Online Gaming and Cloud Computing
While sports is one of the biggest businesses in the world, online gaming dwarfs it in comparison. According to online news portal Newzoo, the global games market will grow to $86.1 bn in 2016. This is a huge opportunity for online gaming companies and entrepreneurs, although though there are some constraints and challenges in growing a gaming portal. But many of these can be resolved with the use of cloud computing.
Scaling from a start-up to a fully functional gaming portal
Traditionally scaling has been a major hurdle in promoting a gaming portal. Engaging many servers in advance meant heavy investments which a start-up typically could not afford. Server crashes and poor reliability were common. The fickle nature of gaming audiences also means that one can never predict the success or failure of a gaming venture. In fact, the success rate for gaming portals is poor overall. In such a situation, it’s not financially feasible to invest heavily in infrastructure. This is where cloud computing technology comes in. It is quite simple and easy to scale up in a cloud environment. An entrepreneur can start with the most basic services, and after gauging the response can scale up as required. This has enabled many start-ups to venture out on their own.
MMO and cloud computing
Massively Multiplayer Online gaming can consume an extraordinary amount of resources. These games can build up quickly with players participating from around the globe. This means the speed of access to the website has to be uniformly fast. This can be facilitated with the use of cloud computing. In contrast, it would have been very difficult with traditional infrastructure. This is perhaps an important reason why start-ups should opt for cloud services right from the beginning.
MMO games are becoming quite popular these days. This demand has pushed up the need for bigger and more complex software. Such software uses multithreading and other techniques which in turn work well in a multiprocessor environment. All these features are readily available in a cloud computing environment. This is explained in GMO Cloud’s Game Server Configuration illustration.
Fluctuating traffic on gaming portals
This is an issue which can confound even the best of technical staff. Gaming portals encounter high fluctuations in traffic, depending mainly on the time of day. Gearing up for the peak traffic load necessitates careful planning. Adding resources with increasing demand can easily be accomplished with cloud computing tools.
Cloud computing to facilitate use of multiple platforms
Games are played on mobiles, smartphones, tablets, laptops and desktop computers. Online gaming software must be able to accommodate all these platforms. The design of gaming software must be robust and flexible. These features work well with cloud computing technology.
Conclusion
The gaming industry is growing at a fast pace. The opportunities are huge, but it requires better technology to handle such a complex environment. Cloud computing infrastructure not only offers better resources but also allows for seamless scaling. It would not be innaccurate to say that cloud technology has come to the rescue of gaming start-ups.
About the Guest Author:
Sankarambadi Srinivasan, ‘Srini’, is a maverick writer, technopreneur, geek and online marketing enthusiast rolled into one. He began his career as a Naval weapon specialist. Later, he sold his maiden venture and became head of an offshore Database administration company in Mumbai. He moved on as Chief Technology Officer of one of the largest online entities, where he led consolidation of 300 online servers and introduced several Web 2.0 initiatives. He holds a Master’s degree in Electronics and Telecommunication.
