Cloud Gaming is terrible idea and will fail.

[hyperme]

But since my internet cuts out in a few minutes, I can't really explain why.

One reason is bandwidth. Trouble loading Youtubes? On cloud gaming for you.

More on this tomorrow hopefully?

[marsgreekgod]

It's a bad idea. it won't fail

Get ready to not be able to play games becuse they only run cloud!

[Kegluneq]

Actually, I was lucky enough to go to GDC Online this year, and heard a talk by David Perry, the president of Gaikai, a quickly growing cloud computing company.

Yes, at this exact moment, cloud gaming is restricted to those who have good internet connections. He says that the recommended connection at this time is 5 Mb/s.

However, they are hard at work to continually improve the technology, and they believe that in a year or two, they will be able to reduce the required connection speed to 1.2 Mb/s, a much more common connection speed.

In response to an increase in cloud gaming, it's highly likely that ISPs will start to offer new tiers of higher bandwidth caps.


TLDR: Now, its great, but not widely available. In the future, once the technology and infrastructure can support it, it's going to be big.

The thing that's going to be wonderful about the cloud, is that someone with a relatively old computer can still play the latest and greatest. Currently, if you want to keep up with PC games, you're going to have to keep up with expensive PC hardware too.

[Sageofrage]

Pardon my cluelessness but what is cloud gaming?

[marsgreekgod]

Pardon my cluelessness but what is cloud gaming?

basicly streaming the game, not downloading it

[Sparkle]

It won't fail, and in a good environment, it's actually a great idea.

It won't fail, because as mentioned before, it's constantly being improved. Also, eventually, the consumer will have to upgrade their devices, which will make it easier in the first place.

It's a good idea, because it allows you to be able to have access to the games from more than one console, depending on how the companies set it up, without having to wait long periods of time for it to download/install and disregarding HDD space almost entirely. It's just that given the average environment of the consumer, it is unreasonable, since most people have slow internet connections.

[Kegluneq]

It's a good idea, because it allows you to be able to have access to the games from more than one console

That brings up another point. Cloud gaming is cross-platformable. The Gaikai demonstration included a video of WoW being played on an iPad. It was the exact same game, only Gaikai included an extra "translation layer" that converted the iPad input to controls that the game could recognize. Of course, this extends to all other games and devices.

[hyperme]

And what happens if the Cloud errors and you can't access your games? Something like that has a big target painted on it for Lulzsec type groups. At least with Steam you can still play without a constant connection.

Also cloud type systems hand more power over to developers, who often have less than ideal views on product ownership. Hell, even Steam, paragon of DRM solutions is evil it that regard, with a lisensey type thing instead of owning. Of course, they can't take the games off your PC once you get them, meaning if they removed a lisence, you could still use the game.

[Wonkyth]

Well, that's a risk you're going to have to take, isn't it.
I think it's a perfectly reasonable trade-off for the amazing convenience of the idea.
Besides, I hardly ever subscribe to the scare of "Onoes, they might take my stuff off me because I don't have a physical copy!".
Not trying to be demeaning or anything, but I don't see complaining about cloud gaming, or anything else, in this manner to be at all constructive.

That aside, it doesn't really effect me much, here in Australia, since even if we had fast enough internet, there wouldn't be a large enough user base for it to be viable to set up cloud servers. 

[Kegluneq]

But that's the magic, those servers would be set up elsewhere in the world, but you would still be able to use them! Unless Australia likes to block foreign IPs or something, which I'm pretty sure they don't right?

[Wonkyth]

Little thing called huge latency compounded with shit internet.
Seriously, Australia has some of the worst internet in the world.

[Sparkle]

Well, I'm sure you can use things like Amazon Cloud. Also, I can't say anything about the internet there, but as previously mentioned I believe, they are working to make it so that slower connections can still use it.

[Wonkyth]

Regardless of bandwidth, Latency would mean that there would have to be Australia-based servers, which wont happen due to lack of demand.