Since the inception and emergence of Cloud Computing, we have come across different terms and concepts having the “as-a-service” suffix attached to them. These include Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), and others. However, there is a new entry in this league, namely “Gaming-as-a-Service” or GaaS. The concept is not really new, as we all are aware of several games available on Facebook that are already running in the cloud, but the current year has been witnessing a grave interest of the traditional game companies in the cloud technology. Now the question arises whether all the games in the future will be powered by cloud computing?
The Cloud Gaming
The gaming industry has been revolutionized with the advent of the concept of cloud gaming. If you like to play games over Facebook, then you must have heard the name of Zynga, which offers cloud gaming services. Similarly, the renowned game console manufacturer, Xbox has also entered into the competition with its Xbox One offering the amazing experience of Cloud gaming. One can play any game supporting cloud technology using any compatible device.
What’s In There For Gamers?
It is usually said:
Man is a gaming animal. He must always be trying to get the better in something or another.
Many of us have at least one friend in our circles who is a hardcore gamer in the true sense. You will always find him playing games in his self-built gaming environment in his room, which makes one wonder whether he has ever witnessed the daylight or not. A gamer usually has a few options; either he owns a high-end PC or a gaming console like XBOX 360 and/or PS3. If you are one of them, then you must be spending quite a lot of money on the hardware and its maintenance, along with spending on buying more and more games. But hold on! Have you ever wondered what if you get the same gameplay, same kind of game, and a similar level of performance against spending a minimal amount? What if you no longer need to worry about new game versions or about applying patches? All this you will be getting with gaming in the cloud.
Cloud Gaming is really going to be a threat to traditional gaming modes. Different companies are set to offer this service that will take the gaming craze to an all-new level. The most prominent companies preparing to offer this service include Onlive and Gaikai.
The Hitches in Cloud Gaming Rise
With the progress in shifting the gaming experience to the cloud, there’s still a need for gaming consoles allowing us to play some extremely high-end games. Why is that so? It’s been observed that the entire gaming industry cannot be moved to the cloud at this stage. The major holdup in this migration is said to be the lack of graphic processing units. At present, cloud computing hosts and virtualization have been optimized only for computing power, but the optimization for graphics processing is yet to be done.
Another weakness in the Cloud gaming concept is the level of speed and network connectivity required to equalize the gaming experience with what is being offered by the dedicated client-side hardware. A significant factor that would not let dedicated client gaming consoles go outdated is the latency. However, cloud gaming service providers are striving hard to offer some amazing experiences to the gamers around. It’s also been reported that both Microsoft and Sony have lined up a new game console to be released later this year.
Gamers will be Gamers
No matter how long it takes to shift the complete gaming industry to the cloud, the gamers all over the world will continue to be the gamers. You just cannot take the games out of them. It’s just that cloud gaming may give them an all-new experience that they no longer prefer gaming consoles, but it’s too early to anticipate this. Let’s wait for the Gaming-as-a-Service concept to emerge to see what’s in there for the gamers.
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