based on market cap, shape everything from technology to consumer trends, advisory firm Visual Capitalist said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) was ranked the 10th-most valuable company globally this year, market information advisory firm Visual Capitalist said. TSMC sat on a market cap of about US$915 billion as of Monday last week, making it the 10th-most valuable company in the world and No. 1 in Asia, the publisher said in its “50 Most Valuable Companies in the World” list. Visual Capitalist described TSMC as the world’s largest dedicated semiconductor foundry operator that rolls out chips for major tech names such as US consumer electronics brand Apple Inc, and artificial intelligence (AI) chip designers Nvidia Corp and Advanced
Pegatron Corp (和碩), an iPhone assembler for Apple Inc, is to spend NT$5.64 billion (US$186.82 million) to acquire HTC Corp’s (宏達電) factories in Taoyuan and invest NT$578.57 million in its India subsidiary to expand manufacturing capacity, after its board approved the plans on Wednesday. The Taoyuan factories would expand production of consumer electronics, and communication and computing devices, while the India investment would boost production of communications devices and possibly automotive electronics later, a Pegatron official told the Taipei Times by telephone yesterday. Pegatron expects to complete the Taoyuan factory transaction in the third quarter, said the official, who declined to be
RSS