Game Streaming Will Go Hand In Hand With Next-Gen Gaming
Everyone had eyes on the recent Google Stadia launch, and despite reports that the tech is actually pretty good, the cost per game was the prevailing topic of discussion. Business model aside, Stadia’s technical achievements are proof positive that game streaming is ready to be taken seriously. And if you ask me, Sony and Microsoft are going to make it a core component of the next-gen console experience, whether we’re ready to embrace it or not.
Sony’s made it clear that it wants the PlayStation 5 experience to be as seamless as possible, and what better way to do that than by injecting a bit of game streaming into the formula? Streaming a game while you wait for it to download would be very enticing and very convenient. At the very least, Sony will likely make a big push for PlayStation Now, its subscription-based cloud gaming service. It’s been around for years, and there’s a substantial library of games for subscribers to play at will. If the recent price cut (down to $10) is any indication, Sony wants to remain competitive in the lead-up to the new year, and cloud gaming’s heyday.
Microsoft has been paving the way with value-focused services in the wind up to 2020, and with the announcement that xCloud and Game Pass will effectively be one and the same, Xbox owners who are willing to throw down a little bit of extra change can expect to have access to hundreds of games, both locally on their next-gen Xbox and on the go, whether it be on a mobile phone or PC. On paper, that’s an incredible value and will go a long way to expose more users to cloud gaming, and perhaps make it a popular option–at least, for users with capable internet service.
With so many companies jumping into game streaming, it will be fascinating to see how their approaches differ in 2020. Cloud gaming may not take off in the eyes of consumers right away, but like it or not, it will probably become a household concept, and slowly build momentum as the tech and service models continue to evolve with the arrival of next-gen consoles. — Peter Brown