Rainway App Is Apparently Still In Development For Nintendo Switch

Lag free? Doubt it.

My guess is that they are a little too optimistic with this. Still, I would totally use an app like that, if it really works... Haven't tried the Beta yet.

@panthro Streaming is never lag free. That's technically impossible.

I think it will support older games (def cant run rainbow six) like gta 5 and older titles...

@sanderev yep u r right. But actually i was playing now bully and i saw that it can run it and upgrade. I'd love to see a remaster/ sequel on switch. AMAZING GAME. At least we can stream it soon.

Just askin'... Can anyone see my comments or not? Looks like u cant because of some problem maybe. Tell me plz.

No, I can't see them.

@sanderev Not as soon as we can travel at the speed of light.

@ActiSwitch I can see your three comments in a row, yes.

Cannot wait to play TF2 on switch!

Still have trouble seeing how Nintendo will greenlight the app to be sold. Unless they honestly believe the number of people who would use it is the minority to those who would just buy the equivalent game on the Switch. May end up being a piece of Homebrew.

@Mii_duck OK thanks bro. But the site keep showing me that i cant send that is why i asked. Besides i liked ur troll.

@Matthew010 hahahahaa. Thank u.

It's part of the Switch online subscription, calling it right now.

Was excited for this at first but honestly are trying it on my Chromebook on the same network it just didn't work well.

@panthro Incorrect. It takes 499 seconds for light to reach earth from the sun. (Which is more than 8 minutes) I call that lag

I should think this was a tough idea to sell Nintendo on.

How much can you charge for a piece of utility software that includes no entertainment content at all, on a system priding itself on being all about games? And if it was free, how would they make money on it? Surely very would want to adopt a subscription model.

On the technical side, these guys still only have a browser based client out. They're not on iOS, they're not on Android. But you know who are? Ten other apps offering variations on the same idea.

I'm getting a feeling these guys have enjoyed more attention than they have been able to back up, following their early announcement of targeting Switch. Here's hoping their sails catch some wind.

@sanderev
Indeed, but I tested some streaming apps myself YEARS ago, and one in particular (Kinoconsole), allowed me to play a fighting game (Injustice) in a state good enough to be able to pull off moves successfully and win matches like I was sitting in front of my PC.

So while there will always be some lag, it may sometimes be small enough to be "almost" inconsequential, if the platform is good enough, and the network fast enough. My PC was wired at the time. I assume a wireless connection would induce more lag.

Also, Valve released their own Streming app already, so anyone having an Android TV device, or a porable android device with a built-in (or clip-on) gamepad could, in therory, stream their PC games to that. I haven't tested it yet, but I will, eventually. There are already many streaming solutions available for various devices out there, although none for the Switch, And while I think such an app could be interesting (provided lag is not too problematic), I admit I can't see myself using it that much, my PC already being a gaming laptop that I can set up anywhere I want.

Anyway, some streamers handle lag a lot better than others, and your PC being wired instead of wireless can make a BIG difference too.

@panthro
Light sucks.
Data streams already travel at near speed of light, if not the actual speed of light, as when running through fiber optics.

We'd have to somehow teleport the data by harnessing quantum entanglement or some as of yet unknown principles of physics to get completely lag free. :/

So... emulation isn't okay and this is?
Okie-doike, Nintendo...

@Pod a bunch of people apparently are buying switches just for Fortnite. And with Miyamoto's comments on free to play, I don't know...

@panthro @sanderev @Realnoize Playing locally on the source system isn't lag free either. The key is getting the latency low enough to not be impactful to the vast majority of users. Theoretically possible, but I've never used a streaming app I was happy with. The Wii U gamepad is the closest we've come so far, in my opinion.

Streaming games is no fun for me.

Not bothered in the least... Games that are meant to be played on a PC do well to stay on the PC... This might work in 2 or 3 generations when the tech can guarantee playability and with something more appealing than a streaming service.

@MarioFan02 I've been thinking about this to be honest.

Now this is 100% pure speculation.

I personally think Nintendo's reasoning is a future plan to bring emulators to their own platform. It's also why we're probably not getting any news on the VC as well (that makes sense).

I think Nintendo are attacking these emulators in preparation for a take over of that sector, with their online service around the corner, a pledge to bring more classic games, no news on VC and a frontal attack on roms and emulators tells me that Nintendo are going to move in on that market hard. In other words offer a full rom and emulator service on their own platform (albeit limited to Nintendo hardware and maybe Sega).

Now if thats a good thing or not i don't know, but these signs defo point to something of that nature happening.

I also think the Snes and Nes mini are tests for the overall same objective... To see the market for it, obviously those tests have been good.

@Razer Reggie confirmed ages ago that the Switch online is the VC successor.

@Trajan
You might be on to something.
For people to pay a subscription for Rainway, it'd have to be. Really. Good.

And frankly, I think Nintendo would demand both of those qualities. Subscription model AND being really good. Video streaming is insanely network/battery intensive. I could imagine Nintendo asking for royalty cuts to arrive regularly, to accomodate it, as it could make the system look skimpy on battery power, and might harm the image of an 'all about games' system.

Nintendo have already proven that Switch doesn't need something like Youtube or Netflix to be popular, so would it be crazy to imagine them trying to pressure such services into coughing up royalties as well?

Maybe I'm out of my league on these speculations, but it could explain SOME of the things we see going down.

@Peace-Boy yeah but that could mean their bringing a full rom.and emulator service via the online service.

I think its all connected.

Yeah when i say "news on VC" i mean news that actually makes sense... Because Reggie saying "VC will be available through the online service" could mean any number of things.

Especially if you consider the VC was never a subscription based service to start with... What changes will that mean? (My thinking is full emulator and rom services - hence the sudden attack out of nowhere).

I keep on trying it, but it remains laggy for me unfortunately. It's possible that this has to do with network settings, but out-of-the-box it's not playable for me. Also, while I would love to see this on the Switch, I think they'd have to make sure people couldn't run emulators. While the service taps into several launchers it can find (Steam, Uplay, Blizzard, Origin, etc), it's easy to add custom applications to steam, which would allow emulators to be run, something Nintendo would definitely not allow.

Also, I have been using another streaming service which has actually been working quite well for me. I've been able to stream games from my home computer to my computer at work. While there is some lag, to me the games are playable, so it is possible.

Also, I was able to make it into nVidia's streaming service for PC, GeForce Now, which has been working great for me so far. I've tried multiple games at max settings, and only twice so far did I have such bad lag that I couldn't play. For example, I was able to play Quake Champions with no lag, and I actually won the one match I played. Personally, I would love to see nVidia bring that service to the Switch, since they already worked with Nintendo on the hardware for the Switch.

Can't wait!

Forgot this app existed

@panthro On a home network it is virtually lag free, hell even over the net things like nvidia game streaming have next to no noticeable lag.

@ActiSwitch - apologies for the cheap joke.

Yes, I can see your three posts above mine.

@Pod Yeah, you might be right. Explains everything but the fan made Pokemon thing.

No Linux support (...yet. "More platforms will be available soon" according to the website).

It will never come out. Everybody knows this..

@Trajan
Haha, well yeah, but that is Nintendo as usual. So for that you'll have to look for their usual explanations.

I'm not interested in streaming modern games but if this allows me to stream the original Star Wars Battlefront 2 from 2005 then I'm sold!

@frogopus ah, that's a shame. I mostly play indie/retro games on my pc. I'm not really into the big games that most people would use. Also, does the game have to have controller support to work?

@Razer I don't disagree, some games are meant for PC and should stay there. I played SC2 pretty much exclusively for about 4 years straight - I don't want to play that on my switch. I've also played a ton of games on my PC with an XBox controller that would be perfect for streaming to Switch, should anyone ever get a usable solution in place. I've always had far too many latency/hitching issues to be bothered to use it, but I look forward to the day someone finally gets a workable solution in place.

@MarioFan02 Roms/Emulation is not even remotely comparable to a steaming service, that is streaming games that you legally own, running on hardware that you legally own, to other hardware that you legally own. Never mind the fact that emulation is almost always perfectly legal, it's the distribution of ROMs/BIOS that is illegal. Emulation is everywhere in technology and completely revolutionized the IT industry - it's not just used for piracy.

With 5ghz, the range is limited but the bandwidth is huge and 5ghz isn't as crowded as 2.4ghz. If I remember correctly the WiiU tablet utilized 5ghz and there wasn't a lot of lag on the console.

They'll keep telling you it's coming but it will never show up. At least OnLive lasted for five years and actually deliver despite not supporting consoles.

@Razer I hope so. There's SO many classics I've always wanted to have a go at...

Couldn't care less

I personally hate every version of in home streaming I've tried. I might just be overly sensitive to input lag, just like I'm overly sensitive to non incandescent light bulbs or motion 'smoothing' on modern TVs. Some people just don't give a damn, but it's all I notice.

Streaming from my PC to TV, even with hard wired connections has never been good enough for me to enjoy it. Now I run a 40 foot video cable, plus a Bluetooth booster for the controller to play pc games in my living room.

Trying to stream to my switch, with its dubious wifi just sounds like an exercise in torture.

"stuff like this takes time to work out" aka nintendo is worried piracy and wont aprove the app yet.

I guess if Capcom succeeds (big IF) with steaming RE7 to Switch, then Rainway's path to release on Switch becomes clearer. Til then, I wouldn't hold my breath on any of this as none of it may come to pass. We'll see.

If this was made for the Switch; you would be able to stream Madden PC on the Switch.