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[Beechos]

Whether its good or bad for the consumer and with the way technology is advancing, I cant see a gaming future that doesn't eventually rely on streaming/subscriptions services. For those that say streaming will never replace dedicated hardware or subscription based gaming is not sustainable how do you see the gaming future.

Do you think there will be a ps10, xbox series 5, or a nintendo quintuple switch?

Will there be some advancement in dedicated hardware/software/storage that will have game streaming playing even further catch up?

Will companies see the lack of massive success/revenue/profits or shutdowns of a gamepass, ea access, stadia, amazon lunar scare them away like vr?

Will there be some sort of gaming crash when people fail to subscribe to these services?

Just curious to see how we think the future of gaming will play out.

 

[MikeM]

PC will always have a box. If, for some illogical reason, Sony and MS ditch consoles for stream-only (lol), then PC will be my go to.

As for subs- it was bound to come. In saying that, its not for everyone and I can’t see it replacing the ability to outright purchase games.

 

[Kagey K]

Boxes aren't going anywhere.

This all streaming future is so far off most of us won't be alive by then.

If it comes sooner than we think then our collective consciousness will be here arguing about games, instead of playing them.

 

[tvdaXD]

Hmm, maybe. Perhaps there'll be a hybrid where you basically buy a license where you can stream that game from anywhere. Only time will tell.

 

[Rykan]

PC will always have a box. If, for some illogical reason, Sony and MS ditch consoles for stream-only (lol), then PC will be my go to.

As for subs- it was bound to come. In saying that, its not for everyone and I can’t see it replacing the ability to outright purchase games.

There is no reason to assume that PC gaming will somehow escape Streaming Only if that did become the new norm. If the vast majority of gamers choose streaming and the streaming market becomes the norm, that will affect developers willingness to invest into a PC version. Nevermind the fact that PC hardware as we know it today won't be the same either.

 

[reksveks]

Hmm, maybe. Perhaps there'll be a hybrid where you basically buy a license where you can stream that game from anywhere. Only time will tell.

That's basically the geforce now model, no? You do buy a license from a 3rd party store and can stream it via GFN.

I do wonder why steam doesn't want to jump into it but it just might not make sense for them to compete with nvidia on this one. Nvidia will always an unfair advantage.

MS have said that they want to do something similar.

 

[AV]

Will these gigantic conglomerates let you pay them $60+ for several individual games a year rather than $15 a month?

Gee, I dunno, what do you reckon?

 

[rofif]

There is not.
I realized this seeing my nephews. All smartphone gaming and gamepass.
If they grow up with this, why would they ever pay 70-100usd for a single game on a disc in a future? No way.

For me it's hell. I like physical games

 

[BadBurger]

I think they're here to stay. They'll probably begin to look different as time goes on though - such as tiered options becoming the norm, that sort of thing.

As far as streaming is concerned, the sooner governments pass legislation to stop the scam which is datacaps for broadband access (been building networks for years including a few entire datacenters under my belt - I know how cheap data actually is to deliver to a user) the sooner we'll see game streaming catch on with the mainstream.

 

[Boss Mog]

Streaming will never take off until everybody has access to fast internet that doesn't cost an arm and a leg and has unlimited data. The US is the main problem area in that regard. And even then, most purists will still not endorse it due to input lag and possible artifacts.

Services like gamepass, it's harder to say because a lot of people including myself who are in right now will leave if they jack up the monthly rate to where they feel like it isn't worth it anymore. Netflix has more than doubled in under 10 years. i certainly am not paying 25 or even 20 for gamepass and possibly another sub for the same amount for a Sony service, fuck that.

 

[ReBurn]

probably not

 

[nkarafo]

No, because publishers want control. When technology is mature enough to allow it they will do anything to normalize it.

And when they do, there isn't going to be a local hardware option. They simply don't want you to have any files you can fiddle with.

 

[DrAspirino]

No, because publishers want control. When technology is mature enough to allow it they will do anything to normalize it.

And when they do, there isn't going to be a local hardware option. They simply don't want you to have any files you can fiddle with.

THIS

As I sated in another thread, publishers now have more freedom to do whatever they want with THEIR games (which we never owned in the first place), unlike before (from gen 1 to gen 7), when technology wasn't developed enough for them to have control and relied on customer goodwill.

Remember this: companies ARE NOT YOUR FRIEND. You DON'T own any game, rather the license to play it. IF it were for the publishers, they'd want you to pay for every single time you play.

And no, I don't see a future of gaming where we still have local devices. Heck, several companies and school nowdays rely on Office online or Google Docs for collab and office productivity, making powerful PCs redundant and almost not needed in several fields.

 

[drganon]

I'd say so. Game streaming will always suck and subscription services might become bigger as years go on, but it won't take over just buying the games you want.

 

[DaGwaphics]

I don't see a future where the largest portion of gamers are not playing via the cloud. The internet is improving and the tech is advancing to reduce latency. Once you get to a point where you can match local latency of even the ps360 you are golden. Just like with music and tv/film, the ability to pickup and play any title in an instant without needing to consider storage, etc. will be too much of a draw. It will take the right service with the right offer, nothing currently available fills the niche perfectly.

 

[CeeJay]

Look at other media, music, tv and movies. They all moved first and are further along the same path that gaming is going down. Music being the furthest is probably a good indicator on things to come.

Subscription streaming services are by far the most popular ways to consume music but there is still a place in the market for single purchases of physical media. Brick and mortar stores are pretty much dead but you can still easily get hold of most albums on CD or Vinyl online.

Music is distinctly different though as public venues and events such as nightclubs, bars and gigs are still very important to music culture whereas the equivalent in gaming (arcades and live events such as esports or lan parties) are more of a mixed bag with arcades and lan parties loosing relevance decades ago while esports events are a relatively new thing. There is also the technical differences around latency but this seems to be something that is getting to the point where it's more than acceptable for anything other than the most latency critical genres.

There are enough similarities with the way that we have seen things go with these other industries where there was first a lot of resistance to streaming and subscriptions which later evaporated to a point where they dominate. Importantly though there is still a place amongst the hardcore and the hipsters for physical media.

 

[Guilty_AI]

Yes. Even in the music and movie industry you're still free to buy digital or even physical copies. As long as theres a market for it, it'll exist.

Another thing that is important to note is that streaming games and streaming movies/music are vastly different things. The stream of movies came more "naturally" since the concept revolved around being able to watch a movie while you downloaded it to your device.

With games, while streaming will get more reliable with time, so will download speeds and device performance. What will be the point of streaming a game when said game can be downloaded in a few seconds/minutes and it'll run in most devices? Personally i think the future will just be a mix of all these options.

 

[arvfab]

I hope so, otherwise I will go full retro.

 

[DaGwaphics]

What will be the point of streaming a game when said game can be downloaded in a few seconds/minutes and it'll run in most devices?

Streaming eliminates the need of high-powered hardware all together (on the players end) and the storage component. Totally agree that local play/ownership will continue to exist.

 

[Guilty_AI]

Streaming eliminates the need of high-powered hardware all together (on the players end) and the storage component.

Thats the thing. As time goes on, high powered devices won't necessarely be as expensive. You can already run relatively good looking 3D games natively on Apple TV for example




If you can download this 800mb game in a couple of minutes and run it fine directly on the device, why would i need to bother with streaming it?

 

[DaGwaphics]

Thats the thing. As time goes on, high powered devices won't necessarely be as expensive. You can already run relatively good looking 3D games natively on Apple TV for example

That assumes that new games don't move forward with tech, which hasn't been the case so far. You can play games on an Apple TV, sure, and what tablets and phones can do has gotten impressive. But, with that said customers want visual excellence and developers of the AAA (and even a lot of AA) content push forward so that low-end devices are not an option for local play.

 

[Guilty_AI]

That assumes that new games don't move forward with tech, which hasn't been the case so far. You can play games on an Apple TV, sure, and what tablets and phones can do has gotten impressive. But, with that said customers want visual excellence and developers of the AAA (and even a lot of AA) content push forward so that low-end devices are not an option for local play.

We already have loads of popular games that aren't high-tech ones. Truth is, the mainstream costumer isn't really all that interested in visual excellence.
Even with those high-selling AAA games, i find that, outside of enthusiasts circles, most people are only interested in one or two specific ones, then go on to spend most of their gaming time in some MMO or F2P game.

Ultimatelly these "traditional" AAA games - as they are right now* - still aim mainly towards the more "conservative" players like you and me who don't want to stream their games.

*this is another interesting talk regarding what your mainstream AAA game might look like in the future, as well as how "gaming" is already splitting into different segments that are as much of a different public as Movies and Books.

 

[MonkeyClaw36]

Boxes aren't going anywhere.

This all streaming future is so far off most of us won't be alive by then.

If it comes sooner than we think then our collective consciousness will be here arguing about games, instead of playing them.

You're 90 years old!?

 

[Fare thee well]

We shall see. I'll probably be one of the last to adopt it if there are no other alternatives. I've never been a fan of subs/streaming, unless it is a complimentary service or for certain games (ie - WoW). I like to specifically vote for and support the games I like, and have gaming availability offline and online.

That being said, I can't envision a world where I say no to playing video games, so if that is indeed the future, then so be it. I guess in the end I am more concerned that subgenres of games I love will disappear in favor of mass popularity.