Game Over - Four Reasons Why Cloud Gaming SUCKS!

Cloud Gaming, A Look towards The Future
A Projective Analysis, by Nathan Taber

Cloud gaming as they call it.. Where you can theoretically stream a game to a plethora of devices from anywhere. The Microsoft Xbox 2 and Google Stadia consoles will both be utilizing this revolutionary new feature from what we understand, and the PlayStation 5 will likely be as well. You can read about my forecast of what the PS5 might look like here. With the little info we do have, it can be surmised that the service Google is offering will be much different from it’s competitors; Sony and Microsoft. It doesn’t require you to buy a home console, and will have an extremely versatile “always on” connection to games. Because we do have so much info on the Stadia, I will be making these points with that technology in mind. I do believe it could take one more full cycle of consoles for this technology to fully implement itself into time tested platforms like PlayStation and Xbox, but that day is inevitably coming. While this will be an innovative step for the industry, the allure of playing games on a huge quantity of devices doesn’t necessarily equal an increase in the quality of the experience. The benefits are there but I believe this could be a step in the wrong direction for the video game industry as a whole. So let’s break it down.. Four reasons why Cloud Gaming SUCKS!

#1

Games as a Service.

When it comes to control, gamers will be giving that up in many regards for this new wave of technology. You will most likely have access to just one marketplace so get ready to pay the big bucks. Sales and discounts can be doled out however the folks running the store please, but that’s not even the worst of it.. No more loaning out a game or salvaging a bit of money onthe secondary marketplace. You see, physical media has died with the advent of “always online gaming”. You can still probably go to the Best Buy or Targets of the world to buy a game code, but won’t that be relatively pointless if it just converts to a digital download anyways? It’s all DLC, and with disks being reduced to one time codes or something of the sort, you are killing the only value they had on the market. And that’s just what they want, no room for other competitors, which for us as the customers could be disastrous!

#2

You HAVE To Be Connected

Besides the obvious technical issues that will be encountered like lag and just general internet unreliability, this whole "anytime anywhere" thing is not going to be some wondrously easy experience that everyone will seamlessly transition into. While the always online capability provides a huge benefit to some, it will be an extra hassle for the many people who can’t get a quality internet signal, or who just don’t have service to begin with. While for many this won’t be a problem, it’s not something that should be compromised on. Unfortunately we’ve already seen how some desperate video game companies have released certain games over the past couple of years that actually required you to make an extra digital download before you could even boot up the game. These types of actions don’t speak well for the future, and I can only imagine what they’ll try to get away with in the new era of cloud gaming.

#3

Is It Really “Anytime Anywhere”

These issues will come to light and when they do, you can thank me for ringing the alarms. But Google will serenade you with the mantra of “play anytime anywhere”, which I also believe is complete mumbo jumbo. A very limited amount of people can afford a truly unlimited data plan to stream these games to “wherever” they may be, and with mandatory data cap limits I’m not even sure the technology exists today! Can you truly play anytime anywhere if you can’t afford the network costs or the technology simply isn't here? No, you can’t. I guess a selling point could be that you can play in any room of the house. Play GTA while your on the toilet, it’s revolutionary! While the promises from Google and beyond have/will be of a streamlined experience that you can enjoy, take a step back for a moment and think of all these extra hoops you’ll get to jump through. Yikes..

#4

The Core Experience Will Take a Hit

Even at it’s most basic form, if you leave the hoopla of technical issues and company business goals out of this argument, the convenience of “anytime anywhere” will still come at a price to many gamers. The home theater experience will always be improving, but will it reach its's full potential if all this effort is put into streamlining the experience for a laundry list of devices? It's certianly up for debate. There’s a reason they call it a home entertainment system. If you’re looking for a mobile experience you have specially designed systems for that as well. On top of this, the trend of diminishing the value of an in person multiplayer experience will be continued, probably to the point of nonexistence. It’s a bleak future where instead of bringing everyone together, we separate from one another and depend on a service to connect with one another. While it may be convenient and useful in certain situations, it shouldn’t be the only means of playing with others. It always comes down to quality over quantity, but I don’t believe that will be the case here. The way google sees it, more people with access means more money to be made from little kids with mommy’s debit card and potential new customers. That’s great news for everyone...except you.

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