Cloud Gaming: The Future of Video Games

1. Cloud Gaming: The Future of Video Games? Izzy Evans

2. The early days of video gaming, of Pong and Pac-Man, are long gone…

3. Video game companies now offer games with impeccable graphics and wide ranging storylines and playing options…

4. …while games consoles are now able to recognise the movements of the player and use them in game. Video game companies now offer games with impeccable graphics and wide ranging storylines and playing options…

5. Games have moved away from linear playing styles and the player now has a great deal of choice over how they play the game.

6. ? But what is cloud gaming? What does it mean for the video game industry?

7. Cloud gaming is a form of online gaming that utilises cloud hosting in order to work. However, you do not need to own a physical copy of the game…

8. Cloud gaming is a form of online gaming that utilises cloud hosting in order to work. However, you do not need to own a physical copy of the game… The game and the processing power needed to play it is all hosted in ‘the cloud’…

9. All you need to play the game is an internet connection and a cloud gaming service!

10. The games are directly streamed onto your computer, tablet or console and the powerful servers used by the cloud gaming provider will carry out all the rendering and processing necessary.

11. Advantages

12. Cloud gaming does have a number of important advantages over more traditional forms of gaming:

13. Cloud gaming does have a number of important advantages over more traditional forms of gaming: • Instant • You do not have to go out and buy a physical copy or spend time downloading it – the game is instantly playable on cloud servers.

14. Cloud gaming does have a number of important advantages over more traditional forms of gaming: • Instant • You do not have to go out and buy a physical copy or spend time downloading it – the game is instantly playable on cloud servers. • Reduced need for high spec consoles and computers • Computers and consoles would no longer need high processing power and graphical capabilities.

15. Cloud gaming does have a number of important advantages over more traditional forms of gaming: • Instant • You do not have to go out and buy a physical copy or spend time downloading it – the game is instantly playable on cloud servers. • Reduced need for high spec consoles and computers • Computers and consoles would no longer need high processing power and graphical capabilities. • Reduced Cost • You will no longer need to buy expensive equipment & the cost of cloud gaming packages is negligible when compared with buying physical copies of the games.

16. Cloud gaming does have a number of important advantages over more traditional forms of gaming: • Instant • You do not have to go out and buy a physical copy or spend time downloading it – the game is instantly playable on cloud servers. • Reduced need for high spec consoles and computers • Computers and consoles would no longer need high processing power and graphical capabilities. • Reduced Cost • You will no longer need to buy expensive equipment & the cost of cloud gaming packages is negligible when compared with buying physical copies of the games. • Platform Independence • For example, with cloud gaming there is the potential to be able to play PC or console specific games on a tablet.

17. Disadvantages

18. Unfortunately there are some disadvantages to cloud gaming:

19. Unfortunately there are some disadvantages to cloud gaming: • ‘Ownership’ • Many potential users dislike the idea of not actually owning a copy of the game they have bought and paid for.

20. Unfortunately there are some disadvantages to cloud gaming: • ‘Ownership’ • Many potential users dislike the idea of not actually owning a copy of the game they have bought and paid for. • ‘Teething Problems’ • Cloud gaming is still fairly new technology and as a result there may still be a number of technical issues or teething problems.

21. Unfortunately there are some disadvantages to cloud gaming: • ‘Ownership’ • Many potential users dislike the idea of not actually owning a copy of the game they have bought and paid for. • ‘Teething Problems’ • Cloud gaming is still fairly new technology and as a result there may still be a number of technical issues or teething problems. • Disappearance of Second-Hand Game Market • As you do not own a physical copy or even have the game downloaded it would be much more problematic to resell – a disadvantage to some.

22. Unfortunately there are some disadvantages to cloud gaming: • ‘Ownership’ • Many potential users dislike the idea of not actually owning a copy of the game they have bought and paid for. • ‘Teething Problems’ • Cloud gaming is still fairly new technology and as a result there may still be a number of technical issues or teething problems. • Disappearance of Second-Hand Game Market • As you do not own a physical copy or even have the game downloaded it would be much more problematic to resell – a disadvantage to some. • Unavailability • As such a new development it may mean the services may not yet be available to everyone in all areas of the country. Games may be lacking in other players to play against!

23. Is Cloud Gaming the Future?

24. Cloud gaming definitely has the potential to become widely used and very popular as it offers a great deal of advantages over current gaming methods…

25. However, as of right now, the United Kingdom does not have the internet structure to able to fully utilise cloud gaming. The recommended internet speed needed for cloud gaming is:

26. However, as of right now, the United Kingdom does not have the internet structure to able to fully utilise cloud gaming. The recommended internet speed needed for cloud gaming is: 5 Mbit/s

27. However, as of right now, the United Kingdom does not have the internet structure to able to fully utilise cloud gaming. The current average internet speed in the UK is: The recommended internet speed needed for cloud gaming is: 5 Mbit/s

28. However, as of right now, the United Kingdom does not have the internet structure to able to fully utilise cloud gaming. The current average internet speed in the UK is: The recommended internet speed needed for cloud gaming is: 8 Mbit/s for cities 5 Mbit/s

29. However, as of right now, the United Kingdom does not have the internet structure to able to fully utilise cloud gaming. The current average internet speed in the UK is: The recommended internet speed needed for cloud gaming is: 8 Mbit/s for cities 5 Mbit/s But only 3 Mbit/s for rural areas

30. However, as of right now, the United Kingdom does not have the internet structure to able to fully utilise cloud gaming. The current average internet speed in the UK is: The recommended internet speed needed for cloud gaming is: 8 Mbit/s for cities 5 Mbit/s But only 3 Mbit/s for rural areas Many people still do not have good enough broadband to meet speed requirements for cloud gaming.

31. Despite its potential cloud gaming cannot take off until national broadband speeds are improved…

32. Despite its potential cloud gaming cannot take off until national broadband speeds are improved… However, the implementation of 4G internet in the coming months may well give cloud gaming a much needed boost.

33. Useful Links Cloud Hosting Provider Cloud Gaming on Wikipedia Is Cloud Gaming the Future? BBC Report Cloud Gaming Definition on Techopedia Image Credit All clipart from: http://openclipart.org/&http://www.clker.com/