Gaming Wars: Console vs Streaming
Is there a need for consoles anymore? Maybe streaming in 20 years is going to be so ubiquitous that you’re just not going to need a console but what about 2020?
The advent of Game Streaming
Gamers have been wanting to take their video games with them for years and console makers are starting to provide services like PlayStation Now and Xbox Play Anywhere, stream your consoles games to a screen of your choice. But these have been imperfect solutions that still rely on you to shell out the cash for a console, to begin with.
OnLive and GeForce Now changed that. And they were the first real streaming services for games that used offsite company-owned hardware to deliver games to users.
And now Google Stadia has entered the mix and promised 4K gaming over the internet entirely on Google’s servers. All you need is an account, a screen, and a controller. Stadia even has a selection of games. It includes in its paid subscription for $9.99 a month. If you go with the free version, you’ll have to buy the games yourself.
Microsoft has also started planning its foray into the streaming game wars Project xCloud is meant to take on Google’s directly, streaming games from Microsoft’s own cloud computing infrastructure. And really, it makes sense that these are the two big players in the streaming gaming industry right now. Google and Microsoft are responsible for a combined 19.5 percent of cloud infrastructure services in 2018. Microsoft Azure is 15.5 percent of that. Combine that with Microsoft’s mastery of gaming with its Xbox platform, and the company stands a real chance to take hold of the streaming video game industry.
In short, these companies could drive people to streaming instead of to the store to buy a console.
Can streaming replace consoles?
So what does all of this new tech mean for the future of consoles? Can Stadia really replace them?
Xbox Series X seems like it’s going to be more of a service in addition to a console, so might see xCloud built out into that. Or maybe console owners get access to streaming video games or just people can go out and buy a streaming subscription from Microsoft.
This might not be enough to end consoles altogether in the near future, but there are more and more ways to get your gaming fix without buying one.
There’s a portion of the population who will just never buy a console, but it doesn’t mean consoles go away. If Microsoft and Sony make that a really good experience, they’re going to have a really faithful group of consumers who will support their consoles. I just think each console generation gets smaller. And what I can’t predict is what these consoles will do for me other than play games.
