Gaming has become such a huge part of our culture around the world. And when something faces that much attention, innovation of one of the few guarantees to that field. And video games have come a long way and they will continue to evolve. This year, one of the biggest talking points in gaming is cloud streaming. Being able to stream games to your device without running anything on the actual device. "Netflix for gaming". Many people have different opinions on the subject and today I will explain why I believe cloud streaming is the future of gaming.
Sony is first to launch their streaming platform, PlayStation Now. Sony's Competition, Microsoft also has plans for streaming, with XCloud. Microsoft and Sony have been leaders in console gaming for years. Each jumping in front of each other from generation to generation. Now another player has entered the field, Google. Last year, Google announced Stadia. Their own cloud streaming gaming console. With all these companies looking at cloud gaming many consumers have stated that they prefer having their games in-person and having a physical copy. Many stating that buying a game on the cloud means you don't own the game. However, the same could be said for buying games digitally.
Many critics have also demanded the feature to play games offline. Which is a nice feature. But we are seeing internet connection spreading all across the world. We can see this happening with SpaceX's Starlink. Starlink is a project to have thousands of satellites orbit the Earth to give the entire planet a high-speed internet connection. Yes, this is years away, but this still proves that our world is getting better WiFi.
Cloud streaming is also extremely profitable. Which explains many companies desire to enter cloud streaming. One of the biggest challenges that casual gamers face are the upfront costs of becoming a gamer. Casual gamers have to spend hundreds of dollars just to start playing something they may not enjoy. Which is why we don't see many casual gamers convert. With cloud streaming, casuals can start gaming at a low price with low risk. This is similar to the way watching movies was several years ago. In order to become an avid movie watcher you'd have to put down a large payment for a VHS or DVR. That isn't the case anymore with services like Netflix and Hulu.
Subscriptions are extremely profitable, we are seeing many businesses switch to this model. It's more appealing to consumers upfront and profitable on the businesses end.
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