Amazon Luna cloud gaming service is now open to all US residents without an invitation

Posted by Elias Saba on — 4 Comments

Amazon first launched its Luna cloud gaming service in October 2020 with an invite-only program. The service then became available to all Fire TV owners without needing an invite a few months later. There are have been other ways to use the service without an invite since, but now Amazon is dropping all invite requirements for Amazon Luna in the US. If you haven’t tried the service yet, there has never been a better time since Prime members can now play a selection of games completely for free without needing to sign up for a free trial. If you don’t have a game controller, you can also now use a virtual controller through your phone before shelling out for a physical controller, like the Luna controller, which is currently on sale for $49.99. Amazon Luna games can be played through Fire TVs, Fire tablets, Windows PCs, Chromebooks, Macs, iPhones, iPads, and Android phones.

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Amazon Luna now supports using your Phone as a Virtual Controller on all platforms including Fire TV

Posted by Elias Saba on — 3 Comments

Amazon has dropped a lot of hurdles for trying Amazon Luna, its cloud gaming service, today. If you’re a Prime member, you can now play a selection of games for free without needing to sign up for a free trial. Additionally, all US residents can now use the service without needing an invitation. While those two are great, the biggest hurdle being removed is the need for a physical game controller because it is now possible to use your phone as a virtual controller. While it is certainly not ideal, it at least allows many to try the service without needing to buy any additional hardware, like the Luna Controller. Read more ›

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Fire TVs can now stream Luna cloud gaming to Twitch using your phone as a webcam and mic

Posted by Elias Saba on

One of the new features announced today for Amazon Luna is the ability to stream your gaming sessions live to Twitch. The new live broadcasting capability is available on PCs and Macs, but also on Fire TVs as well. When playing Luna on a Fire TV, you’ll be shown a QR code to scan with your phone that allows you to set up the Twitch screen. Once set up, you’ll have the option to use your phone as a webcam and mic to overlay on top of your gameplay stream.

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Prime members can now play select Amazon Luna cloud games for Free

Posted by Elias Saba on — 3 Comments

Amazon Luna, the cloud gaming service that can be played through Fire TVs, phones, computers, tablets, and other devices, is having a big day of new announcements and one of those announcements is the addition of a new Prime Gaming Channel to Luna which allows Prime members the ability to play a selection of games completely for free. Each month, new free games will be rotated in starting with 4 games today and a fifth game being made available in about a week. There’s nothing to sign up for. Just launch the Luna app or head to the Luna site through a browser and start playing. You don’t even need a physical game controller thanks to a new virtual controller options. Read more ›

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Amazon rebrands Twitch Prime as Prime Gaming

Posted by Elias Saba on — 1 Comment

Twitch Prime launched nearly 4 years ago and has been giving gamers with a Prime membership a regular stream of free games and in-game loot, as well as 1 free Twitch channel subscription for their favorite streamer, ever since. Amazon is now making the Prime perk a bit more of a 1st-party offering by rebranding it as Prime Gaming. This detaches it from Twitch, the live streaming platform, and better aligns it with Amazon’s core offerings, like Prime Video and Prime Music. Prime Gaming still offers Prime members the same benefits that Twitch Prime offered, but a rebranding is often a precursor to something bigger coming in the near future.

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Grand Theft Auto III and Vice City are now compatible with the Fire TV Stick 2

Posted by Elias Saba on — 7 Comments

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When the new Amazon Fire TV Stick 2 was released, it was evident that it was a far more capable gaming device than its predecessor due to the nearly 200 games that can run on the Fire TV Stick 2 that can’t run on the 1st-gen Fire TV Stick. However, there are still around 300 games that are available to the Fire TV boxes which the Fire TV Stick 2 can’t play. That list of unavailable games for the Fire TV Stick 2 initially included all of the Grand Theft Auto games, but now GTA III and GTA: Vice City have been made compatible with the Fire TV Stick 2. Read more ›

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Amazon Fire TV Gaming Edition on sale for the first time at $114.99 [Expired]

Posted by Elias Saba on — 5 Comments

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The Amazon Fire TV Gaming Edition has gone on sale for the first time. The price is down 18% from its regular price of $139.99 to $114.99. This is the bundle that includes the 2nd-gen Fire TV, the all new Fire TV Gaming Controller, a 32GB microSD card, and two games: Shovel Knight and Disney DuckTales: Remastered. If everything included in this bundle were purchased separately, it would run you $189.95.

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Apple TV may have crippled its gaming potential by requiring developers to support the included remote

Posted by Elias Saba on — 11 Comments

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When Apple first annouced their new Apple TV last week, their app programing guide stated that it was okay for developers to “require an extended game controller.” Apple has now changed their policy to state that games developed for the new platform “must support the Apple TV remote.” This has the potential to cripple the Apple TV’s game library and limit the device to casual games with a simple control scheme.

The Fire TV, which does allow games to require a game controller, has the best game library of any streaming device on the market. Around 30% of the Fire TV’s game library currently requires a game controller. Some of the best games on the Fire TV are among the list of games that require a game controller. This decision by Apple may have cemented the Fire TV’s position as the top streamer for serious gamers and game developers.

ViaThe Verge
SourceTouchArcade

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Sev Zero: Air Support released in Google Play Store for Non-Fire Tablets

Posted by Elias Saba on — 1 Comment

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Amazon has released Sev Zero: Air Support to the Google Play Store. This companion app to the Fire TV exclusive game Sev Zero was previously only available in the Amazon Appstore for the Kindle Fire HDX tablet. The app allows a second player to join the gameplay of Sev Zero by allowing them to help with additional attacks like missiles and bombs. It’s great to see Amazon loosening their grip on their own applications by making them available on non-Amazon branded devices.

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Playcast Beta Review: Cloud Gaming on the Fire TV

Posted by Elias Saba on — 2 Comments

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Yesterday, Playcast Media announced the start of their Cloud Gaming beta trial for the Fire TV. If you’re unfamiliar with the concept, cloud gaming allows you to a use a graphically weak device like the Fire TV to play high-end video games remotely running on a server. The advantage of cloud gaming over traditional local gaming is the ability to play games on inexpensive hardware that would normally require expensive dedicated game consoles like the Xbox One or PlayStation 4. Read on for an explanation of the service, what is offered, and my initial impressions. Read more ›

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