Is Cloud Gaming the Future we deserve?
Gaming, as an industry, has started seeing newer rays of hope in the post-pandemic era. Despite being around for long as PC-bound entities, smartphone games, console nesters, and whatnot, gaming hasn’t always been able to shed the cocoon and move into a realm that is packed with innovative possibilities.
However, things have changed lately with the cloud canopy ushering the gaming industry into an autonomous and futuristic arena. Still, for those who aren’t aware of cloud computing and how the same has been affecting the entire gaming industry, it is best to start from scratch.
Cloud Gaming: The Essence
Every individual reading this must have indulged in some sort of gaming. Be it playing the more demanding games like DOTA on your carefully assembled PC or running Asphalt 9 on that new Android Smartphone of yours, gaming has seen newer possibilities with technology making it easier for us to stay entertained.
Then there are gaming consoles like the Xbox with support for high-end gaming options followed by the more simplistic games that you can directly download from the Amazon app store for Fire TV. Yes, you can play games on your streaming devices as well, all thanks to the technology around us.
However, each of these gaming indulges requires you to either download games, purchase consoles, or look for USB and Disc entry points on that home-bound PC. Although there is nothing wrong with this approach, cloud gaming aims to simplify the concept of game-playing further.
Put simply, the games will be available on the cloud, allowing you to stream them, if and when required. This process will be as simple as streaming a movie or TV show on Netflix or using a cloud-based office resource without having to purchase the entire consortium.
Is it a new technology?
As a technology, cloud gaming has been around for a long time. Despite being bottlenecked by the economic and scalability issues, it has finally started making inroads into the industry, swiftly changing the way people purchase, download, and even distribute games.
Once cloud gaming is globally adopted, it will become easier for gaming enthusiasts to play and stream, all at the same time. This technology is also expected to free the games from the device-centric bottlenecks and move the streaming control to the user. This means, if the PC doesn’t have a good speaker system, you can stream and play the same game on your preferred gadget, without having to install the same, all over again.
How does the concept work?
Let us consider a pretty demanding game, X. Now with X being streamed as a cloud-adhering resource, the content is executed and optimized into the cloud, whilst taking the user input into account. Mostly, cloud gaming works just like the Netflix videos are streamed, as compressed and device-independent video frames.
However, with cloud gaming, the user input, as transmitted via the accessories and peripheral, is sent directly to the cloud as he or she keeps playing or rather interacting with the game. For instance, if the game X is a simple coin catching game and you simply fed an input data for the character to jump, the same input heads right to the remote server. The server then sends forth a frame with the character jumping, a process that is initiated quickly and efficiently.
More about the Potential of Cloud Gaming
As mentioned, cloud gaming aims at making gaming easier and more accessible than ever!
Besides, it also aims at scaling beyond the hardware-specific limitations for certain titles and ensuring that you can play each without having to worry about latency.
The recent breakout of cloud gaming as a concept, despite being expected, is like a fresh ray of hope for the leading firms. With Google working on its Stadia platform to work with TV, Chromecast, or any other input device or Amazon slowly rolling out Luna for the Fire TV sticks and other Fire TV devices, things are looking pretty convincing for the cloud gaming market.
Plus, as per Statista, the sky’s the limit for the Cloud gaming arena with evangelists hopeful of the market amounting to 450 million by the end of 2023. Also, in addition to Luna and Stadia, Microsoft xCloud is also coming to terms with the innovation, allowing you to play games on smartphones and even video streaming gadgets.
The Benefits of Cloud Gaming Renaissance
Now that we have talked about the premise, principle, and technology concerning cloud computing, it becomes all the more important to understand the benefits of the same.
- Improved Security
Cloud-centric games have user data stored on highly secure servers. Unlike device-centric gaming, where your data is prone to social engineering and other cyber threats, cloud-based data is way more secure, which in turn minimizes the chances of hacking. Therefore, as a gamer, you should always consider to have a maximum security for your account. We recommend to check the VPNpro article why VPN is important playing games like Warzone: https://vpnpro.com/
- Lower Costs
With cloud gaming, you need not consider upgrading the machines, devices, or the entire gaming system to suit the entity. Instead, the cloud server will run the game as per your preferences, allowing you to manage the best experiences with a single piece of hardware. This way, you can save on the accruing costs associated with gadget upgrades.
Besides, most cloud gaming platforms aren’t dedicated to a single game and the subscription fee, which is otherwise nominal, allows access to a wide range of individual titles.
- Zero Piracy
Piracy has been plaguing the gaming arena since time indefinite. The likes of torrenting have reduced the impact of store launched games but all the grey market dealings can come to an end with cloud gaming. As the game is available over secure servers, there is a particular service provider maintaining the same, which in turn reduces the issues concerning game privacy.
- Enhanced Compatibility
Cloud gaming, as a platform, is insanely scalable. This is what guarantees enhanced compatibility and allows you to run high-profile games even on low-end gadgets. As the cloud eliminates storage, graphics capacity, and processing power from the scheme of things, it becomes easier for the user to concentrate on the gaming experience, more than anything else.
- Real-Time Support
As cloud gaming platforms are scalable in nature, they offer additional game-related information and insights to the players. Starting from offering real-time information related to saving the gameplay or educating players about accessing a game on multiple platforms—the support system associated with cloud-based games are top-notch.
- No Limitations
Unlike games that can only be downloaded onto specific devices, Cloud gaming brings it close to a more decentralized system where every device allows access to the concerned game, provided you have a high-speed internet connection by your side.
This multi-device concept will also add to the overall game marketing output, thereby allowing developers to target a wider audience base.
- Endless Choices
Conventional gamers are restricted by choices. For instance, someone purchasing the famous or rather infamous Cyberpunk 2077 might end up wanting to indulge in something else after a few days. With a disc or a virtual file, this might not be possible unless you purchase or rent something else.
However, cloud gaming platforms like Luna, allow you to stream and play several handpicked games at your discretion, whilst streaming them simultaneously on multiple devices with considerable ease.
Still, it is advisable to have a high-speed internet connection in place to make the most of the streaming capabilities of the cloud gaming platforms. In case you are interested in figures, Luna asks you to have at least a 35Mbps connection in place to enjoy games in 4K.
Bottom-Line
Cloud gaming is definitely the future you need to consider, in the long run. While we wouldn’t recommend an immediate shift at once, owing to the hardware-centric limitations, it is still the best option to get rid of latency and a restricted set of choices. Besides, the concept of cross-platform syncing makes the cloud gaming arena even more desirable, which is a discussion for another day.