Limelight app brings Shield PC game streaming to other Android devices
A new app brings the PC game streaming functionality of the Nvidia Shield to any Android smartphone or tablet, without the $300 price tag.
The app, called Limelight, is currently in alpha, and mirrors much of the functionality of the Shield by letting PC gamers stream their Steam games directly to their Android device of choice. The only caveats are that your PC has to have a recent Nvidia graphics card with GeForce Experience installed, you need to have Steam enrolled in beta updates, and you need a decent router with 802.11n Wi-Fi, as Android Police explains it. Oh, and you’ll need a device running Android 4.1 or higher, but that shouldn’t be much of a problem.
While Limelight will work with just a touchscreen, it’s better to experience most PC games with a controller. Limelight supports a few Bluetooth controllers, including the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, MOGA Pro (check out our review), and OnLive controllers. It even, funnily enough, supports the Shield as a controller for those who just want to be silly. Oh, the irony.
Setting up the app is said to be rather simple, though we haven’t had a chance to try it for ourselves just yet. Limelight gives the option to stream games in 720p or 1080p at 30 or 60 frames per second.
The app is currently in alpha, so there may be a few bugs and some lag issues, but by all accounts the app works pretty well. The developer is continually improving Limelight, so it should only get better over time.
If there’s any downside to Limelight it’s that its only limited to Steam games on the PC. So it’ll work with Bioshock Infinite and Saints Row IV, but won’t work with Need For Speed Rivals as it uses EA’s Origin service instead, and definitely won’t work with games like The Last of Us. On that note, Sony’s upcoming PlayStation Now service will bring PlayStation games to Android devices soon.
Will you try to stream PC games to your phone? Or would you prefer to use a Shield instead? Let us know!
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