Hook up any controller to PC you want.

In theory, but install base of PC>>>consoles. If in next 10-20 years Nintendo will be so successful with Wii it could match PC numbers, then yes, may be. Actully it doesn't matter which hardware you're using to get access to "cloud gaming" service.

del

Everybody run, The Cloud is coming!

I'm sorry, there's so much buzz about "The Cloud" flying around that I have a hard time taking any of it seriously. People have been talking about thin clients and such for quite some time, but the idea never quite seems to take off.

Not that this isn't a good idea and worth exploring, but I find myself agreeing with theprof that the control lag is going to be somewhat limiting. I wouldn't want to play any fast-paced action games with this service.

I think it can matter in the long run, especially if the PC ends up getting absorbed by the television.

How long has "cloud" been around?

This is the first time I have heard of it.

I told you that sword was too long!

Seriously this won't work. Input lag would kill the gaming experience. Secondly, way too much hardware would be needed. And the last thing is that connections aren't that stable and that would bring some serious problems to ISPs.

Wikipedia tells me that the idea behind the cloud dates all the way back to 1960. It's only since the internet took off in the last couple of decades that people in the IT biz have really been chomping at the bit to turn every facet of computing into a service delivered over the network.

The big barrier here is that people like ownership and control of their own computing. You need to offer them some really compelling compensation before they'll let you put their programs and data in a server farm hundreds of kilometers away. It has to be cheap, easy, and offer some clear advantages over a local device before the customer will surrender that control.

Just what I want, to pay a huge monthly fee to be able to play games at a lower resolution, most likely a worse frame rate, with poor IQ, and terrible input lag.

30-50ms 'lag' is about good enough as it would net a fairly acceptable 20-35fps range. Its definately something which could be interesting in built up cities with good internet infrastructure and dense populations.

Would dense populations be a problem because of increased server load?