Nintendo offers Wii U Cloud Storage for Saved Games and Profiles
According to Gartner, Inc. - the world’s leading information technology research and advisory company – up to one-third of consumers’ digital content will be stored in the Cloud by 2013! This is certainly an optimistic view of how cloud computing is being broadly accepted by corporate decision-makers! What’s certain is that the unprecedented use of cloud computing in all categories of businesses is no better evidenced than by the gaming industry.
It is not surprising that frontline game company Nintendo is using 2013 to provide a Wii U “cloud storage” feature for its new console, reassuring gamers that their saves and player profiles are securely stored through the New Nintendo Network. This Network is reportedly under construction with the help of Mozy, Inc., — a Seattle-based company offering cloud and backup storage facilities to consumers since 2005. Nintendo is expected to offer 512MB of online storage for each gamer for saved games and profile data, a benefit projected to be available to Japanese gamers in 2013 before being launched globally.
Nintendo presumably embarked on offering online storage to keep pace with competitors giving game players similar benefits for optimum satisfaction. Currently, Microsoft offers its game players free 512 MB cloud storage for saved games and user files through Xbox Live. Sony offers likewise by releasing the PS3 Firmware 3.60 for its PlayStation Plus users, which allows for easy upload of game saves to Sony’s Cloud storage, where they will be universally accessible for the players concerned but also securely protected.
While consumers may applaud these moves, the budget for this process will eventually become exorbitant for gaming companies, possibly running into millions of dollars a year. Outsourcing this cloud storage process to third parties may well save these gaming companies hoards of time and money.
There is no doubt that cloud computing can impact the gaming industry in a positive way, driving the discovery of better ways to offer protection for player data. Initially, cloud storage will spare players the extra cost of setting up physical back-up systems or overcrowding their computer hard drives with saves and other important data.
Cloud also provides larger storage capacity for both game players and companies, meaning they need not fret over how much data can be stored as digital consumer content increases. Players can thus rest assured that their data can still be accessed after a long period of time, rather than frantically hunting around for that ailing Playstation hard drive that has been gathering dust since five years previously.
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About the Guest Author:
Jerry Olasakinju, (B.Tech), is a passionate researcher and writer whose interest in everything computing seems unparalleled. He blogs about his literary works at http://jerryolasakinju.blogspot.jp/
