Verizon Entering the Scene
Called, aptly: Verizon Gaming. A new service has just been announced by Verizon to be a part of its vision for the future. And obviously, the company has moved from telecom services and into the entertainment industry.
While we still don’t know the exact details of the service, what we do know is that it’s already been tested on the Nvidia Shield. In the future, there are also reports of the service making an appearance on Android devices aside from Shield. Oh and, you can connect an Xbox One controller to the supported Android device no problem to heighten your experience.
From the looks of things, it seems like Verizon is focusing on the mobile gaming industry in particular. As there are no details about the adoption of mainstream platforms such as PC or consoles on the new service.
At the moment, the service is being tested to smooth out all of the kinks and optimize it for the first wave of streamers and users. The test gauntlet includes 135 different game titles. Including major titles such as Red Dead Redemption II, Battlefield V, God of War, Fortnite, et cetera.
But like I had said, we only have on hand the preliminary information about the service. There’s yet to be accurate details about the pricing, nor the way the service is structured just yet. That will have to wait for the far future until Verizon is confident enough to give us a peek into what they have in store.
Video Game Streaming: Basics
With the continuous advancement of technology and how used the population is to video games. Electronic entertainment has become more prevalent than ever and its popularity only grows on a day by day basis. But admit it, if you’re a serious player, there are frustrating times when you want to play the game. But your machine is simply too underpowered for you to battle.
And that’s the reason why video game streaming has become the new industrial battleground for companies. Particularly, the big names in the tech world trying to find the ‘next big thing’ to capitalize for the future.
Be very careful about how you’re understanding things. As ‘video game streaming’ can be the given name for two completely unrelated concepts. One popular definition is watching people play and give their reactions and commentaries on video games. The other, the one we’re talking about, is much more technical. Instead of having the game be processed locally on your machine, using your gaming rig’s hardware. For those who can afford it and with a good Internet connection, the game can be processed on the streaming service’s servers. And then ‘stream’ the contents directly to your computer. No matter if your machine is a triple-A game devourers, or a $250 school laptop.
As long as you have a good connection to the Internet, you can duke it out perfectly.
You can just imagine the level of excitement and the demand surrounding such a service. For the first time ever the hardware barrier was broken down. The convenience of it all would have everyone clamoring for the service once it becomes an ordinary staple in the video game industry.
That means, translated to business language, there are great profits to be made. And Verizon is about to become the next big player in this promising million-dollar industry.
The Prospects
The business move made by Verizon is very positive news for video game streaming technology. Even though companies have already had the theories down on paper, there had yet to be adequate executions done upon the written notes. Just look at the example made by OnLive. There were hopes, large investments, and big talks about the future. In the end, it all came crashing down into a miserable pile of failures for the deceased platform.
Still, the very fact that big companies are still holding out hopes and investing money into the technology is a definite signal. That, yes, streaming is expected to be an integral part of gaming in the future. Just … not now. Aside from the slew of technological barriers that have yet to be overcome. The requirement of the good Internet can prevent a lot of people from accessing the service. After all, there are still billions of people worldwide who don’t have access to the Internet at all. Let alone a connection that is strong and reliable enough to stream A-list games over.
Will Consoles and PC Be Irrelevant in the Future?
Although streaming might sound as if it would spell the end of dedicated consoles or PC builds in the future, it’s not.
Sony, despite their investments into streaming, is still developing the next generation of PlayStation. Microsoft is holding out money for new Xbox as well. Physical hardwares aren’t going anywhere for the foreseeable future. From the way I view it, streaming will simply act as a supplementary gaming method to the traditional, locally-hosted ones.
With Verizon entering the race, a future that you can stream video games directly into whatever devices of your desire isn’t that far-fetch anymore. Now that everything from kinds of music and books, to 4K movies, are streamed, the prospect materialized into the realm of reality even further. I say, in the end, it’s only a matter of time.
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