Is Cloud Gaming the Future of Video Games?
Originally Published October 24th, 2018
Even though digital distribution of video games has been around as early as the 1980s with GameLine, streaming games from an online server to a gaming platform using remote play, is a relatively new idea. We’ve grown to call the process cloud gaming. Several services across all platforms have started to gain traction, with a few starting up in 2018. Is this just another bandwagon movement like Playstation Move and Xbox Kinect, or is the future of how we play video games really all in the cloud?
A lot of signs point to cloud gaming being the next big thing. The first widely advertised cloud gaming service was Sony’s Playstation Now, which debuted in 2015 and is still available today. But as many PS Now subscribers have made clear, the service is still far from perfect, three years later. Even though it provides a nice selection of Playstation 2, 3, and 4 games, remotely controlling games over an internet connection brings light to a few problems. The availability of internet speeds capable of remote play today is scarce enough, and even those with fast internet have reported latency issues. For games like Street Fighter that require split-second reaction times, any amount of delay between pressing a button or moving an analog stick and the movement on screen has the potential to cost the player the match. Worst of all, if players lose connection to the internet, Playstation Now will automatically close their games, causing subscribers to lose any progress they made since they last saved.
Something more immediate and positive however, is Google’s development in cloud gaming with Project Stream, an experimental feature of their Chrome internet browser. From now until January, the feature allows approved users to play the brand new Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey in 1080p, at 60 frames per second, with no download necessary. Google describes the project as “a technical test to solve some of the biggest challenges of streaming.” But those accepted to the program have reported frequent stuttering and slight input lag, and even some of the same client issues that PlayStation Now subscribers experience with games closing and changing quality. So even though Google Chrome may not be replacing your home console any time soon, it’s certainly possible that Google’s methods for high-quality game streaming could be realized and make their way to consoles in the near future.
Despite a bright-looking future, game streaming services that exist today still have a long way to go. But recent moves by big companies make streaming look promising when faster, more stable internet connection becomes the norm. GameFly, the video game rental company, just recently sold their cloud gaming technology to publishing titan Electronic Arts at the beginning of August. Since then, EA has announced a cloud gaming service through their Origin client on PC.
Microsoft and Nintendo have also hopped on the cloud gaming train with Xbox and Switch. Microsoft announced Project xCloud earlier this month, a streaming service that lets you play Xbox One games on your mobile device. And since the Switch is already a mobile device, Nintendo has been experimenting with streaming in a different way: by playing games that can’t run natively on the Switch’s hardware. Games like Resident Evil 7 and Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey have both been streaming to Switch, but only in Japan so far. Since Project xCloud has yet to release and Nintendo’s game streaming is only available in one region, it’s hard to say how big of an impact these services will have on the way people play video games.
What CAN be said though, is that internet connections are only getting faster. With the development of fiber optic ethernet, 5G signals, and ever-progressing Wi-Fi connections, internet speeds are increasing exponentially and rolling out across the world. As blazing fast internet becomes more and more available, cloud gaming becomes a more viable option for both consumers and publishers. Using cloud gaming saves physical drive space on game systems, and it generates more revenue for distributors by getting users to pay a subscription fee instead of a set price per game. So whether you plan on playing the next triple-A title on the big screen at home or on your phone in your local coffee shop, get ready to fork over the cash for your future internet bills, because cloud gaming subscription services are making their way everywhere, and soon.