Over the past couple of years, the gaming industry has grown significantly. The last few years might have had significant effects. However, the technological advancements in video games certainly affect the industry. One such advancement is the implementation of cloud gaming services.
WHAT IS CLOUD GAMING?
Cloud gaming or game streaming is a type of online gaming that runs video games on remote servers, giving people instant access to a variety of games. Cloud gaming is also known as gaming on demand or gaming as a service, and it is based on the idea of being able to play the newest games available from a range of devices: as long as a good internet connection and a subscription with a Cloud gaming provider exists. With this, gamers no longer need an expensive computer setup or the latest game console to play the video or console games.
Cloud gaming has been around since the late 2000s and has struggled to compete with computer and console hardware-based games. But with new technology advancements and faster internet speeds, it has re-emerged in the last few years and is catching up with the service’s ambitions.
In India, some cloud gaming websites are One Play, Ant Cloud, Game Away, and Jio GamesCloud.
IMPACT
As music and video streaming platforms become mainstream, pushing away older technologies and ways of listening to music and watching movies, cloud gaming will change how players play their favourite games.
These kinds of services offer seamless portability. Everything gets saved on the cloud without buying high-end local hardware or filling your device’s storage with game files. With this in mind, we can say that companies that sell game consoles and computers might lose their business because players would no longer need these powerful machines to run the latest blockbuster games.
Cloud services will allow players to play video games with a monthly subscription, which will lead to a complete change regarding payments. Users can pay the subscription whenever they want instead of buying a copy of every game individually.
ADVANTAGES
- Easy Access to a Variety of Games: With Cloud gaming, gamers have easy access to a wide range of video games right at their fingertips. The gaming industry is now more dynamic with the contribution of both service providers and users in making video games accessible to anyone and anywhere. People with disabilities, like physical impairments, now have greater access to a wide variety of games that may not have been available to them before.
- Reduced Cost: Another major benefit of Cloud Gaming is the reduced cost. Users no longer need to constantly upgrade their hardware to keep up with the latest gaming trends. By purchasing hardware once or simply using their mobile devices, they can enjoy gaming for life. The subscription fee includes a library of games that can be seamlessly accessed and enjoyed. Additionally, there are numerous options available for free Cloud Gaming. This is perfect for the casual gamer.
- Easy game updates: Cloud gaming platforms often provide easy updates to games, so gamers do not have to worry about manually updating their games. This also ensures that gamers are always playing the latest version of the game.
- Multiplayer modes: Cloud gaming platforms often provide seamless multiplayer modes, allowing players to join and play games with their friends or other players online.
- Cross-platform compatibility: Cloud gaming platforms allow players to access games on different devices without compatibility issues. So, gamers can play the particular game on their PC, mobile phone, or tablet without issues.
DISADVANTAGES
- Internet Connection and Stability: It requires a stable and fast internet connection, since games are played while being streamed. A slow or unsteady internet connection could lead to delays, fluctuations, and glitches, which would cause an unsatisfactory gaming experience. Although internet access is becoming more widely available globally, fast and stable connections remain relatively uncommon.
- Latency: Latency, also known as lags, can still be a problem for cloud gaming even with a fast internet connection, causing delayed input responses that can be frustrating for gamers who need quick reactions, like in competitive gaming.
- Graphics Quality: Graphics in cloud gaming can be a hit or miss. The quality of graphics depends on the service provider’s servers and infrastructure, which may result in varying levels of graphics quality, and sometimes graphics may be compressed or scaled down to reduce data transfer over the internet.
- Limited Control: Cloud gaming also limits the control that gamers have over the games. The games are hosted on remote servers in cloud gaming, so gamers have limited control over game settings or modifications. This means that gamers cannot customize the games to their liking, which may be a negative point for some gamers.
- Dependency: Cloud gaming users do not own the games they play, as they rent access to them, which means that if the service provider removes a game from their library, users lose access to it.
CONCLUSION
Cloud gaming has the potential to substantially alter the way customers interact with video games. It might have a tremendous influence on the gaming ecosystem and introduce the business to a whole new market. Since most casual gamers use mobile phones, cloud gaming would encourage them to game more. However, until technology advances and marketing increases, cloud gaming will remain a somewhat niche part of the gaming world.