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Announcements       Thread starter GTAWWEKID       Start date Dec 1, 2016 at 12:31 AM       25      

How Long Before Gaming Turns Completely Cloud-based?

  • It already is!

  • Next-Gen (Ninth-Generation)

  • Tenth-Gen

  • Apple

  • I spent too much on my gaming rig for this!

  • Nobody cares?


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As we are heading into 2017, the gaming industry is still launching new hardware, however it is also clear to see, that there are companies working on better software.

For our generation, it's been if you have the hardware, you can run the software. But it's slowly changing now to everything being in the "cloud."

We are slowly watching games being pushed into a streaming service, such as PlayStation Now, letting users stream PS3 games to other platforms. And there is also Nvidia's Ge-force experience which can let you stream your games to other devices...

With streaming games, people can play whatever on any device theoretically. And the speeds of the internet for the general consumer is getting better every decade. Eventually, the gaming industries will eventually find streaming more profitable because;
  1. they can charge monthly for software (receive more than $60 without DLC)
  2. remove the cost of dlc as it will be a service
  3. prevent unfair advantages/mods
  4. sell consoles for cheap
There are many more benefits to streaming games in the future. I strongly believe Microsoft had the intentions of making the first Xbox One like this, which was the reason for the "always connected" DRM. It wasn't to spy, but to allow developers to begin the transition of the future of gaming.

Let's face it, the cloud is becoming everything, how long will gaming stay as a hardware battle before the gaming platforms are just Internet clients?

Share your thoughts in the comments below, and be sure to vote in the site poll: How Long Before Gaming Turns Completely Cloud-based?
Is Gaming Heading to Streaming Rather Than Performing.jpg
 

Comments

if it happens on next gen (9th) then it will be normal, but for people older people it will take getting used to. My opinion is that streaming games isn't completely a bad idea but making that the only way to play games is stupid
 
Consumers want easy access to a wide variety of content for a single low monthly price. Hence, Netflix. Streaming means no more expensive consoles, no more fiddling with updates, no waiting for installs, just sit down, turn it on and play. It could also expand your horizons since you have a chance to play games you normally wouldn't for no additional cost.

However, gamers want more flexibility than that since we are used to being able to still play NES games on actual hardware for the genuine experience. We also like being able to lend/trade games with friends and sell/buy used games. Gamers cared enough about these features to boycott the Xbox One, and it is still suffering for it today.

Internet service is also not as good in the US as most people think. Comcast and Charter are pretty much the only companies that provide enough bandwidth for 4k streaming, and Comcast has restrictive bandwidth caps. Charter will have bandwidth caps as soon as the deal they made with the FCC to acquire Time Warner expires. As ISPs get more powerful and have less competition, I expect internet speeds and bandwidth costs to increase for consumers, although maybe streaming a few hundred MB per hour is still more efficient than downloading 15GB of "day one" patches.

Companies want money and control above all else. Ever since Sony removed OtherOS on the PS3, it has been obvious even physical media and hardware isn't really yours (unless you jailbreak it). Streaming gives companies a nightmarish level of control since you have no control at all over your saves, what games are available, how they run, etc. Once the service goes away, so do all of your games and data. As a tech person who likes to tinker, this is worrying.

I don't think companies have figured out monetization yet. To offset the money they make from a $60 purchase, plus an extra $30+ of mandatory DLC, the streaming service would also need to be very expensive. Don't forget about people who buy games on sale and never end up playing them too. I expect companies to take a hybrid approach like PSNow: older games are available to stream, but if you want games from the last 1-2 years, you need to pay full price. Such a hybrid approach would also still allow them to keep making new consoles too.
 
Screw streaming and any form of digital on consoles. I want my games to stay physical. I don't get why anyone would want to pay a monthly subscription to play their games instead of going to GameStop and just buying it so then you can play it whenever you feel like it. Like my old PS3 games. I have a ton. If I want to play MW2 I can just get the disc and put it in my PS3. PlayStation now sucks.
 
I suppose if you like jaggy, artifact riddled, compressed crappy video games? Streaming would be for you. No amount of internet speed will ever catch up to local processing. Ever.
 
I agree with the last 2 comments. Streaming is absolutely horrible no matter the rig you have, you eat extra costs as an individual where the company providing the game cuts costs and its customer service by a large margin. The idea that my information is "digital so it must be better" is absolutely stupid. Look at bitcoin, yeah there was a huge craze for it when it started out and had a big blow up but that died down quickly and Gold and Silver tangible means of currency are still the go to for proper investments. I like that streaming is possible, and maybe they should make a service for gamefly that lets you test out and "play" on a monthly service but the transition would be horrendous and piss way more people off because once the data is cracked (and some jerk will definitely crack it) it'll be just horrible.
 
Streaming only? That would be an absolute disaster and will most likely never happen. Even if they tried they would only end up being destroyed by the people they made the system/service for. Like the comment above "No amount of internet speed will ever catch up to local processing". On top of that there are people who dont have internet(can you believe that) or there internet is too slow. Can a company really just tell them that they are screwed?
 
I think theyll offer both until vr becomes something big like at 8:10 -


internets not at its best as we know for streaming hard core games and plus i dont think it freaking cost 15$ for a blank disc anymore...we are way beyond bluray now
 
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