Cloud Game Video Games

Dedicated game consoles and actual physical media are dying, being replaced by online delivery of games and gaming platforms mixed with other multimedia devices. Online games will be stored in "The Cloud" and delivered over the Internet.

The cloud is as important to a lot of people. Email access online through a browser and use Google Docs, for example, is to access documents stored in the cloud. It is where the files you view, edit and store online is stored and means you can access anywhere in the world and not fill the hard drives in personal computers.

Within the game industry itself, the cloud and the cloud game could make the biggest change to the games from the first game consoles were released in the 1970s. All games will be played online and software and the files themselves are stored in the server centers throughout the country. The "Game of clouds" generation will not actually own the physical media such as video game discs, and are not stored on a hard drive. Instead, it connects to the central servers, where the games are stored and actually processed. While delay is a common cause of concern, the developers claim to have reduced within less than a millisecond.

Here is a diagram of how Cloud Gaming is likely to work:

Console Games

Gamer> Driver> Gaming> TV

Game Cloud

Gamer> Controller> 3rd Party Box / PC> Internet> 3rd Party Servers> Internet> 3rd Party Box> PC

For the player's home, this means several big changes. With all software and hardware processing and stored remotely online used there will be software to buy discs and consoles means that games marks high street brand will face new challenges to keep business. The player will have access to a greater number and variety of online games in exchange for a monthly or annual subscription, which also will give developers of smaller independent games the opportunity to sell more games to a broader base of people.