Expensive, unreliable, and damages the overall gaming experience.

Given that the WiiU is the best example we have of a (near-flawless) streaming console combined with the general lack of popularity for games that could easily be streamed without worrying about latency (turn-based), you have to wonder whether the average 7yr old gamer has a better grasp of gaming than these new 'gaming' companies.

You can blame Cell phones.  The reason I say this is that the market has exploded and it bring games to billion of users.  Now take a look at what these streaming services is trying to do is bring you console type of games on the go for your mobile device.  I tried Xcloud and it made me purchase one of those clips you can snap on your controller with your cell phone.  You cannot take your Xbox or PS system everywhere you want to go and also just pull it out and play whenever you want.  The closes you get is the Nintendo Switch.  The ability to play Gears, Halo, The last of US, GOD of War you name it on the go anywhere you want and then when you get home start those games on your PC or console right where you left off.  Now you are on your lunch break, in a long line, at the airport, in a hotel you name it, having all your games with you all the time no matter what device you choice to use.  Hell, even your Cell phone can cast to a TV so if you are travelling you can play on your TV without taking your huge console with you.  That will be the new console gaming landscape and whoever gets it right with the best features, content and service will be very successful.

Maybe I'm behind on these thing but generally, I don't sign up to any streaming services (that I don't have to, already pay for BBC so get iPlayer and I have my Dad's SkyGo on my playstation) but when I do, I do it for a month, watch what I want to (Marvel series on Netflix, The Boys on Amazon etc) then I cancel again.

Knowing that I don't own these games, the service goes and the games gone or , that I'm dependent on internet connection? Or phone network? No, it's just not for me. If I'm out of the house, it's either with friends, or work, if I'm not I'd rather just turn on whatever machine I do and start playing what I own and like. If I get the train to my family home I have to download iPlayer stuff as the net connections are not reliable enough to have a consistent stream.

Ask this question on a Fight Game community website and they'd probably laugh at you.

It's the mobile gaming curse, huge amounts of money to reach into.

There are so much people that do not care about gaming on a tv or big screen, they want the fast less attentionspan gaming done on a device that is already ''socially'' accepted to bury your face in hours a day.(looking at you facebook you ****)

It's much less expensive and you will never bother with specs anymore, the servers will make all the work to improve their infra and you won't bother to upgrade your PC each 3 years

You also don't need to have that ugly boxes that are PC using your space, you can connect direct from your TV, though this is a non factor for me 

I've been thinking about this some overnight.....

I think that we'll see streaming really start to make a dent in the middle of the 9th gen.  It will impact the way things at out in the second half of the generation, bigtime.  By the time the 10th gen starts (or the time that the next gen would start, 6-7 years from now), we'll see streaming become the focus.  If we get another generation of consoles, they'll be designed with streaming as a major focus.  Or, this may be the last generation for consoles, at least as a primary gaming device.  

Also, Sony and Nintendo better do something significant in the streaming arena very soon.  Just staying still and hoping most people want to game in the traditional way really doesn't make sense.  They at least need a decent streaming option, so that they're in that market if/when it takes off.  Otherwise, they risk being left behind, and will have to be swallowed up by the giants (MS, Amazon, Google, maybe Apple or Samsung, etc.) to get the value out of their IP.  They don't have to (and should not) abandon their current strategies, as those strategies are working.  But, I'm concerned about their ability to compete against those gigantic companies, especially once those companies have a multiple year headstart.  

Won't be the mainstream any time soon, the average internet speed globally is too slow for it to be viable for a long time. This, and the need for entirely different models when it comes to data caps and similar issues for internet services and providers.

For now, it remains a curiosity.

Always noticeable how much we cling to our habits whenever a new medium is starting to takeover,an interesting case of denial for people that saw different forms of entertainment diminish and grow in the same way.

A complete takeover is almost nonexistent in any space of entertainment but it will take the bigger part of the market and it will not that so long.

I know you are not serious but it would be pretty beyond our knowledge in possible forever to send anything faster than the speed of light, but we can do with much slower for streaming :p

Really you are asking why don't you spend $200-500 console or $750+ on PC, instead of using a device that you already own. The cost of entry for streaming is only $50(controller). Besides, Xbox model streaming is seen as an alternative way of playing when away from your console or PC. The new Luna service announces by Amazon really pushing streaming as an alternate way into gaming for a really cheap barrier of entry. If you can't see the appeal for some people, you are probably in the camp that thinks buying a next-gen console is stupid when RTX 3080 & 3090 will blow away the power of said consoles. It's all about cost, especially if you're not that passionate about gaming.