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.
Merida Industry Co (美利達) has seen signs of recovery in the US and European markets this year, as customers are gradually depleting their inventories, the bicycle maker told shareholders yesterday. Given robust growth in new orders at its Taiwanese factory, coupled with its subsidiaries’ improving performance, Merida said it remains confident about the bicycle market’s prospects and expects steady growth in its core business this year. CAUTION ON CHINA However, the company must handle the Chinese market with great caution, as sales of road bikes there have declined significantly, affecting its revenue and profitability, Merida said in a statement, adding that it would
Greek tourism student Katerina quit within a month of starting work at a five-star hotel in Halkidiki, one of the country’s top destinations, because she said conditions were so dire. Beyond the bad pay, the 22-year-old said that her working and living conditions were “miserable and unacceptable.” Millions holiday in Greece every year, but its vital tourism industry is finding it harder and harder to recruit Greeks to look after them. “I was asked to work in any department of the hotel where there was a need, from service to cleaning,” said Katerina, a tourism and marketing student, who would
i Gasoline and diesel prices at fuel stations are this week to rise NT$0.1 per liter, as tensions in the Middle East pushed crude oil prices higher last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. International crude oil prices last week rose for the third consecutive week due to an escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, as the market is concerned that the situation in the Middle East might affect crude oil supply, CPC and Formosa said in separate statements. Front-month Brent crude oil futures — the international oil benchmark — rose 3.75 percent to settle at US$77.01
RISING: Strong exports, and life insurance companies’ efforts to manage currency risks indicates the NT dollar would eventually pass the 29 level, an expert said The New Taiwan dollar yesterday rallied to its strongest in three years amid inflows to the nation’s stock market and broad-based weakness in the US dollar. Exporter sales of the US currency and a repatriation of funds from local asset managers also played a role, said two traders, who asked not to be identified as they were not authorized to speak publicly. State-owned banks were seen buying the greenback yesterday, but only at a moderate scale, the traders said. The local currency gained 0.77 percent, outperforming almost all of its Asian peers, to close at NT$29.165 per US dollar in Taipei trading yesterday. The
RSS