Cloud gaming, present and future
Although there are now several services of this type in circulation, the panorama of game in the clouds is in fact still far from reaching the paradise we had imagined years ago. A few steps forward have undoubtedly been taken, but PCs and consoles are still firmly in our homes and for the moment they do not show signs of wanting to leave. If there is one thing that the current technological state can teach us, it is that, however, such a future is not so distant, as long as the companies currently involved in the development of cloud gaming make very specific choices, in some cases also going against the philosophy adopted so far.
With the arrival of the new generation of consoles now imminent, we want to take stock of the present situation of cloud gaming, also taking advantage of it to imagine what the future of this technology could be after the progress that has occurred in recent months.
cloud gaming in the present
The point of departure to re-analyze the current situation of cloud gaming is, without a doubt, Google's Staff. The gaming platform launched by Mountain View giant at the end of 2019 is proposed as the most advanced from the point of view of technology , and has precisely the merit of having demonstrated to the people of the gamers that all the fears about the input lag and the like can be perfectly overcome. Thanks to their own means almost unlimited, and to the knowledge of its engineers in the technology sector, Google has made to see that a cloud gaming without problems, it is possible already now, and it is not necessary to have who-knows-what speed of connection available. The problem of Google Staff, is that to show the muscles is not enough, but you have to put the meat on the fire, so that the cloud gaming take the decisive step still missing. The exclusive obtained from Google for your platform and you can count on the fingers of one hand and are not even comparable to those of a traditional console, as well as at the level of online services Staff, currently, has yet to make progress. Waited with anxiety for the arrival of any significant news, it was also the last Ruler Connect has proved to be a disappointment: not that the arrival of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice on the platform can not help it to spread among players, but the work done on the exclusive, as already said, must go well beyond (don't want) the various Outcasters and Orcs Must Die! 3 . As it was conceived, the online event has also revealed a possible boomerang for Google, which is likely to see stick on the Ruler with the label of eternal unfinished since then so struggle enormously full off.scroll through the list of services of cloud gaming currently available, we obviously can do less than go to PlayStation Now. The platform by Sony is the one that can boast the best catalog of games available, giving players the ability to draw from the old titles that are not available on the PlayStation 4. The amount of games of the current generation available is a bit limited, almost as if the hand brake had been pulled on purpose. And here come the questions, the biggest on the PlayStation Now. For Sony, there is an obvious conflict between the cloud and gaming and the trade policy up to this time adopted the japanese company, linked inevitably to the sale of the console, with physical on which to run the game "triple-A" to turn. Needless to specify that by putting them immediately in the cloud would be to drop the need to purchase the PlayStation 4 or its succeditrice. With regard to the technological progress we should also consider that if in the field of gaming Sony is rightly considered a giant, at overall level, the japanese company has neither the capital nor the means of companies like Google. An important investment in the cloud infrastructure should therefore be assessed with caution, to avoid making the classic step longer than the leg.
Going further, we find that the GeForce Now , the service on which it is at the moment a big question mark. Out of the beta phase for a few months, the service of Nvidia is proposed with the unique feature of integrating the libraries of Steam and other online shops with the cloud gaming, allowing players to access streaming to any securities already owned elsewhere by signing up for a free subscription to GeForce Now. Mass, so it seems almost a dream, but reality speaks to us sadly of the inevitable queues to access the streaming with the free subscription, in addition to the swing of games from various publishers that come and go from the catalogue of the platform, leaving their owners with very few certainties to be able to really play what they want.
cloud gaming in the future
Making a jump from the present to the future, we can begin by xCloud. There we are, in fact, forgotten the cloud gaming service put in the pipeline from Microsoft , thanks to which the future of this technology may be closer than we expected up until a few days ago. It is in fact still hot on the news that xCloud will be launched in September 2020 and, more importantly, it will be included in the package of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate at no additional cost. A real bomb launched in the panorama from the cloud gaming part of the Redmond company, more and more projected towards a commercial policy oriented to the services. The transformation led by Satya Nadella in six years in the CEO role have led Microsoft to press on the accelerator of the cloud is not only for video games, pushing inevitably also the ecosystem of Xbox, to follow this philosophy. The merger between Xbox Live Gold, Game Pass and xCloud seems on paper to be able to put together all the pieces of the puzzle that in the previous paragraph, there seemed still to be merged.In the first place, infrastructure and means Microsoft has nothing to envy to the other. On the contrary, already has its own cloud platform Azure to a good start, and can boast of the coverage's largest in terms of geographical areas as compared to all the other cloud providers. This means that wherever you are in the world there are good chances of finding a datacenter and Azure in your vicinity, in this way reducing all the problems related to the remoteness of the server. In the second place, if it is true that the panorama of the exclusive Microsoft is not currently at the same level than Sony, there is also to say that american society is moving already from several months to try to bridge the gap. In the last two years under the wing of Xbox Game Studios are, in fact, arrived via the acquisition team such as Obsidian Entertainment , Ninja Theory, inXile Entertainment, Double Fine, while in the last few weeks has spoken insistently of a possible acquisition of the division of gaming, Warner Bros. , which would allow Microsoft to accept even studios like Rocksteady (Batman Arkham), NetherRealm (Mortal Kombat), Monolith (Shadow of Mordor), Avalanche (Disney Infinity), and TT Games (Lego), together with the licenses currently in their hands. Infrastructure, catalog, and service that well known to anyone who has had the opportunity to try it out is already to a good point: the three elements that could make us a net head forward in the world of cloud gaming, already at a distance of a few months from now.
With a competitor of this calibre now ready to officially enter in the market of cloud gaming, let's try at this point to imagine what could be the future of the other platforms. After having demonstrated to the world that cloud gaming is already among us and it works well, the Ruler will necessarily have to find a reason to bring gamers to subscribe to the service. On the part of Google effort will be needed also from a communication point of view , given that for many Staff, begins, as already said, to appear as the eternal unfinished cloud gaming. Certainly, and here, too, we repeat, the arrival of exclusive weight may help. Considering a model in the style of Google News, that an alternative platform to the other Staff, could in the future become a service for all the publishers who want to enter in the world of cloud gaming, and making agreements for the publication of this platform with other companies. One of these might just be Sony , who, through the means provided by Google would have a way to shake off all the problems related to the infrastructure to be put in the feet to get a cloud bomb-proof. Remember that Sony was the first between the big, mentioned in this article to move into the realm of cloud gaming in the light of the sun, acquiring the first Gaikai (2012), and then OnLive (2015) ending, however, then to lose ground against the competition. A sign that the easy things certainly are not. Also, there is an inevitable conflict between the new paradigm of the cloud and the traditional commercial model, which will need to be addressed by Sony before embarking on any road.
In conclusion , if from a side the present and the immediate future seem to give signals comfortable for the advancement of cloud gaming, on the other, there are still too many variables to make long-term forecasts on who and how will the winner. As it is difficult to say if the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X will be really the last console we will see in our homes, and how some have started to support. What do you think? Tell us in the comments!
