Will cloud computing change the game?

Ever since Google’s CEO, Eric Schmidt, publicly uttered “cloud computing” in 2006, the term is now one of the most hyped phrases around, mainly in the context of the future of the web. In its broadest sense, cloud computing describes something apparent to anybody who uses the Internet: Information is stored and processed on computers somewhere else—“in the clouds”—and brought back to your screen on demand. Now, imagine a world in which you can stream video games directly onto your television or computer at 60 frames per second, with graphical settings at maximum. Well, cloud computing mavens are setting out to make this a reality by introducing a new service that could theoretically eliminate the need for high-end PCs and consoles altogether. Welcome to the world of cloud gaming.

By Kartik Ram

Published: Thu 26 Aug 2010, 10:49 PM

Last updated: Thu 2 Apr 2015, 10:11 AM

Earlier this summer, the gaming industry was watching with keen interest when OnLive, a Silicon Valley start-up launched its pioneering cloud gaming service to the public. This was followed by Intel announcing its investment in a similar cloud-gaming service, Gaikai, from their investment arm, Intel Capital. The concept behind cloud-gaming is straightforward: rather than having a console or games PC which you have to upgrade or maintain, cloud gaming enables users to play a game without downloading or installing the game on your computer. Instead, you access the game that resides in the cloud, much like you access photos on Facebook’s servers or mail on Google or Yahoo!’s servers. All your game progress and statistics are stored on the server and you can access your game anywhere.

This may sound complicated and, technically, it is. But, as a gamer, it’s unbelievably simple.

You open your web browser, click on a button, and voila, you are playing a game. It’s this simplicity that makes cloud gaming tailor-made for casual gamers, who are relatively older and less tech-savvy than the hardcore video game audience.

The cloud gaming trend is also attractive to games publishers in removing the costs of making and distributing packaged goods. They could cut out the cost of retailers and avoid both paying licensing fees to console makers and losing sales in the used disk-based games trade. But publishers are cautious about putting brand new releases on an unproven service and risking upsetting established relationships with retailers such as Sharaf DG and Geekay.

It’s not a question of if cloud gaming will change the casual games downloads market forever, but when. Cloud gaming has the potential to replace the try-and-buy download model that dominates the market today. Mark my words – once you have played a casual game in the cloud, you may never want to download and install a game ever again.

Kartik Ram is a Dubai-based digital media entrepreneur