Jump is an indie video game streaming service that will debut later this year with a current catalog of over 60 games.
When it comes to distributing media, streaming has become one of the most popular modern methods for getting music, TV shows, movies and even video games. GameFly entered the market several years back by streaming games to smart TVs, and Sony allows gamers to stream games with Playstation Now to their Playstation 4 or PC. Now there’s a new player looking to enter the market.
The Jump client and download manager.
Jump is an on-demand streaming service that hopes to launch this summer. It offers a curated library of independently developed video games for $9.99 a month. Jump allows its patrons to play instantly with no downloads other than the Jump app. The app uses local hardware to run the games, meaning computers will still need to meet many of the game’s minimum requirements to play.
The service will debut on PC, Mac and Linux this summer, and includes VR and controller support for games. Games will remain on the service for at least 12 months at a time, with new games added or removed afterward at the developer’s discretion. Some of the starting catalog includes “Always Sometimes Monsters” and “Teslagrad.”
Jump will need to find its place in the current market, but it may give indie game developers a new platform to take advantage of. As it stands, it might be a hard sell to convince indie game developers that selling games directly or by retail isn’t a better choice. Either way, more opportunities for indie game developers to distribute their work is probably a good thing. Games being available as part of a larger package might give some extra exposure to more obscure titles.
Learn more and check out Jump’s open beta here.
Capcom has debuted a new zombie themed game bundle in the Humble Store.
In the last few weeks, the Humble Bundle offerings have been lackluster, to say the least. We can probably thank the Steam Summer Sale and its flood of cheap games for the bundle drought. After several weeks with no new game bundle and the prior few’s poor reception by the community, the latest bundle seems more than worth the wait.
Humble Bundle has teamed up with Capcom to bring us the Capcom Rising Bundle, which features some of the Japanese gaming company’s most popular zombie-themed titles.
The Capcom Rising Bundle
For just $1 players can get “DmC: Devil May Cry,” “STRIDER” and “Umbrella Corps.” While the first two were well received, “Umbrella Corps” is almost universally panned by critics and fans of the “Resident Evil” franchise alike.
The current average is hovering around $7.30 and will add “Dead Rising 2: Off the Record,” “Resident Evil HD REMASTER,” “Resident Evil 0 HD REMASTER,” and an upgraded edition of the aforementioned “Umbrella Corps.” “Dead Rising” and “Resident Evil” are the two standouts, each probably worth the price of admission on their own.
The final $12 tier unlocks “Dead Rising 2” and “Dead Rising 3: Apocalypse Edition.” It also includes coupon codes for “Dead Rising 4,” “Resident Evil 7” and “Street Fighter 5.” “Dead Rising 2” is considered the better the iteration of the second installment. While poorly received at first because of numerous game breaking bugs, “Dead Rising 3” is worth taking a look at after 3 years of patches.
Overall, it’s a great bundle with some impressive titles for each tier. Whether $1 or $12, this bundle is a solid deal. Buyers can also choose a charitable organization for their money to go to, with customizable amounts to allocate. This week the choices are Child’s Play Charity, American Red Cross and GamesAid.
You can check it out here.
Gaming Week In Review is a semi-regular column by Mathew Brock devoted to recapping recent news from the video game world each week.
You can follow Mathew on Twitter: @MathewQBrock.
