How streaming might transform gaming in the future
The digital era of the internet has changed our consumption and interaction with the media completely. We can watch films and series wherever and whenever we want. We only require an internet connection and an active subscription. Which impact will cloud-based gaming have on the industry and our perception of games in the future?
The age of traditional television is over. For decades, tellies would serve as modern age hearths: they were gathering points for families. Everyday culture was structured after the schedules imposed by the myriad of TV channels that provided information, education, and entertainment.With the rise of the internet and the increase of web-enabled devices, the power and exclusivity of television and its schedules have become more and more obsolete. The erosion of its role in society becomes evident if we consider how streaming services such as Netflix or Amazon Prima have changed both the way, the amount, and the time we watched films and series.
Streaming games: the next step in the evolution?
Streaming games works after a similar concept. Instead of buying your games or having to download them completely to your device, the data needed in transferred to your console or computer in real time. Streaming services such as Sony’s Playstation Now have been available for years now, but Google’s Stadia as well as Microsoft’s Project xCloud are working on the next step in the evolution: streaming games on any device, just like we already do with films and series.The new concept: instead of running games on your device, your input is transferred to external hardware farms. The actions you take in a game are then transferred back to you in a video stream you can receive on the device on your choice.This makes both owning the right console or the software redundant, as you’ll only need a controller.
How streaming will influence the industry and our gaming experience
The industry will surely have to adapt to cloud-based gaming, as players won’t have to buy the games anymore. Instead, they can “borrow” the software – with thousands of games just one click away. This will make games much more accessible, extending the reach of the medium even further.While your consoles or computer will eventually get outdated, this is not the case with streamed games as the devices they are played on get updated frequently.Theoretically, you can enjoy any game on your Philips Momentum 4K monitor in its best quality without any drawbacks. Each Philips model already meets the requirements for this technology today and delivers the best gaming experience possible.
