
This week, Amazon, the world’s biggest online company, launched a new cloud-based gaming service called Luna. For $5.99 a month (to begin with, at least), anyone will be able to play over 100 popular video games streamed directly from an app you can install on your desktop, laptop, phone, TV, tablet, or basically whatever, all through the Amazon marketplace. You play Luna using a smart-speaker enabled controller (sold separately, naturally).
What’s the controller look like? It’s, well… a controller. It has buttons and sticks exactly where you’d guess they were supposed to go in order to play 100 different video games more or less how they were designed to be played.
The future of gaming is here, so sayeth the marketers, and it’s in a cloud behind a monthly subscription fee. Look ma, no box!
Gamers Are Winning (Right Now)
When more people join a race, it starts to make the prize seem worth it.
Luna, if you’re following along at home, is not all too different in concept than Google’s fledgeling cloud gaming attempt Stadia, or the shuttered streaming service OnLive before that. The promise of these services are not only alluring, they’re utterly game-breaking: full retail games at a click, via subscription-based access. (Google’s Stadia perplexingly offers both full retail games on top of the subscription service, sort of like if Netflix allowed you to digitally buy a film from their already streaming menu, but the concept is the same.) All one prays for when diving into this new wave of entertainment is that their personal internet connection can bolster that 4K, 60 frames-per-second cornucopia.
The first attempt at accomplishing this was a novelty. Amazon’s version officially makes it a trend. In response, what is the old guard doing to handle the looming threat of non-box based services?
Well, both Microsoft and Sony – the titans behind two-thirds of the video game market share over the last two decades – are not too far behind this so-called cloud vanguard. Both company’s next wave of in-home consoles are set to arrive late this year alongside alternative (and cheaper) digital-only models, signalling the beginning of the end of physical, in-your-hands discs, not at all different to how music and movie streaming eventually devoured the CD and DVD market.
This digital tide isn’t likely to sweep away your favourite console in the immediate future, though. Microsoft shocked the world this week by outright purchasing the company ZeniMax Media, parent company to hit game makers Bethesda, the artisans behind the Elder Scrolls, Doom, and Fallout series, among many others. This acquisition heavily bolsters what once appeared to be Microsoft’s toe-in-the-water “xCloud” service, revealing it for the cannonball into the pool it really was. Now, a Game Pass subscription gives you access to a triple digit number of games – exclusively including Bethesda titles – on whichever device it is installed onto (albeit via a download, at least here in the year 2020). The common denominator between all these offerings? Consoles want to cut out the physical, too.

Whether on your console or in the cloud, digital-only gaming is the “next big thing” in a more tangible way than what virtual reality headsets have been able to accomplish with far more time. You can set your watch to the fact that cloud and streaming services will both be ferociously competing for your allegiance. They already are.
This upcoming marketplace goldrush will do at least these two things for gamers: drive down prices, and make way more games accessible to people who have less money to spend. (There is something to be said about this trend’s environmental impact as well, even if done for profit margins.) In fact, this may be the most accessible gaming has ever been, which is a relief given an industry-wide suggested retail price increase for all major video games has come due, rising from $59.99 to $69.99.
If you’ve already got a screen in your home, and you do, you can keep up with the Joneses at a fraction of the cost of owning a console. And if you have a console, your library is ostensibly about to mirror that of YouTubers with walls of video game cases paraded in the background.
An offering for digital-only games isn’t a side bet, it’s the entire casino; many have noted Bethesda’s price tag ($7.5 billion) is almost twice what Disney paid for the Star Wars license ($4.05 billion). That acquisition wasn’t made just because Microsoft are huge Fallout fans; it’s because their business model necessitates you buying into their ecosystem, seemingly at all costs. All the ecosystems do.
With the announcement of Luna and the final next-gen console details, all the major players are finally in, from Amazon to Google, to Microsoft and Sony. And they’re taking aim at that rhapsodized marketing-axiom of dreams, “The Netflix of gaming,” in hopes that by saying it, they will become it.
And then… there’s Nintendo.
But Gamers Will Lose (Later on)
What is obviously the dawn of a new standard for this industry brings with it an obscured problem. This is best illustrated with a short history lesson.
The Atari VCS joystick was once so high-tech, so ubiquitous, it was hard to imagine anything better to play a game with. Inside the minds of many young people (as well as their slack-jawed parents), the digital joystick and single red button was the logical endpoint for digital interaction.
If you need your memory jogged, that little joystick, which cropped up on various early '70s arcade cabinets and which was famously separated and packaged alongside every Atari VCS in 1977, was so ingenious as to feel future-proof. Unlike its controller predecessors, which were devices that appeared more like heavy machinery or expensive remotes than toys, the joystick felt more of this Earth, more approachable. Newcomers could wrap both their minds and hands around something that worked like a mini aeroplane yoke. The burgeoning technology of the time allowed for the concept of added inputs, which was way better than the simple dial turning of Pong. This really was it, guys.

Of course, this didn’t end up becoming it. The Nintendo Game & Watch revised directional inputs into a simple D-Pad configuration, and the 1983 Famicom system iterated this into a two-handed approach that crucially stretched further away from the device. The late '80s and the '90s brought with them form-factor, from the round contours of the Sega Genesis controller to the added shoulder buttons on the Super Nintendo controller. Sony’s PlayStation would double up the shoulder buttons by 1994, and the 1996 Nintendo 64 analogue controller reintroduced the joystick concept in time for the advent of 3D gaming.
By the late 2010s, the concept of the controller had evolved to what many today consider to be the logical endpoint for digital interaction: two hands wrapped around a combination of D-pad, analogue sticks and no more than ten, easy-to-reach inputs. Of course, this won’t be it, either. And yet, it truly might be it for quite a while if the industry as a whole cashes in on pure continuity across all devices, over the necessary need for hardware-specific design.
When sifting through media stories during the launch of Google Stadia a while back, few if any alarm bells were rung regarding the threat to novelty. But in this piece published by Variety written by Jon Irwin, he warns us on an all-cloud-based future:
What might be special in one distinct instance becomes sub-par when concessions are made. “Pac-Man” in the arcade was a revolution. “Pac-Man” on iOS is an abomination. When built for the ground up for touch and mobile, our old friends still thrill–see Hipster Whale’s smart update “Pac-Man 256.” But the excitement died when that game was ported to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
Microsoft’s xCloud and Google’s Project Stream are built on a faulty assumption: that the game can be separated from its hardware and still thrive. But each needs the other... The resultant mess will be a cacophony of checked boxes, playable in all situations but never focusing on one.
Irwin astutely reminds us that games are not passive, and therefore cannot emulate the models of other passive media, like Hulu and Netflix. Today, just as they did two years ago, the gaming media is far more concerned with digital services’ implications on literal consoles purely for the sake of their historical existence, as opposed to the far more dire issue at hand: the fate of having to play more or less the exact same kind of games for many more years to come.
Seemingly standing in the way of that fate is the other prominent third of the gaming-universe: Nintendo.
The act of play is the central thesis not just to Nintendo’s hardware, but to Nintendo as an overall enterprise. Nintendo’s seminal creation, Super Mario himself, was originally dubbed “Jumpman”, because Nintendo’s designers found that digitally representing momentum was fun, and that kind of fun needed a vessel. The ethos of the Legend of Zelda series was invented not for its own sake, but largely to colour-in between the lines of solving top-down puzzles on a TV screen. And to combat the still-too-high cost of modern-day virtual reality, Nintendo recently recreated the VR experience using literal cardboard, as opposed to expensive glass and plastic, then made the construction of the headset into a literal game in and of itself.
Developing unique ways to play is inexorable from Nintendo’s DNA, and in turn, the act of play is the compass by which Nintendo moulds all emerging technology. You can’t grow unless you step outside of your comfort zone, after all. Of course, this concept is not unique to Nintendo, but certainly, Nintendo stands alone among titans of industry in the realm of surprise and awe (this, as opposed to awe all by itself).

Gaming’s biggest successes serve to obscure the importance of hardware development. Directional input did not just magically emerge, the Mattel Intellivision helped to frame the concept with its circular dial, likely inspired in part by Pong machines before it. The ideal number of inputs on any given controller needed experimentation before a happy medium was declared, as the front of any Atari Jaguar controller will remind you. The concept of force-feedback was at one time considered a playful add-on to the Nintendo 64 for a single game, but now is a built-in industry-standard on virtually every controller. And the real-estate in the middle of most controllers might have remained largely barren, if not for the Sega Dreamcast’s bold move of adding an LCD screen for added interaction, a ballpark concept highly influential to PlayStation 4’s modern-day touchpad. Heck, the damn Nintendo Wii U controller became a whole new system in and of itself, it being the obvious spiritual predecessor to the Nintendo Switch.
What is the most logical way to play games is only logical by the standards of the stuff we currently are making. And more importantly to the end game, how we play directly influences what we play.
The Design Philosophy Determines the Whole
This upcoming generation of technology is unwittingly setting the stage to eliminate most previous yardsticks for innovation, sacrificing hardware development for ultimate convenience, saturating what games themselves can actually become.
This is a shame when glancing into the rearview mirror. The immersive platforming of Astro Bot Rescue Mission would simply not be possible without the PlayStation VR headset. Where would 3D gaming be if not for the Nintendo 64 and the PlayStation 2 DualShock controllers? In one interview, famed Nintendo game designer Shigeru Miyamoto once playfully reminded a journalist that the touchpad on Nintendo’s handheld Nintendo DS system actually predated those of the iPhone and iPad, reminding us that innovation is cross-industry, too.
Nintendo has, for its part, dabbled in the same digital-only trends as Microsoft and Sony and Amazon and Google, to very minor degrees. As has been the case for other companies for decades, Nintendo finally offers a subscription for online functionality where it provides access to retro titles – though, of course, only through Nintendo hardware. Notably, its current selection of games is reduced to the bare minimum of the company’s own touchstone classics. This is akin to a streaming service offering Casablanca, Gone With the Wind, and literally nothing else... not quite "Mario-on-demand".
This is by design. It is Nintendo’s prime directive to think up and create exercise games, toys-to-life figures, to install tilt controls inside Game Boy cartridges, and, not to mention, to resell their old games back to you over and over again – not stream them indefinitely on every device. These ambitions necessarily depend on non-uniform approaches to research and development. Even when experimenting with putting its games on mobile devices, Nintendo can’t help itself; all its mobile games were original titles designed from the ground up for mobile, too.

The industry needs far more of this kind of experimentation, but all signs point to less playfulness than ever before. Do not fool yourself into thinking Nintendo or anyone else invests in "different" just for difference’s sake. Trial and error is a necessary component to creativity, and the resultant home runs and swings and misses make up some of the most enjoyable highlights in the industry’s admittedly short history, whether it be by completely flipping the script, as was the case with the Game Boy and the memorable Nintendo Wii remote, or with smaller but appreciable iterations, like the Nintendo Switch’s detachable controllers. It is a little bit unnerving that all these examples come from exactly one company.
As the saying goes, what we want and what we learn to love are not always the same things.
Cloud and subscription-based gaming, at the very least, may be a great monetary value, but they will slow down the innovation of play to a snail’s pace because Game Pass, Luna, and others are only accessible through the carbon-copy controllers of the present day. And this too is by design. The more stuff you put your games on, the bigger the market share. The bigger the market share, the more cash there is to be had. The more cash there is to be had, the more competition. And the more competition, the better the value for you, the player. That’s the logic of the free market, anyway.
But be warned. The real cost of an every-platform, app-based gaming revolution will be a game-breaker, as promised, just in a different sort of way than intended. And when that bill comes due, we’ll probably be too stuffed full with mass-produced food from the buffet line to even notice.
Comments 191
Yeah, nope. If anything, services like Game Pass and xCloud encourage indie games to stand out in some way, rather than being a pixel platformer with roguelike Souls combat & Knuckles featuring Dante from the Devil May Cry series. One way to make your game stand out is by having some sort of novel approach to gameplay, incredible art or soundtrack.
@nessisonett Agreed.
I'm not convinced yet that cloud gaming really is the future. Stadia is a flop and if Google can't do it, why should I assume Amazon can do any better?
But even if I am wrong, if cloud gaming really is the future, then the future for me is to stay in the past. I've no interest in this type of service. And it that means watching the industry move on without me, then I guess it does.
Imho it’s the worst time to be a gamer. VC, MT, Season passes, grindy mechanics, lack of solo player fleshed out modes and no true launch titles for the “next gen” - if it wasn’t for the switch it really would all be a terrible turn off. The switch has kept me interested in gaming. Even if I’m mainly playing “old” games.
The “games as a service” model too. Card modes like FUT and MUT... it’s all designed to have unlimited earning potential for any game.
Charge me £45 for a game and 1 season pass please.
As for “cloud gaming” often when I’m using the switch cloud gaming wouldn’t be my first choice or even possible.
It’s all “progress“ for the sake of making people sign up for a monthly fee and lock them in.
I like buying the games I like and then playing them.
Until someone can beat Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft at creating content, I don’t think any cloud-based startups will make a difference beyond the ultra-casual.
I do think disc and cartridge hardware will wave its last gasp this generation, though, and am perfectly fine with that.
I'm so happy to have grown up in the best of times, the 80s and 90s. And that video games of the last few years only interest me in rare exceptional cases. Games today are mostly too big for me, offer too much freedom, are too long and too complicated.
Updates, DLCs, forced accounts, dependency through streaming in the future. All of this is no longer my world.
My biggest disappintment with cloud gaming right now is the fact that none of the companies involved have done anything innovative with their cloud computing technology beyond "Hey, you can now play (mostly old and multi-platform) games on your phone or laptop (if your internet connection is amazing)."
When Google originally announced Stadia, they talked about how cloud gaming could enhance the overall game experience beyond traditional hardware computing. Examples given were a 1,000 person battle-royale shooter or a fully-destructible open-world action game, both of which would have been really cool if a bit overwhelming.
So far, absolutely none of that has happened.
@Stocksy Despite all that, VR has been one of thee most exciting, paradigm-shifting and genuinely magical things to happen in gaming since the likes of the N64 era, and it's just getting better and better--so there is that.
Cloud gaming might take a while longer as Google have had virtually no traction so why should Amazon, not to mention all they can offer is games everyone else has anyway and far too many won't have the Internet to actually play them. The PS5 looks to have plenty of innovation woth its controller and other features plus the potential of future VR peripherals. Whilst Microsoft have also got a fast SSD to potentially change game design plus Gamepass giving easy access to the indie scene, so its not something unique to Nintendo. People will always look for new and unique experiences so I don't think we have to worry just yet
Having read [some of that], I'd respond by saying that [proper] VR has been one of thee most exciting, paradigm-shifting and genuinely magical things to happen in gaming since the likes of the N64 era, so there's clearly still room for some very innovative and truly amazing experiences in gaming to occur, and Nintendo has done very little of true worth in that space other than Labo VR as of yet. Just saying.
But I do agree about many of the worries and downsides of this whole cloud/streaming gaming future that many of the big players seem to want to force us towards.
PS. And the fully standalone [plus optional PC-connected too] Oculus Quest 2 VR headset with 6DoF motion controllers doesn't really cost any/much more than a Switch at this point, £300 UK for the 64GB model, so VR is no longer any more "still-too-high [a] cost" than Nintendo's own platforms either.
PPS. I just pre-ordered myself an Oculus Quest 2 and, to be frank, I'm much for excited for that than anything Nintendo has done in generations.
This article has nice opinions. However I disagree with many of them. Also the article title is pure click bait
Innovation is occurring. By all big 3.
Sony and MS are pushing what is possible tech wise from a TV box style console.
Nintendo is pushing mobile hardware as well. To it's limits within it's price and thermal budgets.
Also
MS and Sony are pushing VR.
Whereas Nintendo is pushing different ways to experience your games. Not just sitting your ass on the couch.
Also if you think controller innovation is dead, you would be wrong.
Gyro aiming is a new thing and it has revolutionised many games and made them much more playable.
Also add in motion controls. The Wii had them but the Joycon have improved them so much.
The other new innovation is cloud game streaming.
This article is thinking based on what we have today and seeing what we have today as the logical endpoint. That's a very narrow minded way of thinking. We can't predict the future. New and amazing ways to play and experience games will be invented in the future. Ways we can't even imagine now.
Saying innovation within the gaming industry dead is factually wrong.
"The industry needs far more of this kind of experimentation, but all signs point to less playfulness than ever before."
This quote from the article is false. The Nintendo Switch existing proves this wrong.
This is the kind of opinion article we read, then laugh at for being so out of touch with reality and then dismiss it and never read it again.
The infrastructure just isn’t there for these to be widely popular. Physical is always going to be around no if’s ands or buts about it. “Owning” something as opposed to just “Renting” is just more ideal in the long run. (Easier to share not to mention you could always resell it if the mood hits you) Digital only also eats up a lot of cash to spend on memory expansion not to mention the media itself, one price for a “truly physical” game (ie all patches on cart as opposed to having precious space taken away because a publisher is too lazy to put out a competent build from day one).
Also we need to remember we don't own any game we buy. We just own a license to play them. Think of it like this:
"We own the atoms but we don't own the bits"
I'm not a big fan of gaming subscriptions services like GamePass and Luna, because I like owning my games. I don't mind with NSO since it is cheap and the games included I don't really care if I lose.
Sorry, I don't think streaming is the way to go. You don't own the games, and when the servers go down, you have something that you cannot even play, spent a lot of time in and now lost. Even movies and songs you never really own, they have codes inside them, that they can stop play anytime. Not what I'd want to do. If I can get the game physically and own it, I'll do it that way, but I don't see discs going away anytime soon...if records came back, I'm sure discs will too. The new generation is into anything 80's (my generation) so I'm sure the 90's era will be coming back around here too, and vice versa. It never ends, and as long as the market is there for it (especially if a company is making money), then it won't go away. We could see more streaming services and gaming services down the road, but all in all, everything comes back around.
Honestly I never thought I would grow to become disinterested in where gaming has gone but here I am in 2020 and totally disinterested in next gen gaming. A big part of that is how they just don't seem to be making much in the way of games that really capture my interests anymore. All the latest trends seem to revolve around "live services" aka online gaming micro-transactions for online multiplayer focused gaming. Genres that I used to love have for the most part disappeared, series that I used to enjoy have been ruined by a focus on online multiplayer for the latest entries making me totally disinterested in where they have gone. Honestly I am feeling increasingly lost and alienated in today's corporate consumer focused gaming environment, and they no longer seem to care about anyone besides the people who are willing to continually pay into online competition.
To make matters worse the latest consoles just aren't that impressive anymore. The jump from an Xbox One X to a PS5 isn't exactly breathtaking, they need to hype up tech specs and storage speed to make it seem much better and when I can no longer see much in the way of improvement I have gotta be honest about how underwhelmed I am. At this point the Switch is pretty much the only console that I really like, luckily the Xbox One X seems like is going to age well for a while but I am at the point where I am no longer trying to keep up with the latest games and tech. I also have a gaming PC which is pretty much where I am going to be getting whatever high requirement games actually interest me but I am at the point where most of the games I play on that are older games.
Really, right now I am just happy that I got a great collection of classics for older consoles, because I feel like I am going to be a lot happier simply playing through my backlogs and enjoying games of the past that I actually find interesting. Combined with how gaming has become a more expensive hobby thanks to DLC and micro-transactions as well as online services it's like I am just over the latest stuff. All the hyped up games seem to be the same type of games that I didn't find interesting when it comes to consoles like the PS4 and I don't see that trend improving with the PS5.
Netflix began as a champion of a new era of superior convenience and experience to media consumption.
Except now that the licensing wars are in their middle to late stage, look at what has become of the average streaming platform. After every company has bought up the rights to the best shows, only 1-3 killer content exists on each platform, and the rest of each platform is padded out with mediocre shovelware.
I see the writing on the wall with a new era of cloud gaming. Microsoft's purchase of Zenimax is only the beginning, and eventually cloud gaming platforms will become just as mediocre as TV platforms, with a slow transition to mediocre shovelware to maintain a constant drip of new content to the ever shrinking attention spans of convenience-obsessed, mindless consumers.
In the US we used to be able to watch all the best 90's sitcoms on one Netflix platform, but now you have to pay up for 5 different subscriptions to get all your favorite comedies.
In the same way, we are used to the idea that we can access most of our favorite third-party content on one, maybe two mainstream console platforms, but with the era of mega-corp buyouts like what Microsoft did to Elder Scrolls and Fallout, eventually you will have to pay up for 3-5 separate cloud subscriptions just to play all of your favorite third-party game franchises.
Make no mistake. Games like Genshin Impact are only the beginning, normalizing the worst of mobile gaming into AAA gaming, paving the way for cloud gaming to consist of 80% Genshin Impacts and 20, maybe 30% of the games on each platform comparable to quality in content to games of old, like Skyrim.
The core argument in this article isn't ONLY cloud gaming as a threat to innovation. No.
The friction is when cloud gaming, or Game Pass, or any service past or present allows you to play hundreds of games on any device....in that case, you need the most common denominator interface to make it all work. You need a generic pro controller device that will run 500 different games on 500 different interfaces.
THAT^ means hardware necessarily needs sterilizing to work under so many conditions. It means you cant make hardware that does anything other than play every game that already exists, or could exist. It means iteration of hardware ceases in favor of iterating latency. That is the danger this generation faces.
This article is written as though it is based on fact. So much is disputable and some of it is plain wrong. I started typing out a more full response until I realised I was writing my own article, so plentiful are the errors
Gaming is the best it has ever been and I see lots of innovation, I'm not sure what others are talking about.
Until you have to subscribe to sixteen different services to be able to play everything you want because everyone and their mother has exclusive games.
Actually, a one time purchase to keep the game forever without additional costs is still the best options for me as a gamer, but then again, maybe that's because I don't "consume" games.
I'm looking forward to the day when video game streaming subscriptions are the norm, and physical games are obsolete. We are in Late stage capitalism. physical media is garbage that adds to the destruction of the planet.
Also there's more innovations out there than ever before, it just doesn't hit with the same impact because we don't have one singular pipeline of entertainment anymore.
@GameOtaku I think Steam has proven over the past decade that digital storefronts can become mainstream. PC gamers for years have moved on from physical media and embraced a catalogue of digital games from multiple generations on your account you can access through a constantly improving hardware setup. That and PC gaming is a very innovative space for gaming and gameplay setups! It embraces multiple controller setups from monton controllers, gamepads, arcade sticks, mouse and keyboard and even people who play entire games like Dark Souls through a rockband guitar. It is a very cool space!
As for Gamepass it's kinda like Blockbuster. Not sure about buying a game, try it on Gamepass and see if it is to your liking to buy at full-price. Though it is remained to be seen if Gamepass is a sustainable model.
@Pandaman this is a quick one to counter.
You don’t need a generic controller. Case in point - the MS adaptive controller. Another example is mouse and keyboard. Both the standard configurations of what may be regarded the current standard controller also work (off-angle sticks or side by side sticks - aka. Xbox or PS configurations). Arcade sticks also work.
You don’t need a single controller for all games. A single controller might be passable on all games, but it isn’t necessary and it won’t stop hardware innovation. The MS adaptive controller is proof of this. Just because you download a game from a selection doesn't mean innovation itself ceases to exist.
The convo of whether or not streaming would even work reminds me of when online gaming started popping up. So many people were so sure that it was impossible
We'll always have innovation as long as we have Nintendo
@Crockin I agree. I think digital gaming and game streaming is the future. Us in North America and Europe is just not in the same position infrastructure-wise as East-Asia (namely South Korea, Taiwan and Japan) to take full advantage of it. The Switch in Japan is already playing games past its hardware limits like Assassins Creed Odyssey and Resident Evil VII.
I like the idea of Gamepass and Streaming we just are not there yet to take full advantage of it. That and Steam has shown gamers can embrace digital game ownership. Do I enjoy collecting physical games? Sure I love stuff like Limited Run and getting my big name Nintendo games physically. But, digital gaming is the future and in the long run is better for our planet as there will be less plastics and manufacturing of mass products.
@Ajent - I would argue that keyboard and mouse interface works well in spite of itself, not because of itself.
But more importantly, the adaptive controller, the keyboard and mouse, the arcade stick......those are all things that have already been invented during their respective eras. What is next? We might not have much of a "next" if on-demand on any device takes hold. Thanks for reading.
Conditioning kids of today to have even less standards
The year is 2076.
Half of the western former United States is uninhabitable because of wildfires and typhoons... both because of climate change.
The European Federation (and it's reliable allies Great Britain and Australia) are seen as the global leaders of freedom and democracy.
Their chancellor Greta Thunberg has announced a new, lucrative trade deal with the Andromeda Empire on the tenth anniversary of first contact.
China prepares to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the 2021 People's Democratic Rebellion by focusing on tourism and boosting the economy... long seen as a weak spot by its electoral base.
Africa and Latin America begin uniting into supranational blocs based around their common interests... just as Europe did all those years ago.
Microsoft is under fire with Canada's anti-trust authorities for buying up and then subsequently ruining half of Japan's gaming industry. This drove Sony out of the market altogether... and Xbox wound up buying them out, too.
They, Amazon, and Google choke the art form of gaming by locking content behind reliable Internet access and forcing ALL users to agree to their policies in order to use their services.
The new "big three" destroy users' privacy and are supposedly collecting data for the revived Russian Tsardom. They cram as many ads down your VR headset as they could possibly get away with. Each one only allows a set list of websites and web-based content to be accessed, fueling political polarization worldwide. Mods (outside Steam, now a small fry), ownership of your titles, true single-player stories... that's all gone now.
And yet, one small Japanese company releases a phone-sized console that does all of this for one set price... the same way they've been doing it since 1983.
That Japanese company is Nintendo.
Guess who keeps selling out their stock each week in the drastically different world of 2076.
@Yorumi ya that is one thing I do like about pc, you dont need to have a gaming pc to enjoy games, even sbc like raspberry pi are popular with things like retropie, recently u can play half life on a pi4 now which is amazing
@Pandaman The keyboard and mouse is by far one of the worst tools you'd expect to be good for gaming. The keyboard was designed a century before the computer was even invented. But, its functions for gaming despite itself and became a standard. However, that is why it is not an intuitive design and takes some time to adjust too. But, that is why third parties design more ergonomic keyboards and mouses to make it function better for that purpose.
I think there are still massive amounts of room to innovate control. Some day we will get to the Star Trek holodeck. When that day comes I think we will probably enter a new age of game addiction lol.
@Wexter Yeah honestly when it comes to next gen I think something like Game Pass is the only thing I would bother with. I like that because it still lets you download your games as opposed to streaming them. Streaming seems like it's the type of thing where it can only work for people in ideal conditions. Like anyone who doesn't have an ideal connection, who isn't close to where the streaming services operate out of, or who has a data cap might as well just forget about it, and considering how that's a location and ISP issue I don't see that going away any time soon.
When it comes to physical games the Switch is the only console I have bought physical games for this gen as it's the only console that physical games still make sense for. When I get a physical game I can play the game off the game card and it saves me space. In comparison discs for modern consoles merely feel like DRM, you still gotta install the games and it doesn't really save you anything in the way of space.
Don't see Google or Amazon succeeding as they will likely fall to the might of the establish big 3 and pc gaming like all the ones who came before
@Pandaman yeah, sure, previously invented... but you stated that cloud gaming, or to be exact subscription based gaming, will hinder innovation because it is tied to a single generic controller because all the games on the service need to work with a single controller.
They don’t.
So why should there be a fear that innovation will cease to occur when in actuality the act of playing a game on a cloud PC or downloading it and playing it locally is absolutely no different in practice to the way we have always played games?
The article refers to Nintendo’s innovation as a shining example (and I get it, this is a Nintendo website and I love my Nintendo games as well) and yet they’re so incredibly far behind when it comes to accessibility options and online infrastructure. Two areas that could be argued are more important than a Wiimote, balance board or Ring Fit controller as they actually enable games to be played or played together in circumstances where a person may not ordinarily be able to. Where’s the innovation there?
I just think there are real life example counter points to pretty much most of the points in the article.
I love how all this new technology assumes all users have rock steady ultra fast broadband. I still occasionally buffer when streaming HD content. Not to mention the times it stops working completely. Anything from a few seconds which happens every day, to days which happens once or twice a year. Cloud gaming? Not for me. Would be too frustrating.
Cloud gaming is a flopp.
1. Internet ISP Throttle and or Flaky internet...
2. Requires you to purchase ISP subscription to get access
3. Pay subscription to streaming service to get access
3. Have equipment stable enough to keep a 4K@60fps-which most don't have.
4. Not everyone can afford internet to first.
5. IF these can be fixed sure I am all in but biggest Factor
6. $$$$$$$$$$$
So you can see why all this talk about cloud gaming is DOA because of that.
Biggest reason why having Physical games give the player the biggest option
1. Game anywhere
2. Giveaway
3. Resale
4. Boast....hmmm
5. No one controls your content or what you do with it. aka...forbidding censor updates...
@JayJ I agree. Game Pass at first I was unsure of because it seemed very limited when it first came out. But, as more games got released on it and the catalogue grew it's made me think that the only Next-Gen console I will be buying is an Xbox Series S. A small little system that I can download a game from Game Pass on and enjoy it for a modest price point. I can try a ton of games on it and decide if I want to buy them for my PC. Plus it will be a nice multi-media box for 4K Streaming I can watch with the girlfriend. If anything the PS5 is in an awkward position that I'm not sure if I want to spend $600 for just for Sony's exclusives I would need to buy at full price without the same value as what Game Pass offers.
That and I already have a gaming PC which I will use of course for games I want to mod or play games at ultra-high settings. And my Switch will always be my on the go gaming system where I can play Doom while on my lunch breaks. I think as gamers we have never lived in an era where you can tailor your gaming so much to your specific taste!
The same Stadia away. This world of games belong of Sony , Nintendo and Microsoft Xbox. The others participants are....nothing or almost nothing....weak
@Roger_Brazil put to that Game Library and Supports. Developers can't keep supporting failing stradia or amazon and expect to keep funding their developments.
@Alpha-2002 what form of narcotics were you on when typing this?
You forgot to mention the VR adds that are forced upon you serve as a brain washing indoctrination.
I could see something like Neuralink being the future of controllers. Especially if the hardware can be made less intrusive.
I also expect machine learning to change the kind of games we can make and how we can make them.
@graysoncharles I would argue gaming has never been cheaper to enter at and tailor it for your specific tastes and income. The Xbox Series S and Switch are sitting at the $300 price point for a solid entry-level for what you are looking for and your lifestyle. The PS5 and Xbox Series X both sit at a smooth $600 if you want a more powerful gaming experience with a deluxe multimedia experience with 4K Blu-rays and strong visuals for gaming at the home. Gaming PCs are hitting that sweet spot of affordability due to AMD and Nvidia developing powerful hardware at good price points. You can build a pretty powerful gaming PC for a bit more than a new console and get almost a full three generations of games for so cheap. That and with the advent of Game Pass you can play brand new AAA games for a very cheap price point subscription and not kill the bank. And when done you can cancel your subscription and basically play a $60 game for $10 for the month.
Will the death of physical media be sad? Sure it will be, but digital gaming on PC has proven that it can work and develop a nice space to continue innovation! We just are not in the position yet for game streaming to be more stable unless you live in a heavily urban area.
@Y2JayRome
But he's right! We're doomed! Nintendoomed
@Papasophagus Are you referring to The Matrix that would be awesome. Direct connections....
Great article. I’m playing Wii Mario galaxy 2 at the mo. Has been great to just plug in and play. No internet connection needed , no day one updates. Forgot how great the Nunchuk is! No L3 button which for me is the worst button on controllers ever! What a game! Fun for a 5 minute blast fun for a few hours and is a beautiful masterpiece. Next stop Other M. I’m happy that I got a ton of games I love. E shop sales can be a weakness tho x long live gaming FUN xxxx
@Ajent - I will finally just say that I don't equate innovation with commercial success, or commercial success with innovation. Innovation has many different values. The idea here is that if we freeze in carbonite the concept of controller input in favor of accessibility because we think we've got it figured out, artistry will inherently stagnate.
New things like exercise rings and motion controls or whatever are not necessarily 1:1 inspirations for new ideas or "ideal" controlls either - bits and pieces are pulled from the entire tapestry of this field (and others!) to make new stuff.
Yet if new stuff isn't being floated or attempted because a) we don't have any hardware anymore or b) the hardware we do have needs to work on every platform inside a house, well, this particular snapshot in time will be a very long one. All the controllers and concepts and video games we have over 40 years are a result of hardware iteration.
Also, for what it's worth, ring fit and the other examples you gave were extremely commercially successful on an individual basis.
@nessisonett i have game pass and buy just as many games. bought a lot indie smaller titles physical on the switch i played on game pass.
When streaming is the way, I have a pretty good idea of which company will be very late to the party
@Anguspuss Yeah, I have too. It’s a good way of judging what you’d really want to put down cash for in order to support the devs.
@SwitchForce you can say all those same things about any physical media but here we are
@Pandaman For my two-cents, I think the joy-con controller is where gaming should go for future iteration. There is room to improve on durability, but it functions as a traditional gamepad, yet when detached, it serves a bevy of control setups. Maybe make them a bit fatter and figure out more ergonomic design, and we have a winner.
They can function like a Wii mote for motion controls, lightguns for rail shooters, and pointers for RTS games and snap together to serve as a traditional gamepad for most AAA games. That and they can snap onto the console for mobile gaming. There is always room for other control schemes like arcade sticks, mouse and keyboard, and wheel and peddles, but those are more of a tailored experience for specific genres. I have not seen such a versatile controller that serves so many functions as the joy-con. And unlike the Wii Mote, you don't need secondary peripherals to make it work like a traditional controller or function in traditional gamespaces. Indeed Nintendo developed something special that is the fruit of their 40 years of innovation but still has room to innovate on them.
It is an inspiring time to be into gaming and where control will go from here. Yet we would not get this far if people stuck to tradition rather than innovation and iteration. We'd still think the SNES controller is the perfect controller if Nintendo never said, what if we gave you an analogue stick?
@Crockin I feel with Nintendo's embrace of streaming in Japan that they won't be left in the cold. That and with them being so comfy with Microsoft they may just go the route of licencing xCloud.
@Crockin really where?? Where do you have to subscript to have internet access to play your game? Or Pay two parties subscription to have internet access? Or get Internet Throttle because you used up your bandwidth allotment?
We are at a point where the game controller is kind of set in stone as far as innovation and design go. The Wii remote was an enjoyable variation but even Nintendo have gone back to good old buttons and sticks.
Kids learn to play using a standard controller so as they have gotten older the need for anything like the Wii remote has fallen by the way side. Touchscreens are arguably the new democratiser of video game control inputs.
Innovation in gaming now goes to making it more convenient: lightning fast load times, server-based clients and a home console you can take with you have all served to make gaming more ubiquitous.
@RadioHedgeFund I'd argue the Joy-con is the evolution of the Wii-mote. It works for the same purposes such as fine input for shooters, virtual sword fighting, waggle, fitness games, motion controls for racing games, etc. Yet slimmed down into a fine form package that can also function in the traditional space. Yet! Also, provide the freedom and accessibility of gaming on the go with the Switch. A truly innovative controller, yet Nintendo needs to refine it more to be a bit more durable.
I feel Microsoft may want to look at making their own joy-cons when xCloud becomes popular to serve a similar purpose.
The need to have a game run on lowest common denominator may be one of the biggest obstacles preventing streaming services from supplanting local game hardware.
Since specialized architecture will likely become a bigger driver of increasing game performance in the future over the general hardware improvements seen across the electronics industry in the past. Which means dedicated hardware will be a must for some games.
@RadioHedgeFund
Lightning fast loading times goes beyond just convenience. The ability to have games like Breath of the Wild are dependent on having short loading times to render the large seamless world. It's the big reason why they couldn't speed up sailing in the release of Wind Waker on the Gamecube, and why Twilight Princess couldn't have an open world. Or Skyward Sword for that matter.
@SwitchForce my point is streaming tv and music is the norm, why can't that be true for video games eventually? The tech will absolutely catch up. Anyone who can afford a gaming console can definitely afford internet.
@SwitchForce sorry but this is my point of view and this idea was already born dead. People want to play on their video games and not on controls adapted for use in the clouds.
@Wexter
Pc gaming is a different beast than console gaming. For legacy content pc is by far the best way to go. Sony had it with crossbuy and crossplay, Microsoft with game pass but Nintendo won’t even let us transfer VC to switch! Our infrastructure is not designed that well for streaming especially in rural areas like the one I live in. I hear streaming, required download and patches and then I get mad.
Personally I'm all in on cloud gaming. I'm loving the flexibility Stadia is offering me and giving me access to a lot of the next big AAA games. None of the new consoles are offering anything overly interesting in. And as far as I'm aware xCloud is currently only available on Android devices. As soon as that changes and i can stream GamePass to any screen including the TV like Stadia, id be tempted to subscribe there.
Gaming innovation lies with V.R, that's it.
@Heavyarms55 I look at cloud gaming, in particular, xcloud, as a side dish, to the consoles being the main course. Could you eat nothing but sides and be full? Yeah, satisfied, maybe not.
Now, to have cloud gaming be your sole way of playing games, I dont see dedicated console/pc gamers settling for this. "Luna, instead of ps5/serX/gaming rig!?? Hells yeah!"
@Pandaman yeah, I agree that if current controller concepts weren’t iterated on then that could cause some level of stagnation. But I still don’t understand what reason we have or examples of that becoming the case just because accessibility (both in terms of where we play and how we play) is also something of importance.
I just don’t see the bigger picture is one of doom and gloom. There’s no precedent at on which to build that theory.
Anyway, nice article, if only for the thoughtful debate ;oP
I do feel I might be a bit cranky as well (rough day at work) so I apologise if any of my comments came across as harsh.
Innovation shouldn’t come through new controls and gimmicks. It should come through new gameplay mechanics and whole new genres.
It’s like saying innovation in the movie industry is somehow tied to TV remotes.
The facts are that people who cloud game are more likely to wear three quarter length trousers, with loafers and no socks.
@Alpha-2002 Chancellor Greta for life 2080
@YANDMAN What does this mean
OnLive flopped, Stadia isn't doing well, Amazon's app based services suck hard so I can't see their cloud gaming doing any better in the long run.
@Yorumi i give it 10 years
@GameOtaku Nintendo went that route with the Wii U and it did not really increase sales of that console. I see Switch Online as the evolution of Virtual Conole, where it works like Netflix and you select the game you want to play and BOOM! You're playing the game. Nintendo is probably planning to expand it to N64 based on Mario 3D All-Stars' new emulator, which seems to be a new emulator removed from the Wii U VC. But, that is a wait and see.
Sony however, is in a bit of a bad spot as the PS5 will support PS4 games... but not PS3, PS2 or PSOne. And you will need PlayStation Now and rely on streaming which even in ideal situations lags behind Stadia. This leads me to my second point as streaming is just not there yet for North America and Europe as our internet infrastructure is not set up to take advantage of game streaming. Japan, Taiwan and South Korea can because they are smaller global footprints and have massively urbanized spaces. Even rural areas of Japan have rocking internet because it is far easier to set it up than in North America (from an infostructure perspective). However, maybe by 2030 we may be in a position where game streaming might not be as... ummm unstable as it is now for more rural areas.
Another valid and very important concern to add to the giant pile of other problems and disadvantages these straming systems have. I really truly hope they all crash and burn as hard as Google Stadia.
That was a well written piece!
Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Sony, Apple etc are going to create a redundant form of gaming. I don't know if that will create or lessen the number of players, but I'm definitely not going to involved if this is the future of gaming. These companies also need to be highly regulated and taxed hard. These guys are not about innovation, but more how can I take an existing business model and repackage it. They resemble monopolies, and that is dangerous in terms of creating new products or services. And it's become highly prevalent the last 20 years. I'm not sure if business laws have become lax to allow for this but that's well above my head.
The best comparison I can think of is the streaming war right now. Netflix, Hulu, HBO Max, Amazon, Disney+ are all trying to compete for the same space, and for a few of them are trying to double up their cable customers. How is this even being allowed? This is one of the few times i wholeheartedly would like to see some strict regulation. Take Disney for example. They own Hulu, ESPN, ABC Network and the likes. Their programming is cookie cutter, mass produced stuff. The sports presentation is horrid. Why try, when you own the rights for respective sports for years. The original programming leaves quite a bit to be desired ( maybe not for folks that will watch anything and justify its greatness). The goal is to bring you into their ecosystem and give you an occasional good meal, but mostly feed you with the same corn until you think you can't live without them. Really sad to see, but the average customer easily gives into this.
I'm not exactly a fan of Amazon and Google entering gaming considering the chilling and commoditizing effect they have on every industry they touch.
However, I'm tired of the "cloud gaming is going to take our games away!" mentality that we need "innovation."
Look at Switch. Look at NES. Look at Wii & WiiU. Wii was "innovative" in an obnoxious way. It caught brief attention and then fizzled away. WiiU tried to recapture that "innovation" with a new "innovation" - but was an innovation few wanted. Both can be considrered failures. Wii was a commercial success but that didn't translate into continued success, or convert non-gamers into new-gamers, which was it's actual original mission statement. It just became a fad and faded.
Now look at Switch. Nintendo's most successful console since Wii. It is not fundamentally different from 3DS, and DS before it, and GameBoy before it. And none of them are fundamentally different from the NES. The controls are similar, just expanded. The functionality is similar just more powerful. It's a logical progression of value-added convenience and functionality from the very 1980's original Nintendo products. And it is one of Nintendo's most successful products by simply being a solid continuation with practical additions and conveniences and not trying to invent a new wheel by making it octagonal.
We do need innovation, but we also need to realize the gaming industry was new and unproven, everything goes back at one time. It's very mature. So many ideas have been tried. So many ideas have failed to capture interest or practical use. We've learned what works and what doesn't, what people like and dislike. Innovation may happen, but trying to force innovation when there's not demand for it doesn't translate to success.
If streaming drives costs down or enhances the scope of a game, that's a success. If that means sticking with the evolution of the same controller we were using in 1987 because that design and it's continued minor enhancements is the one that seemingly works the best, that's not a failure.
PC gaming hasn't changed it's inputs or gameplay mechanisms in 30 years. But that hasn't prevented original and exciting games from being produced using the same keyboard and mouse. The largest innovation was adding joystics like the VCS only evolved, and gamepads much like the generic controller to it.
VR is the other innovation route, but that will develop separately as another experience entirely. The world has waited 20 years for that to eventually evolve.
Hardware will continue evolving. Whether that hardware is transmitting an image to our screen from a local processor via HDMI cable into a display device, or rendered in a rack somewhere in our hemisphere and transmitted to our screen via an Ethernet cable.....it's still hardware producing an image and displaying it on a screen. Fundamentally that doesn't really affect game, or peripheral design at all.
Now whether latency issues create whole new problems for streamed games, that's another matter. But I'd say Animal Crossing and The Last of Us 2 would have no problem running stremed with any effect at all on gameplay. Dark Souls or Splatoon on the other hand would be virtually impossible through the medium.
@Wexter
Switch online though isn’t even comparable to Netflix at this point. There’s so much content on it I can see Netflix being a cheaper alternative to satellite or cable (I have an antenna so I get free tv hahaha!) but switch online doesn’t have even a tenth of the total libraries available (if even that maybe 2%?). You see to me buying and owning individual games that I can play anytime with or without a subscription or internet connection is the way to go. My gaming collection is quite impressive at this point and I own it all and they can’t do anything about it. My biggest fear with digital only is they could simply send out a kill switch and delete content off of your console that you paid for and line the wii shop lose a lot of content (gone forever except for the dark corners of the web on rom sites).
StarWars Squadrons in VR on Friday is s childhood dream.
"progress" "innovation" call it whatever you want. If it becomes a WOW moment, I will remember for years to come. Gaming is where it needs to be. But an innovative way to provide an experience is not always tied to hardware.
@Peach64 I see leaps in gaming innovation every year that are comparable to what we saw when video games were new, particularly in the indie space. Any time you think "ugh why does it have to be this way" while playing a big AAA, there is an indie that it lightyears ahead in terms of gameplay.I've played a good handful of rogue-likes/lites, and Hades is the best, and it's not even close. These leaps of fixing bad game design are happening all over the place, its great.
Cloud gaming for me doesn't have any huge appeal since there are no games you can't play on actual hardware. It's all well and good offering those games but if you have no games that are exclusive to that service that are able to make people see it as a good investment no one will see at anything more than a novelty. OnLive failed because of that despite actually having innovative features for the time as far as the social aspect was concerned. It offered nothing as far as exclusives but the original CEO also didn't help them. Google Stadia has came across the same issue and people are less likely to outright buy a cloud game because once OnLive went down so did all those games people had paid for. The problem I think dev teams will have with subscriptions if their games go on them right away as well as having the game available at full price physically and digitally is it could devalue a lot of newer games and make them sell less. For smaller devs unless the value offered to be on these subscription services is greater than what it cost to make the games it could mean they lose money since people will only play they game as part of the service.
@GameOtaku Switch Online will get there. Even Netflix at one point was seen as a cute little alternative to renting videos because of their meagre catalogue. But, the thing is by law a company cannot send a kill switch to a game you own and play. Even PT can still be played on your PS4 if it is downloaded despite Konami's bests efforts to scrub the game. They can end a service, like online play, but we've seen enthusiasts start dedicated servers and services to re-enable those features. It is more a evil boogieman like fantasy that Nintendo, Microsoft or Sony can simply remove your digital purchases form your system. And even if they could cut you off from playing them fans have and will find workarounds.
Online storefronts can close down, but the content you have downloaded cannot be removed. That is a valid concern for streaming, but as Steam and GOG have shown is even if a game is removed from sale you can still re-download it. That and physical media does have a shelf life as well so your collection will become dust at some point too. PSOne collectors have been dealing with and concerned with disc rot for half a decade now. It's starting to become a problem in the PS2, Xbox and Gamecube scene as well. That and cartridge games that use battery backups for saves have also faced challenges from leaking batteries or capacitors. That and rust wearing down the metal components have been issues as well in the cartridge scene. That and with the natural wear and tear of using a console those are more likely to fail then your games. Certain Turbografx 16 consoles are just dead due to bad capacitors and require immediate replacement when you buy the console as they are on a ticking clock to still work.
@Zenszulu I think give it time and you'll see Stadia and Luna starting to put out their own exclusives. Google have studios working on games as we speak that will only appear on Stadia and I'm assuming Amazon are doing the same.
The move to the subscriber model in almost everything worries me. When you own physical media, or if you own the digital file, you have it. When you rely on a subscription service, if they decide for some reason that they don't want to pay for the rights or if they decide to branch off and start their own service, you lose access to that piece of media. It's how Taylor Swift got her music off of Spotify. It's how The Office left Netflix for NBC's own Peacock. The recurring revenue of a subscription model makes business sense, but in the end, you have zero rights or ownership to anything. Is that really pro consumer? You can buy a DVD player for like $30 now and DVDs for $10 or less at Best Buy and build up a nice movie/TV show collection pretty cheap.
Switch online vs Netflix are comparing Apples to Oranges.
1. One streams games - one streams movies.
2. One you can game online - one you just select/play
3. Plans vary from each but one is gaming one is movie watching
4. Also you can get banned from either as well.
5. Gaming Latency or Lags (better known in Gaming Online) is a game killer.
Not sure why people compare these two different industry other then they are Online assets. But subscribers have no real say there other then Switch Online has ind/family plans and Netflix plans varies from cheap to expensive what you choose to have - also pay per view as well(I think they have this feature). But again one is Movie watching and one is Online Gaming but only thing in common is Online Subscription plans.
If people are still talking Physical vs Digital here a video I find very informative to watch and learn from this industry turkey farming.
Digital Distribution Vs Physical Media and True Ownership
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdsWQGAlopk
@SwitchForce People use the Netflix example because it's an easy way to explain a concept. Game Pass is a better comparison, but Netflix is just easier for people to get the point.
@Wexter True..but we also have to inform one is Gaming and one is Movie watching. Sometimes others can't tell one from the others.
@Yorumi With cloud gaming it's gone. There's no way to get access to the executable.
That's what I hate the most of the older games that I could find from Shareware sites that were the beginning of Game hosting sites some of which are gone or lost to Time itself.
@Yorumi It is less the cartridge and more the sensitive components in the cart that is the problem. Such as if a capacitor goes due to the acid inside the poor cart is dead. Most capacitors have a shelf life of 2 years and depending on how they go... it can ruin the game or console. Hence why maintenance is so SO Important. Which most collectors neglect...
It's exciting to think what Nintendo will come up with while everyone else is pretty much standardizing gaming. It's funny how folk perceive gimmicks as a bad thing. They obviously didn't enjoy arcades.
Honestly, speculating is fine, but if you want Nintendo to copy SONY and Microsoft instead of seeing opportunity to be different, Nintendo fans would probably prefer ya to shush
@Yorumi Yeah, I'm aware of and not optimistic about the technical problems of streamed gaming. I think that will have to play out, and you might not see full game parity with console/pc. Sony's walking simulators can be streamed fine. It doesn't matter how slow "press A to shrimp" takes. I wouldn't want to play Ace Combat that way though.
@Yorumi I've fond Sony consoles are really bad for motor failure same with Xbox 360. That is my concern with Cloud gaming too, but hopefully, by then games will just stay up forever due to the licencing of engines and assets will get better. But, that is a very valid concern I have as well. I just don't fear the digital boogieman as much as others as I'm well aware of the laws that protect you're right to redownload games that you purchased (as far as digital games you download). That and cracks tend to get past older DRM without issue.
@impurekind I too am more excited for Quest 2 than anything else.
@Wexter What kind of caps only last two years?
I have 20 year old boards in use with good caps.
@Wexter Amazon took books off people's tablets.
What you download isn't safe with digital purchases.
@StevenG Depends on which one was used. Modern cap has gotten better, but older caps (especially cheap aluminum ones used in the 80s) have been majorly neglected or kept in poor conditions. So that is why checking your caps every six months is recommended. That and due to dust build-up it can increase the heat in your console and potentially fry components as well.
Kindle is a different argument. But, as far as games they cannot go in and delete your game off your system as they are protected under different laws. If a game relied on DRM that is different as if the DRM expires then the game may no longer function. But, you can get a homebrew crack for those as if DRM is starting to expire odds are your well within your rights to hack your console to apply a crack.
@Yorumi you are very correct! I'm hoping we don't need to worry about that for another 15-30 years. But, I trust we will have something figured out by then.
I don’t agree, when you look at the software world subscription models definitely a win for developers and a lose for the consumer.
Besides DLC always had a negative side with many users regarding limited access. Now imagine your complete library is under the distributor control.
Regarding google the only success google had is with there search engine, storing and selling everybody’s information and habits.
@Wexter Please do explain how the laws are different.
Google has removed games from android devices. They had malware in them, but they could decide to use that power on any app.
How about these companies start getting in on increasing our internet infrastructure so we all have access to faster speeds before they go in on this streaming thing? When purchasing internet, we have 1 monopolistic company and 5 crappy "competitors". And thos mega stranglehold companies split up into regions and choke us out with annually increasing contracts and terrible customer service.
How can this be our uniformed gaming futures if the Comcasts and Spectrums beat them to it??
@StevenG once again Apps are different. Games, however, are covered under software and as such you are allowed to backup your game software. I.E. if the game is installed on your SSD or HDD a company has no right to remove that software or restrict your access or right to access it.
"Can I backup my computer software?
Yes, under certain conditions as provided by section 117 of the Copyright Act. Although the precise term used under section 117 is “archival” copy, not “backup” copy, these terms today are used interchangeably. This privilege extends only to computer programs and not to other types of works. Under section 117, you or someone you authorize may make a copy of an original computer program if the new copy is being made for archival (i.e., backup) purposes only; you are the legal owner of the copy; and any copy made for archival purposes is either destroyed, or transferred with the original copy, once the original copy is sold, given away, or otherwise transferred.
You are not permitted under section 117 to make a backup copy of other material on a computer's hard drive, such as other copyrighted works that have been downloaded (e.g., music, films).
It is also important to check the terms of sale or license agreement of the original copy of software in case any special conditions have been put in place by the copyright owner that might affect your ability or right under section 117 to make a backup copy. There is no other provision in the Copyright Act that specifically authorizes the making of backup copies of works other than computer programs even if those works are distributed as digital copies." - https://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-digital.html
Now, because you've purchased the software and the software is stored on your computer a company is not permitted to force you to remove the software off your computer/console. Because that violates your right to backup the software. Kindle is the application and the books on Kindle are bound to the same regulations as licenced goods like film or music. However, a digital book sold as a PDF cannot be removed as the PDF is the file and on your PC.
In regards to the case of Last Remnant and Steam. Because Last Remnant is a purchased good you retain the right to re-download the software and back it up and access it even though it is no longer sold on Steams storefront. Be aware though if something was free that is a very different case as there was no purchase transaction for the good or service and held to different standards.
Now in regards to legacy software is that is normally still hosted by the creator of the software unless the developer is out of business. They do not need to support the software, but it must be accessible in some way nor are they allowed to restrict your access to a piece of software you have purchased. Be aware there are limitations such as licences to use of software or other restrictions in the TOS. That is why companies are moving to a subscription based model like Creative Cloud or Office 365.
I've tried the streaming service Stadia and found my one gig internet wasn't even fast enough. My game kept legging. I ended up selling my Chromecast and controllers. The legging was effecting my ability to game. Console gaming is so much better.
@nessisonett Or any combination of those ya for sure.
@Xiovanni This is why I and many others are proponents of universal game licenses so you buy a game on one platform and own it on any platform it would release on at no cost other than the hardware itself for like 25 years or something like that. This would force companies to innovate more and stop re-releasing *****.
Stadia and all other streaming-based services won't replace what we have now. MMOs and Online multiplayers didn't kill local/offline experiences, and some games will NEVER work with the amount of delay you have in such services.
It's going to become an option (and a relevant one), but never a replacement.
I fear cloud gaming will make indie projects more obscure. The low price tag is the reason many people discover indies in the first place, if you're paying a flat rate to enjoy literally every single AAA game on the market (most of which are extreme time-sinks) will the average person make time for games that aren't cutting edge?
@Minish-Cap Internet speed isn't the only factor you need to take into account. If you have good download speeds but Stadia still isn't working for you then there is likely a fix that will get around any issues with ping speeds, routers and channels. A quick Google to troubleshoot issues like these can more often than not fix these problems.
Let me try and explain my fear with cloud-based gaming.
Once upon a time, there was Netflix. A single streaming service with a huge variety of films and series to watch. Then Netflix started producing original content, fantastic! Then other companies realized they could make money with their own streaming services and boom: we now have HBO Go, Disney+, Netflix, Amazon, and the list goes on.
Essentially we went from "rent/buy the films and series you enjoy" to "stream all the films and series you enjoy by subscription" to "pay more than you would annually purchasing the films and series with multiple subscriptions".
Innovation itself will still find a way. We can still have unique devices and controllers to play multiple games. The main issue is that eventually we're gonna have every single publisher with its own subscription-based cloud platform.
There are no longer any unique gameplay experiences, only over-saturated genres filled with games copying the last trend setting game.
Real hardware will always have an advantage over streaming (except for maybe Visual Novels/Click and Point, Turn Based games and the "Cinematic" type games were the gameplay is so watered down, that a "hic-cup" in your internet connection is hardly noticed).
For any game where precisely timed actions are required, streaming will always let you down at one point or another.
@SwitchForce Also, Google made a fatal mistake in cloud gaming when they sold physical boxes with dongles and joypads. The whole point of cloud gaming was that it would be easy to just start, and if I still have to order a Google Stadia pack to get delivered to me in the mail then I might as well buy a whole console.
This was very informative! Thank you!
@RenanKJ The problem with streaming is the same as a previous problem, the problem with cable tv. People paid for a few cable channels, which had a handful of good shows a year, then they felt cheated, so in order to retain costumers the cable companies pushed for more channels that would produce a large stream of shows so there would always be something on cable, and people would pay their cable bills. Then of course quality dropped a lot, but cable was getting more expensive for the costumers since they had to cover the costs of all these bad shows being produced.
I have Crappy internet, so cloud gaming services are a no go for me!
i feel like having a choice of controller or control style for most games is a good thing, as others have mentioned things like the xbox adaptive controller make it so more and more people can enjoy the games, so nintendo slowly moving away from their "play how we say" phase is imo a positive thing, since they can still offer creative experiences through software alone while letting the player choose how they want to control the game (also having a handheld option with the switch is nice)
in terms of streaming as the future, that is definitely bad overall for the players if it ends up becoming the ONLY option, even outside of the internet issue the problem with subscription based services is the complete lack of ownership on the players behalf, also in terms of licensing and the like, shows have come and gone from streaming services such as netflix and there have been times where episodes have been removed (such as the simpsons episode "stark raving dad" due to the MJ controversy) even with digital there have been similar things happening to games with certain games being delisted from various digital stores due to licensing and the like.
having things like psnow as an option i feel is fine, but i would like the option to actually buy/download the game.
@blockfight the problem is starting off with a negative reception is a hard thing to overturn. Yes they can just play the long game and keep throwing money at the services until they become successful and exclusives may indeed come. But the possibility of exclusives that you have no idea what they are means people won't be drawn in by potential. I'm not saying there won't be a chance of really good exclusives just the ones who are buying these services are simply doing it for games they can already play on other platforms and that don't require to be constantly connected online to play them once they have them installed.
Very long, but informative read. Thanks for posting. I like my console, and not so much for just having a controller in my home and internet. If the internet goes down...there I sit with my controller, and no games.
@Zenszulu I was personally drawn in by the fact that if i want to have access to next gen games, Stadia offers me that with no need to invest in the new consoles. I'm lucky enough that if i wanted to buy either or both of the new consoles this Christmas, i could. But i have no desire to when i can put that €500 towards just games. Given the current global economic situation i can see others looking at alternative/ cheaper ways to game going forward. Stadia is a good option for that.
I agree though, stadia has got off to a poor start messaging wise with people not really knowing what it is or how it works. I see so many forums where people are misinformed as to how it works and they bad mouth it without even having a clue how it works. Google needs to up their game in this department.
If everything becomes digital only I’ll just pirate games.
I will prefer to have a console dedicated to gaming vs a streaming device as long as we have a duopoly (at best) for ISPs in most of the country. Unless we have Stadia brought to you by Comcast, all those savings will go into paying the ISP overages everyone will be hit with in this new all digital world. So for now, I prefer something that I can purchase physical (although I prefer digital downloads for convenience, they cannot compete with physical new/used pricing) and store the games on the device I own.
Whichever service brings their product to Nintendo consoles however will probably get my attention.
@nessisonett I've seen this argument be made a couple times under the assumption that streaming services provide some form of financial cover for these indie studios to take risks, but I'm not convinced yet. Yes, if you put your game on a streaming platform, you're guaranteed to get a cut of the total pool of funds received from subscribers, but if the Spotify model is anything to go by, unless you are a slightly more renowned studio like Wayforward or Supergiant at the very least, your game will account for such a low percentage of total engagement that the payout would be negligible. Is that better or worse than setting an asking price of $5.99 for a title on eShop and getting sub-1K downloads? Not clear at this point, but I don't see enough evidence at this point to make the judgment that streaming WILL foster innovation rather than stifle it.
@Darknyht fully agree
I don’t think gamers are winning. Sequels are copy and paste. Even Nintendo has did very little for smash brothers, animal crossing, Luigi’s mansion etc. Ports are full price taking advantage of fans. DLCs are rarely worth the money. Micro transactions and loot boxes.
Totally agree. Long term this is going to squeeze out a lot of talented would be developers
@blockfight
Seems like a hassle. I don't need to play Madden that much. I am happily awaiting NFL 2K or whatever they are going to call it.
It's actually incredible how misinformed people on gaming sites are when talking about streaming platforms. For one Stadia doesn't require an incredible Internet speed, around 30/40mbs is enough for 4k 60 fps and isn't a particularly high speed here in the UK. You don't need a subscription, you literally buy games you want to play and Stadia Pro is a subscription that offers a set number of games a month like PS Plus and the addition of 4K streaming. Input lag isn't at all significant and it feels like you are playing on a console/PC. You can play on pc, laptop, tablet and mobile with pretty much any controller or you can get a Chromecast with a controller for less than half the price of a Switch Lite.
I'm not here to say that Stadia is the best platform ever but once you give it a go, you know this is going to be a big part of gaming in the future. On top of that you have Geforce Now which plays games you buy on Steam, EGS, etc, Xcloud which runs game pass games, Luna which has just been announced that seems similar to gamepass and you even have Shadow which is literally just a top end PC streaming to your screen. Whether all of these replace physical is definitely up for debate as are the merits of ownership etc but before you start saying something at least try to understand the topic and writing it off cause you like to own discs and cartridges. This type of gaming is likely going to benefit a huge section of the market who would normally buy a console and play COD, Fifa and a couple of games each year and if they can save £400 on a console and just play on something they already own, they will likely do it. With Amazon, Microsoft and Google all investing significantly in the tech, it will take off, they have too much money to fail.
On the flip side I do think this does benefit Nintendo in a strange way, by being more niche and having strong exclusives, they can likely keep a decent market with their typically more traditional approach and I will continue to support Nintendo as they offer experiences that can't be beaten in my book.
@SpicyWolf Using the Spotify analogy, plenty bands are discovered through streaming and then fans buy their work physically. It’s why Bandcamp allows artists to put their album up in full and then offer a payment service to download the album in HQ. I’ve played games on Game Pass and then bought a physical copy and played games on PS Now but then downloaded them to the console instead of streaming. These are just options.
@blockfight the whole promise of delivering next gen games for Google Stadia is a bit of a mixed bag as so far it has struggled to deliver games that meet the average graphical settings for these games and even developers have came out and said the games are running at something like medium settings. If they are struggling to stream games that match the current generation already then they already need to massively upgrade their infrastructure. I can see the incentive for simply having to pay for software rather than the hardware but still for many paying the full price for those games and it really only being a licence to use it while it is a part of that cloud ecosystem is off putting for many.
@FatHedgehog I'm not I love collecting
@Y2JayRome A very potent strain of "imagination", my friend.
@the8thark we defacto own our physical games though as they can't be taken away
@Pandaman "This acquisition heavily bolsters what once appeared to be Microsoft’s toe-in-the-water “xCloud” service, revealing it for the cannonball into the pool it really was."
I love this sentence for some reason, brilliant evocative imagery!
@Crockin I've never heard so much bs in all my life. You lefty socialist types really are nuts.
@WillQuan Some good points. 30/40mps is a high speed in Brazil though, it's quite unusual for someone to have it. Not to mention any speed here is pretty unstable.
I was wondering how Steam is going to be affected by this push to cloud gaming. I mean, if it's all going to work in computers and I can purchase and play games via Steam, might as well stick to that instead of subscriptions.
Mr. Lopez, what a great article! It is well written, interesting, informative and thought provoking. It was great to read and I do agree with your premise.
Thank you for writing!
I really enjoy my current Switch / Stadia / Game Pass setup.
What have Sony and MS really done for innovation with their physicals consoles the last 15 years?
Nintendo is doing a lot of innovation an exiting stuff all the time. The other two, not so much.
I am still amazed on how great Stadia actually works. As if I am playing on local hardware. I tried all the streaming services out there, and from a technical point of view, Stadia is the best performing platform.
Stadia still needs more content though, to compete with Game Pass etc.
Game Pass is a fantastic deal, witch I also enjoy quite a lot.
xCloud is just not performing as great as Stadia yet, but hopefully it will in the future. I also hope MS will add TV and PC support for xCloud soon.
Regarding innovation, I think Stadia actually could bring a lot of exiting stuff in the future. Because it's a new platform, and games needs to be ported. It's not just existing Xbox or PS games, that we see in xCloud or PS Now.
Stadia "Stream Connect" is already a feature that is unique to Stadia, and more streaming only special features will surely come in the future:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbkAZ8wbKJA
Stadia games a also better optimized and build for different screens and so on. I can actually read the text in games on a mobile device, while on xCloud it's just a Xbox game shrunken down to a smaller screen.
The boot-up time of a single game on Stadia is approximately 8-10 seconds, while it's about 30 seconds on xCloud.
Google has the perfect game streaming platform as of now, while MS has the best Game subscription service. Hopefully they will become more similar in the future. They both have work to do.
I am also exited about what Luna is going to add to the table.
@RenanKJ
Stadia is not subscription based by default.
You can buy individual game on Stadia, and just stream/play for free up to 1080p. You own those games. No subscription needed.
4K streams requires a Stadia Pro subscription, witch also gives you a catalogue of games, like Netflix.
Microsoft said, that they also wanted to support individual game purchased in the future for xCloud. Right now, xCloud is bound to Game Pass, but not necessary in the future.
So there are options.
LUNA IS TRASH, stadia is probly trash, and xcloud Is different and possibly a step in a good direction.
Overall I enjoyed reading this piece, but am I the only one who thinks Alan is conflating input innovation for innovation in general?
I think the core thesis needs amending as there are lots of examples of gameplay innovation that occurred without hardware (and specifically controller) changes. Conceptual innovation is the foundation of the industry, as he acknowledges when speaking about jumpman and momentum.
And, with exclusive studios and releases, controller-specific titles that take advantage of unique features can occur that become 'ecosystem sellers'. Just as there are consoles exclusives now.
I just think we confuse overall game output increase with a reduction in innovation, when in fact there are more indies and companies like Nintendo doing crazy stuff with what we have now than ever before.
@Skeletor1979 you just explained to me what exactly my problem is with games nowadays.
@Zenszulu
Stadia is currently performing something between a PS4 Pro and Xbox One X. Noting special, but still great for a streaming service.
But game streaming services are dynamic and ever changing platforms, while physical consoles are bound to the current hardware capabilities.
Stadia server blades v. 2 are on the way, and are probably coming soon. Google needs to be on par with the new consoles, if Stadia is going to compete on a technical level.
Game developers are already working with Stadia server blades v. 2, and are reporting about Xbox series X like performance on them. So that is promising, but not surprising.
@Travisemo007
Stadia as a platform is surely not trash. Technically its far ahead of xCloud. But Stadia needs more content, before it really can compete.
While xCloud has the content, it needs to reach the technical level of Stadia, and be available on more than Android devices.
So Google has the perfect game streaming platform as of now, while MS has the best Game subscription service out there. Hopefully they will become more similar in the future. They both have work to do.
@dres All the streaming services are trash, because you invest money in them but they keep the game or movie. Digital is one thing, I can play the thing whenever I want, but subscription service based stuff I’m just not a fan. It’s just a way to funnel money into their pockets.
@dres You own those games. No subscription needed.
Explain how you own those games you own the License to use them you don't own them. You still pay for the games they don't give them out for free.
@dres Stadia as a platform is surely not trash. Technically its far ahead of xCloud. But Stadia needs more content, before it really can compete.
All streaming are in one way or another their choice-they put you on their plans not yours or your choice. They give you the choice. They should've built more content before making a release. They already flopped like VR that provide little content support before coming online.
@dres but you forgot one thing the Stream gaming is only as good as your internet or ISP throttling the bandwidth. And not everyone have deep funds for internet subscription. This is needed before you can Stadia without this forget Stadia gaming.
@shazbot oh for sure, but gameplay innovation will always needs somewhere novel to exist, that’s the main point.
Star Fox, Wii Sports, Kings Quest, and FFVII couldn’t have happened without the FX chip, Wiimote, personal computer, or CD drive. All of those gameplay innovations needed hardware innovations. Ergo, if all games are headed towards a future of running on anything and everything, where will the hardware innovation come from? All experiences amazing to mediocre will be tethered to universality. Thanks for reading!
I don't think cloud gaming is the future and I hope that physical media doesn't go either. While digital games are more convenient, they cost more in the long run. Games keep on getting bigger and external memory cards keep getting more expensive. In a few years, that 1TB hard drive will be eaten up really quick and you'll be forced to go buy an external drive half the price of your console. W/physical media, the only thing you need to worry about is updates and DLC. Which, generally, don't take up as much space. So, as the years go by and new consoles are introduced, I will stay with the console that chooses physical; and if all consoles stop offering physical, I will be done w/gaming.
Side note: Another reason I prefer physical game over digital is that you actually own the game and not a license to download it. 15 to 20 years down the road when the Nintendo Switch eShop closes people with the digital ver. of BotW who haven't re-downloaded it on their Switch won't be able to play it. But I, with my cartridge, will be happily sitting on my couch beating up Calamity Ganon for the trillionth time.
@SwitchForce
@TG16_IS_BAE
Stadia is just a digital store, like Steam. It's not a subscription service by default. Not all streaming services needs to be subscription based.
You can go to Stadia and just buy a individual game, and stream/play it for free without a subscription.
Google says it's yours forever, and even if they loose the right to sell it in the future, you can still play it from your collection in Stadia. It's your game. It's not like Game Pass and Netflix, were the game can be removed.
Google also offers a Stadia Pro subscription model, with 4K streame and "Free" games like Game Pass. But this is just an optional add-on.
Yes, you are only buying a license on Stadia. But that is actually the same with all digital games. Also on Steam and the Nintendo E-shop. You actually are not really owning the digital games, but just a license to use and download the games.
Stadia is doing the same. But you just can't download it. You stream it.
@dres Yep, I’m good. I have a lifetimes worth of games. If you enjoy it that’s great. No subscriptions for me.
@dres well when the service was announced and it was advertised that the games would be running off of hardware that had more computing power than those two systems combined and not some where in between those two systems I would say that it has failed to deliver on that already. It's all well and good saying they have this power and potential power in the future but pushing all of that extra graphical fidelity over a stream seems to have a limit and isn't quite what was originally promised. I am not saying they don't have the potential to be far superior to that any hardware that can be in the home but we are still a long way from that happening in reality with tech advancing faster than developers can take advantage of it.
Many games will be forever lost, try to play those thousands of 32 bit iPad games now that Apple dropped support for 32 bit... I lost over 200 games then. It’s a sad future for consoles
Provocative article and many interesting comments here, so thanks all around!
I agree with the author’s point that we really should examine this streaming trend critically before allowing it too much sway over our beloved games industry. The convenience and apparent value of accessing hundreds of streamable games for an affordable monthly subscription may seem too good to resist, but people should be aware everything has its price. No ownership of titles you like, no ability to build an equitable library of games you can share or sell as you please, no access if your internet is spotty or cyberattacks occur, your personal data and gaming habits will almost certainly be further marketed, and what about those of us who want to play import games? I speak Japanese and love Phantasy Star, but I am region-locked out of playing the Japan-only PSO2 Cloud on my Switch.
I’ve been gaming since the Atari VCS days, and indoctrinated on the merits of owning physical media. To me, a game worth playing is one worth owning in tangible form, like books or albums or even collectible little mini consoles. If the industry goes digital-only or especially stream-only, I fear I won’t be partaking.
@dres Google also offers a Stadia Pro subscription model, with 4K streame and "Free" games like Game Pass. But this is just an optional add-on.
Like to point out you have to pay more to get free which should be free so it's not really Free you paid to get free. That's makes no common sense in the meaning of the word free.
@dres Stadia is doing the same. But you just can't download it. You stream it.
This is even worse they remove it and you got nothing - not even a Digital download. So tell me whom wins in this model. Not the Subscriber here.
@Wexter Two interesting notes related to 365 that have an impact here. (I am using you as a jump-off point here because you mentioned 365)
1. Microsoft announced it will be selling a stand-alone version of Office again. That means it recognizes that not everyone wants to perpetually rent their software. That is what streaming does.
2. Microsoft had a major 365 outage yesterday for about two hours. Could you imagine a gaming system going down. People complain enough now when on-line servers crash. That is what could be the case if everything is cloud-based. This potential problem does not get discussed enough.
@Brummieendo90 thank u for the laugh
Great article, thank you for writing it! I hope more thorough and Talking Point style articles like these appear on NintendoLife!
@Pandaman Thanks for replying, and for the interesting read.
I think in principle, changes in graphical fidelity and streaming are infrastructure dependent. Hardware changes such as 5G, or server blade upgrading can (in theory) translate into improvements in user experience graphically or in terms of latency.
But the most celebrated innovations in history are conceptual - BoTW isn't celebrated just for it's portability. It's fun, and says yes to the things you want to do, and happens to be portable. I think Odyssey (realistically) could be ported to Stadia, Luna, xCloud without serious compromises. The only concern (today) would be latency.
There definitely are hardware innovations, some successful and some not. I think now, in light of history, it's clear gyroscopic motion control was a bigger and longer lasting (i.e. true) innovation over the Wii's sensor bar. At the same time, there is gimmicky (though fun) innovation like Samba de Amigo, or the Donkey Kongas.
Regardless, I agree that in general hardware innovation can open interesting avenues of creativity, but there's nothing stopping web-enabled Rock Band accessories that can hook into any (or none) of the streaming services on offer.
@Zenszulu i see your point. But i would also argue that for a lot of gamers, the highest specs aren't the most important thing. My Nintendo Switch isn't capable of 4K and for a lot of games night not even consistently hit 1080p. 60 fps is still not standard either on all the 3 consoles. I have a 4K TV. I'm currently playing Assassin's Creed Odyssey at the lowest settings available (720p) and to me it looks great.
For a lot of players, gameplay is the most important thing, not resolution and fps.
The licence to play issue seems to be the bigger stumbling block for a lot of players. One that i have no issue with but understand where some players might have a problem with.
The central idea of this is completely flawed. Through all its various controller innovations, Nintendo continued to create 'standard' games themselves and - to a greater or lesser extent in different gens - get third-party games on their systems.
This points to two important things:
In the past no company has ever gone so far as to create a controller or hardware that could not be used to also play 'normal' games.
In the future, companies can continue to innovate with input methods and 'normal' games will still be playable using that controller - developers can choose to make use of whatever innotations it has or not as they see fit.
@SwitchForce "Like to point out you have to pay more to get free which should be free so it's not really Free you paid to get free".
How is this any different to GamePass? Or XBox Gold. You have to pay extra to get these benefits. The new Halo game is coming "free" to GamePass. But you have to pay for this service. This is the way these companies are advertising these games.
Cloud gaming is the death of gaming in my eyes, you dont own anything. Once the server is turned off, you cant play any games. If your internet is not good enough, you cant play any games.
Just a waste, as it will be full of shovelware, trying to find the good games will be impossible as the reviews will be bot led.
No thank you.
@Minish-Cap Thats fair enough. The whole idea is that it's another option for players to get access to games. If it doesn't suit you, that's OK.
@Bunkerneath It won't be the death of gaming. It will be another way to game. Consoles aren't going anywhere. This is merely another option for people.
@Bunkerneath The second part of your comment makes no sense. Why would cloud gaming be anymore susceptible to shovelware and games being difficult to find? Have you been on the Switch Eshop recently? There is so much shovelware and I still find the games I want easily. The reviews being bot led is also nonsense, who actually purchases games based on the star rating on the platform? We all read reviews from gaming sites, when I had a PS4 I didnt once pay attention to the star rating from other users.
@WillQuan I am not misinformed, but I do understand the greed of ISPs in the US and the lack of regulation over them. Network neutrality was destroyed here so there is nothing preventing ISPs from throttling the life out of streaming gaming unless you pay for “Gamer” internet. Already Comcast marketing offers overpriced internet service for that purpose because the average consumer doesn’t know the connection speed needed for an HD Netflix stream. They will prey on consumers because they have in the past, and I would just rather not deal with it.
Chasing after the latest greatest graphics is a fool’s errand anyways. So who cares if I don’t get 8k graphics? I generally play on a 21” or 40” screen where even 4K makes little difference.
@WillQuan A second issue with Stadia is that Google is behind it. They have a record of killing services with little to no warning. Not really somewhere I trust to put my digital gaming future.
@Darknyht wasn't referring to you specifically but look through these comments and you'll see what I mean. That is also a bit of a myth, they very rarely completely get rid of paid services and they are often rolled into another service e.g. Google Play Music has become part of YouTube music.
In regards to your other comment, completely understand in the US it is likely to be a bigger issue due to the way ISPs operate. In the UK that isn't really a problem, there are small sections of the country that struggle with good internet but a majority of towns and cities have great options. My friend didnt even realise his internet ran at 200mb/s until I checked it for him and that's in a relatively small town.
Thing is I have no problem with people bringing legitimate criticisms to streaming and Stadia in particular e.g. Small library, slow growth, low multiplayer numbers etc but when it comes down to it most haven't tried and are just parroting what they've seen someone else say.
@WillQuan I am more curious about Amazon's Luna to be honest because it is not an App Store application but a Progressive Web App. I have always wondered why more developers haven't gone that route to avoid the "App Store Tax" that is in the developer contract.
@mike_intv I thought Microsoft already did that with Office 2019? And yes that outage of O365 the other night really messed with my productivity and was highly frustrating.
I agree I feel there will always be a market to have the games played locally. Hopefully, companies offer something like downloading a local copy or streaming the game with purchases. I feel we really won't have to worry about an all-streaming future for another decade as it has taken longer than expected for even an all-digital future to become a reality (they were talking about that during the 360/PS3 generation). And even then both Microsoft and Sony are only dipping their toes in there with the Series S and the PS5Digital.
@Brummieendo90
That's only if they don't need a day one update to run. The day one update can be taken away at anytime.
@Brummieendo90 Not my concern.
@blockfight and you had to purchase the game so how was it free now. Nothing is free you pay to play.
@SwitchForce I never said the game I purchased was free.
@blockfight those maximum settings may not be important to most but it was what was promised for the service for delivering something better in terms of visual fidelity than home consoles can. Since it can't do that and only just about match them currently I don't see the appeal of something that doesn't deliver on that promise and has no real benefit over me simply purchasing a game digitally that I can then play offline if I choose. I can see its benefits in ways as I have used PS Now plenty of times but don't view something like that as a primary way to play games due to possible internet down times that ruin the experience.
@Zenszulu I don't think i view Stadia as my primary gaming platform. It compliments the Switch nicely as it allows me access to big games that the Switch isn't capable of running.
@blockfight I am not saying you do personally but it is being marketed as that and for something that the cons outweigh the pros on currently for me it isn't a good investment. Now is it was like PSnow and was accessible on a console to boost the selection of games to one's that can't run natively on it or one's that are too advanced for it like certain games on the Switch in Japan I could see it catching on faster. As a stand alone service well it obviously isn't appealing to any where near where the amount of people even Google expected.
@Zenszulu Its not for you, as you've said. And that's fine. It will be interesting to see where streaming is in say 2 or 3 years time with xCloud and now Amazon Luna entering the scene. Its definitely no fad and is here to stay. Personally I'm loving the direction gaming is going. It won't be to everyone's taste and for those people i think there will always be consoles.
@blockfight while it is no fad it is still very niche and as a stand alone product isn't enticing for that many people. OnLive shown that people weren't all that interested in investing in streaming only as their primary gaming choice because of the prices and lack of ownership. It would seem Google has ignored that and pretty much delivered an almost identical model and then been surprised it didn't have millions of people using it. Obviously it also doesn't help for a service that was promised to be on near enough any modern smart device but is still locked behind Google specific hardware or ones approved by them same goes for having to use their specific controller unless you are sat at a PC. It may eventually reach those promises but most people got turned off when they were pretty much told you need specific hardware to play something that was advertised as being accessible on every device. That is for me why I think it should be a supplementary service and not a primary one.
@Heavyarms55 I feel exactly the same way. If it goes to cloud gaming I'm not sure I'll follow. I love my retro gaming anyway so this actually doesn't bother me that much.
"There's Never Been A Better Time For Gaming Consumers, Nor A Worse Time For Gaming Innovation"
I disagree with the first point, but fully agree with the second one.
An innovation-unfriendly environment is also bad for gaming consumers.
@blockfight It compliments the Switch nicely as it allows me access to big games that the Switch isn't capable of running.
Where does one start lack of library is the biggest start. Also don't have internet or can't afford it forget anything Stradia. Don't make me laugh or bust a nutz seeing non-sense posting. This is something NintenDoomed fandom would ex-spouse to everyday.
@blockfight Its definitely no fad and is here to stay.
It's a get rich scheme and fad. Take eReaders now they have stop growing and keep making new devices to replace old devices. And books are coming back so which fad are you talking about.
@Zenszulu OnLive shown that people weren't all that interested in investing in streaming only as their primary gaming choice because of the prices and lack of ownership.
@blockfight Personally I'm loving the direction gaming is going.
Don't get the reason then enlighten yourself here.
Digital Distribution Vs Physical Media and True Ownership
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdsWQGAlopk
@SwitchForce Dude, chill. I like the service. If you don't, that's fine.
Very enjoyable read, and very interesting points!
What some Nintendo fans don't seem to realize is that all the gimmicky hardware innovations is exactly why they are a niche market. This started with N64 in some way and that 3 pronged nightmare. GCN obviously slipped up because of the mini-DVD approach. Wii was a big hit but was a secondary console for gamers. Wii U's gamepad ran people off in droves. Switch again, secondary console for many gamers.
@Stocksy you must be old.
@SpaceKaren we prefer the term “wise” I don’t identify as “old” but yeah.
@blockfight What a comeback when pressed can't respond why. But that is fine with me I am not worried the least bit.
@SpaceKaren such comments is reason why Nintendo is selling as First platform not a niche market. This is what I would call inside the box thinking mindset that is why they can't do innovations. It's laughable that NintenDoomed fandom would make such degrading comments maybe because doing so would inflate their busted egos.
@SpaceKaren Switch again, secondary console for many gamers.
Must have lived in space too long.
@SwitchForce In relation the library, Switch won't be getting the following games:
Cyberpunk, Assassins Creed Odyssey or Valhalla, Red Dead 2, Jedi Fallen Order, FIFA 21 (the proper version), Madden 21, F1 20 and a lot of other games that will be on Stadia.
In relation to it being a fad, why are Xbox, Google and Amazon investing so much in it? Xbox are plugging xCloud it at every chance they can get. They wouldn't be doing that if streaming was a fad. They're all taking different approaches to it too which gives gamers more options.
I'll happily have a discussion with you about the pros and cons of it all (of which there are many of both sides) but if you're just gonna act like a spoiled brat while talking to people there's not much point in talking to you.
@SpaceKaren .
Switch outsold the Xbox One in half the time. Do you consider the Xbox One a third tier console?
@TheFullAndy I'm not talking sales figures, but rather usage.
@SwitchForce gotta get outside of your Nintendo fan bubble more often. The switch, often revered and praised, is just as often paired with another main console for folks that tend to game most to every day. Gamers.
@SpaceKaren
Well when Switch has sold a few million more than Xbox One then I imagine it is getting more usage than it so the point stands.
@blockfight and that matter how? Nothing it's sales figures could care less considering the buyers are a wide range of gamers. That's how you broaden your sales and appeal to everyone. Just going one group is how you die off.
@SpaceKaren There's quiet alot of space there to be measured in terms of language and sales figures.
@SwitchForce not really sure what you're trying to say. You're sentences are a bit all over the place. Sorry!
Anyways each to their own. Happy gaming.
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