Game on in video fight
AMAZON could soon be the place to get your nightly gaming fix.
The online giant is developing its own video games streaming service – like a Netflix for games – to take on Xbox’s upcoming Project XCloud and Google’s secretive Yeti project.
All three are hoping to dominate a future market where you won’t need a console any more, you’ll simply play games through a web browser on your phone, TV or computer.
The browsers simply act as a window on to their internal machines, meaning you’ll only have to pay for a subscription or per-use of the game you want to play, rather than splashing out on expensive hardware.
It’s a huge battleground with all three firms working behind the scenes to outdo each other come 2020.
Speaking about the latest Amazon rumours, Jessica Toonkel, of The Information, said: “Streaming services represent a potentially significant shift in the games business by, in some cases, eliminating the need for players to purchase hardware – such as consoles or PCs – to run the most elaborate titles.
“Instead, the games run on powerful computers inside data centres, allowing people to play them on devices with less processing muscle, including smartphones, tablets and smart televisions.
“Amazon has begun talking to games publishers about distributing their titles through its service, which isn’t likely to be launched until next year at the earliest, according to one of the people briefed on the plans.”