By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use. Close

Forums - Gaming - Game streaming is not the Future, here's why

TheGoldenBoy on 05 March 2015

I think it'll just become an alternative, never the go-to option.



Around the Network
binary solo on 05 March 2015
SvennoJ said:
binary solo said:

Indeed streaming + VR seem to have a natural fit. With streaming you can make the home based processor very cheap, and thus put more of the cost and quality into the headset. This would overcome one of the hurdles associated with VR because right now you have to buy an expensive console (or PC) AND a probably fairly expensive VR headset. But if you can buy a console for $99 then this makes VR much more accessible.

VR fits streaming the least. Sure you can adjust for head movements at home by sending a bigger image to crop on the fly, yet everything else will still lag. Seeing your virtual hand lag in VR will just be as annoying as operating a mouse cursor over remote desktop. Stuttering and temporarily switching to lower quality will easily cause nausea in VR. Nevermind it demands the most out of the hardware. 1080p75 is the minimum, while 720p30 is perfectly fine for streaming without vr.

Think about this. VR and AR are so latency sensitive, Microsoft built the CPU into their hololens headset.

Perhaps you're right. But latency is not the reason MS built the CPU for Hololens in the headset. Mobility is the reason. WIth hololens you want to be able to walk around town and for your AR to work anywhere you go, without you having to carry some other piece of equipment with you, perhaps aside from yout tablet or smartphone to stream images back and forth. Head to the construction site with your hololens and talk about and visualise the next phase of your building project. Head out to a vacant lot and visualise a whole new building complex or shopping mall or amusement park and take a virtual walk through.



“The fundamental cause of the trouble is that in the modern world the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt.” - Bertrand Russell

"When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace."

Jimi Hendrix

 

sabvre42 on 05 March 2015

Have you even bothered to try PS Now, or are you just spouting out your rear?

I freaking love the service. On my ps4 I have no quality or connection issues; my vita chokes occasionally, but that's expected with a single antennae Wi-Fi device.

The games look phenomenal on my vita... ps3 aliased graphics on a 5" screen.

Remote play already drops ps4 games to 30fps and it's perfectly fine. I bet ps4 games will make it to PS Now by q2 16.



bunchanumbers on 05 March 2015

Console makers don't want to waste billions developing hardware that will already be obsolete at launch. They also don't want to have to lose out on profits to secondhand markets which are making more pure profits than they do. They also don't want to have to worry about piracy, people trying to mod their consoles, or if some big problem happens like the RROD, to pay for those repairs. Its just a big mess.

A streaming service means they don't have to worry about stuff like RROD, Gamestop, game prices dropping like a stone 2 weeks after launch. They also don't have to worry about shipping pallets of consoles across oceans and haggling with game stores, distribution and the like. All of that could be extra savings and more profits.

Streaming will be one of the biggest and most efficient things that will ever happen to gaming. Not just for the companies, but for consumers too. No more limited edition bundles selling out and having to fight scalpers to get a system you want. No more travelling all over to look for a game that sold out. No limited presses of games and then incredible prices on ebay later. All your game shopping can be done from the convenience of your home. This will be the true equalizer for everyone.



leo-j on 05 March 2015

PS now is a tremendous example of what game streaming should be on consoles, and it is only in beta mode



 

mM
Around the Network
sabvre42 on 05 March 2015
leo-j said:
PS now is a tremendous example of what game streaming should be on consoles, and it is only in beta mode

The biggest thing they need to fix, is allowing you to reconnect after a disconnect, or caching RAM to HDD.. so that if your vita dies, you can just resume on another device.



Frogger on 05 March 2015
bunchanumbers said:
Console makers don't want to waste billions developing hardware that will already be obsolete at launch. They also don't want to have to lose out on profits to secondhand markets which are making more pure profits than they do. They also don't want to have to worry about piracy, people trying to mod their consoles, or if some big problem happens like the RROD, to pay for those repairs. Its just a big mess.

A streaming service means they don't have to worry about stuff like RROD, Gamestop, game prices dropping like a stone 2 weeks after launch. They also don't have to worry about shipping pallets of consoles across oceans and haggling with game stores, distribution and the like. All of that could be extra savings and more profits.

Streaming will be one of the biggest and most efficient things that will ever happen to gaming. Not just for the companies, but for consumers too. No more limited edition bundles selling out and having to fight scalpers to get a system you want. No more travelling all over to look for a game that sold out. No limited presses of games and then incredible prices on ebay later. All your game shopping can be done from the convenience of your home. This will be the true equalizer for everyone.


And on top of all this, it pretty much renders the console wars dead since it'll be far more managable to "own" everything. If you're a Playstation guy, but want to play the next Halo, you just buy a month of XBL and stream it. No more hate. Gaming is safe. Check mate. Gamergate.



Intrinsic on 05 March 2015
sabvre42 said:
Have you even bothered to try PS Now, or are you just spouting out your rear?

I freaking love the service. On my ps4 I have no quality or connection issues; my vita chokes occasionally, but that's expected with a single antennae Wi-Fi device.

The games look phenomenal on my vita... ps3 aliased graphics on a 5" screen.

Remote play already drops ps4 games to 30fps and it's perfectly fine. I bet ps4 games will make it to PS Now by q2 16.

Relax. I own a PSnow 3 month subscription plan paid for day one. I doubt I have said anywhere that PSnow sucks or that this entire thread is even about PSnow. 

Its about the future of gaming in general and the prospect of game consoles/gaming PCs giving way to game streaming. 



bunchanumbers on 05 March 2015
spemanig said:
bunchanumbers said:
Console makers don't want to waste billions developing hardware that will already be obsolete at launch. They also don't want to have to lose out on profits to secondhand markets which are making more pure profits than they do. They also don't want to have to worry about piracy, people trying to mod their consoles, or if some big problem happens like the RROD, to pay for those repairs. Its just a big mess.

A streaming service means they don't have to worry about stuff like RROD, Gamestop, game prices dropping like a stone 2 weeks after launch. They also don't have to worry about shipping pallets of consoles across oceans and haggling with game stores, distribution and the like. All of that could be extra savings and more profits.

Streaming will be one of the biggest and most efficient things that will ever happen to gaming. Not just for the companies, but for consumers too. No more limited edition bundles selling out and having to fight scalpers to get a system you want. No more travelling all over to look for a game that sold out. No limited presses of games and then incredible prices on ebay later. All your game shopping can be done from the convenience of your home. This will be the true equalizer for everyone.


And on top of all this, it pretty much renders the console wars dead since it'll be far more managable to "own" everything. If you're a Playstation guy, but want to play the next Halo, you just buy a month of XBL and stream it. No more hate. Gaming is safe. Check mate. Gamergate.


Yup exactly. If you want to play it will most likely be a $99 box. All the console makers will have one. There will be no reason to go fanboy anymore. All 3 console makers libraries available for $300 and no more worrying about having to buy a new console in a few years. I'm sure that in the end they will be accessible through all sorts of devices for extra convenience. There will be no more fighting. For the cost of a Wii U you will have all of gaming available to you.



bunchanumbers on 05 March 2015
Shadow1980 said:

Not only are the network infrastructure concerns a serious obstacle, even bigger than the one for digital downloads, but there's also the fact that the demand isn't there. Console gamers still vastly prefer physical over digital, and probably for good reason. There's no net gain, and in all likelihood a net loss, for gamers if consoles switched to all-digital. We've come to expect certain things regarding consoles: That we own our copies, that we enjoy the benefits of the first-sale rule (including the second-hand market), that we aren't required to be always online, etc. Not only that, but digital-only would have to be forced, which if it happened would be the first time an industry forced digital on anyone (record companies didn't force us to buy mp3 players, book publishers didn't force us to buy Kindles, and movie studios didn't force us to switch to Netflix). PC gamers made the transition voluntarily, and probably because A) the various competing services made it worth their while and B) first-sale rights were iffy regarding PC games anyway. While there is obviously some demand for digital on consoles, I sincerely doubt it'll be a situation where the vast majority voluntarily switch over.

Also, the problem with streaming games would be the same issue that happens with streaming movies & TV. You know how Netflix periodically removes movies and shows due to expiring contracts? Imagine that for gaming. Here's a hypothetical headline and article circa 2022 (shamelessly paraphrased from a recent BGR article on Netflix):

 

 

"Every game being removed from PS Now in March"

Every month, at least a few of the contracts between Sony and third-party publishers like EA and Activision expire, which means that some of your favorite games will vanish from the PS5's streaming service. Want to know what’s being removed in March? Read on to find out.

March 5

  • Grand Theft Auto: Vice City 2
  • Mighty No. 10

March 13

  • Call of Duty: FutureWar 2099
  • Shovel Knight 2

March 25

  • Batman Arkham Anthology
  • LEGO Star Wars Episode VIII
  • No Man's Sky
Lots of big names going away this month. Enjoy them while you can.

Yeah. Imagine a future that's potentially like that. At least digital downloads don't normally disappear from your hard drive just because a game was delisted. While a downloadable game that is delisted cannot be purchased anymore, if you did get it while the getting was good you still got it. Downloads might not be as good as physical, but they're better than streaming.


You also need to add something else to your title, which will be the new games brought in for unlimited streaming. Netflix does the same thing with movies. They rotate out movies all the time and there isn't outrage. In the end, it will play out just like that. Besides contracts can be renewed and updated. We couldn't get the Donkey Kong Country games in the States for a while and look what came on sale last week? Donkey Kong Country games. It won't be the end of the world.