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| Video Games: The Battle of the Cloud |
Videogaming sceneVeo on Slashdot, "OnLive and Gaikai - How to Stop Gaming Revolution", a mention of the interesting battle that could begin to register in the video game industry with the development of platforms like OnLive or Gaikai that use the principle of the cloud Computing, in a scene completely dominated by three very strong competitors whose strategy revolves precisely around the sale of their own hardware platforms: Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft.
The stage has been rated "the new two" versus "the big three", and picks up all the elements for an interesting battle: although OnLive has a small hardware development in the form of the so-called "microconsola", which comes with its own Controller, its true approach, like that of Gaikai, is to allow the use of sophisticated games on any type of platform, such as a PC or Mac connected to the network via an ADSL line. OnLive recommends a minimum of 1.5 Mbps, which are converted to 5 Mbps to play on HDTV, while Gaikai uses an adaptive platform developed over Flash that chooses the best resolution at any given time according to the conditions of the transmission to provide an experience Without cuts, and aims to position itself, according to its founder, as a service that companies in the industry could use to put games in demo or complete mode available to their customers even if they did not have the right platform, thus increasing the size of the potential market .
For the big three, the battle is extremely important because it largely defines the scenario of the future: for those who have already developed and widely accepted a proprietary hardware platform, we are talking about a scenario that provides much more control and entry barriers That another in which anyone could put their game within reach of the market by simply offering it through platforms on the net. The logical defense is to increase the development and sophistication of proprietary platforms, using peripherals such as cameras and accessories of all kinds (pistols, golf clubs or sensors of all kinds, such as Wii Fit) that in the case of new platforms would be With a much greater difficulty of introduction - the traditional distribution channel and the fear of consumers to bet on something little known play an important role here - and with a less faithful or directly impossible experience in case of having to be carried out by means of a Simple keyboard and mouse. The strategy would be completed with exclusivity agreements that would restrict the offer of titles through these channels, thus forcing developers to choose between platforms with a fully consolidated park of devices and other emerging ones that propose the use of standard devices.
At the moment, little can be known: both platforms are still in closed beta, so it is still too early to check the reception of the same in segments as the heavy gamers, who often have a great influence on development And often prefer platforms designed specifically to maximize the gaming experience versus commonly used hardware.
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