The Future of Gaming Is In the Cloud
One of the aspects of this year’s E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) that stood out was the absence of new gaming consoles or major hardware on display. While many gamers were disappointed, perhaps this is a sign of the times. After all, many industry experts believe the future of gaming is probably in cloud computing, meaning client-side hardware is irrelevant.
In Japan, Sony’s purchase of Gaikai, a pioneer of cloud gaming infrastructure and technology, means it can soon offer high-quality streaming games to PlayStation owners. Perhaps the PlayStation 4 will no longer require actual game discs and stream all of its games! Device virtualization helps us envision a future where gamers receive games on any device, from tablet PCs and smartphones to many modern TVs. In fact, cloud computing may be used to prolong the lives of current consoles considerably. Client-side processing is not nearly as demanding with cloud gaming – a basic Hardware as a Service (HaaS) operation. We can already see this happening in Japan and other countries with a high average connection speed, although we are still a few years away from gamers being able to stream blockbuster games with high system requirements at ideal speeds and quality.
Cloud Gaming Allows Gaming Companies to Offer Better Backwards Compatibility
One of the most promising uses of cloud computing and streaming for gaming companies lies in bringing backward compatibility to newer systems and consoles. Many factors, such as older games being freely available due to software piracy, make backwards compatibility impractical for many gaming companies. However, not allowing access to these older games means foregoing a credible market. Fortunately, these older games do not have heavy system requirements, making them ideal for streaming. By placing them on the cloud and establishing a payment model per transaction, Sony, Nintendo, and other gaming companies could conceivably make their whole back catalog available for streaming.
Cloud Gaming Solves Many of the Industry’s Most Important Problems
Since its beginnings, the gaming industry has been at the mercy of retailers and distributors. It is very common for developers to have to make numerous concessions, in everything from pricing to content. However, cloud gaming enables a new model that places less power in the hands of the middleman and gives more freedom to developers. Not having to manufacture physical media will also allow for greater profits while giving companies the freedom to reduce the price of their games substantially. However, the most obvious and attractive feature of cloud gaming is in its solving the problems of software piracy and the pre-owned market.
Companies spend millions of dollars every year implementing expensive DRM which ultimately prove ineffective while also alienating loyal customers. Within a couple of weeks, almost all games are pirated and available for free on peer-to-peer file sharing networks, despite the efforts of gaming companies. However, with a streaming gaming model, the actual games’ code cannot be pirated at all, and thanks to actual games not being on the clients’ side, it effectively neuters the second-hand market.
Cloud Gaming’s Availability
Unfortunately, due to bandwidth caps and low connection speeds and availability in many countries, effective high-end cloud gaming is probably a few years away. However, there is no doubt that countries such as Japan or South Korea, where the infrastructure already exists, are ready to adopt this technology now. And, as seen at E3 and in recent news, major gaming companies are betting on the cloud as the future of PC gaming.
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About the Guest Author:
Nida Rasheed is a freelance writer and owner of an outsourcing company, Nida often finds herself wanting to write about the subjects that are closest to her heart. She lives in Islamabad, Pakistan and can be found on Twitter @nidarasheed.
