Cloud gaming is the next frontier of video game innovation that promises to revolutionize how gamers experience playing. By eliminating cost and platform barriers, it will completely change the experience for gamers everywhere.
Due to increased accessibility of games on smartphones, the cloud gaming market will experience exponential growth; however, the industry does face certain obstacles.
1. Accessibility
Cloud gaming enables gamers to access an expansive library of titles without spending large sums of money on hardware. This technology has revolutionized the gaming industry and now more people can experience all of its latest releases.
Cloud gaming brings many advantages, yet does present certain obstacles; one of the key concerns being latency issues.
As soon as a player presses a button or inputs a command, their device sends it directly to a cloud server over the internet and updates a video chunk accordingly.
Due to high latency, an unstable or poor connection can significantly degrade the gaming experience – this is especially true of action-based or competitive games where even millisecond delays could turn victory into defeat.
2. Scalability
Cloud gaming is an online game streaming service that enables gamers to enjoy playing their favorite titles without downloading them to PCs or consoles. Instead, video streams from a central server to players through high-speed Internet connections and is delivered directly onto computers or devices for playback.
Cloud gaming remains a challenge when it comes to scaling, especially given that games require high processing speeds to render intricate environments. One possible solution to this challenge is adaptive GPU resource scheduling.
An additional approach for improving scalability is predicting individual player input and sending data accordingly, which may reduce latency and boost performance, although this strategy likely costs too much money and won’t take off until industry members find ways to reduce costs.
3. Cost
Cloud gaming offers a convenient way to enjoy games on multiple devices without spending a bundle on expensive hardware. Instead, players pay a subscription fee to access games through streaming on powerful PCs or streaming directly onto them from an Internet service provider’s server.
Cost of cloud gaming depends on a range of factors, including game and service provider selection. Services like PlayStation Now and Google Stadia charge monthly subscription fees while others may offer free trials.
Streaming gaming presents both service providers and gamers with challenges. First of all, it can be difficult to estimate the bandwidth needs of new user segments.
4. Security
Cloud gaming, also known as remote hardware gaming, allows gamers to play video games using remote hardware – typically PC or smartphone screens, but also TV screens – with only needing a screen, controller and internet access to enjoy themselves. Cloud gaming provides many benefits for its users such as reduced costs and enhanced accessibility.
Cloud gaming presents many obstacles, not the least being security. When most of a game’s functionality is transferred onto remote servers, security risks such as data theft and phishing attacks increase considerably.
Latency can also present difficulties. This refers to the amount of time it takes data from servers to reach devices on which players play games; this delay can cause input lag and diminish quality of gaming experience.
5. Efficiency
Cloud gaming is an emerging trend in video game play that allows gamers to instantly access an expansive library of titles without needing to download and install each individual title on their device.
Works similarly to Netflix: players input commands with their controllers that are sent over the internet to a cloud server that in turn displays what’s going on within the game.
According to a 2016 study, online games consume far more energy than local devices like consoles and PCs due to all of the energy that goes into delivering it to a player’s device; as well as powering its storage facility and network infrastructure.