Popular Cloud Gaming Platforms
Google Stadia
Stadia is a cloud gaming service developed and
operated by Google. It’s advertised to be capable of streaming video games to players up to 4K resolution at 60fps with support for high-dynamic-range (HDR) via the company’s numerous data centers. It’s accessible through Chromecast Ultra devices, the Google Chrome web browser on personal computers as well as other Chromium-based browsers, the
Stadia mobile app on supported Android smartphones, and Chrome OS tablets. There is also an experimental mode with support for all Android devices capable of installing the Stadia mobile app. In December 2020, Google released an IOS browser-based progressive
web application for Stadia, enabling gameplay in the Safari browser.
Amazon Luna
Announced in September 2020, Amazon Luna is a cloud gaming platform developed and operated by Amazon. It’s a streaming service for Fire TV, smartphones, tablets, and computers. It competes with the likes of Microsoft xcloud and Google Stadia. Apart from the 4K support at 60fps, Luna is also said to integrate Twitch– a popular video streaming site that allows gamers to broadcast and game simultaneously. Amazon Luna runs on Windows servers and NVIDIA GPUS in Amazon’s AWS compute cloud, allowing developers to port existing games to Luna easily.
Xbox
Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the name of Xbox Game
Studios. The brand was first introduced in the
United States in
November 2001, with the launch of the original
Xbox console. The original device was the first video game console offered by an American company after the Atari Jaguar stopped sales in 1996.
Geforce Now
Geforce Now is the brand used by Nvidia for its cloud gaming service. The Nvidia Shield version of Geforce Now, formerly known as Nvidia Grid, launched in beta in 2013, with Nvidia officially unveiling its name in September 2015. The subscription service provided users with unlimited access to a library of games hosted on Nvidia servers for the life of the subscription, being delivered to subscribers through streaming video. Certain titles were also available via a “Buy & Play” model. This version was discontinued in 2019, and transitioned to a new version of the service that enabled Shield users to play their own games. An Android client was also introduced in 2019. The service exited beta and launched to the general public in February 2020. It’s available on Windows, macos, Android, IOS, Shield TV and Chromebook devices.
which will, in turn, allow them to access and play data-intensive games.”
“Airtel 5G has successfully demonstrated that it can reduce reaction time from 20 milliseconds to 5 milliseconds; which is exceptional. Lag in latency may not impact the casual gaming experience so much, but it definitely would have an impact on the efficiency and experience of online multiplayer games such as battle royale and racing games,” said Gupta.
“It should also be noted that 5G technology will also enable game developers to build games that are high in quality and experience; and not bother about internet speed,” he added.
The onset of 5G is set to be a complete game-changer in every way. With growing smartphones penetration and a vast youth population, 5G-backed cloud gaming could spread to remote areas and offer gamers the right ecosystem to compete and excel in the international arena. India’s current base of online gamers, which stands at around 400+ million, is expected to grow to over 500 million by next year. And this means a bigger boom for the gaming
“Accessibility to best technology is crucial in the current era of esports and gaming. Considered as one of the most influential and exciting developments, 5G will offer a faster speed and improved latency, which will give the gamers a more competitive edge”
– Shivam Rao, Co-founder and COO,
Trinity Gaming
“Despite the fact that there is no 5G network yet in India, and it’s a “devices go first market” with the first 5G phone available back in February 2020, there are numerous 5G smartphones offered in the market currently, as affordable as INR15,000”
– Himanshu Jain, Senior Market Analyst – Client Devices, IDC India
“Lag in latency may not impact the casual gaming experience so much, but it definitely would have an impact on the efficiency and experience of online multiplayer games such as battle royale and racing games”
– Tarun Gupta, Founder, Ultimate Battle
industry, as per the reports.
Shivam Rao, the Co-founder and COO at Trinity Gaming which is India’s top gaming talent management company, said “Accessibility to best technology is crucial in the current era of esports and gaming. Considered as one of the most influential and exciting developments, 5G will offer a faster speed and improved latency, which will give the gamers a more competitive edge.”
“For players it would mean winning or losing a match, and to their audience, it would be the advanced experience. With this, gaming would surely take precedence with a higher bandwidth supporting the esports community to thrive,” Rao added.
Similarly, Lokesh Suji, Director, Esports Federation of India and Vice President of the Asian Esports Federation (AESF), on the 5G effect on the Indian gaming industry, said, “Among many driving factors that have been accelerating esports growth is access to high-speed internet. The access to high-speed internet connection over 3G/4G spectrum and broadband has impacted the overall gaming experience. In the past, a normal internet connection was not adequate and gamers witnessed lags during gameplay. But now fast-paced internet connections are ensuring seamless gameplay.”
“Easy access to blazing-fast internet helps to develop a larger gaming community of highly targeted esports audience. India has got its smartphone population covered with a high speed 4G network and the launching of 5G is underway which will further strengthen the building blocks of online esports,” Suji noted.
A win-win situation
According to Himanshu Jain, Senior Market Analyst – Client Devices at IDC India; India,
in recent times, has experienced a huge growth in the gaming sector especially in the mobile gaming with the likes of BGMI, Call of Duty, Rummy, etc. This is currently supported by 4G network which enables players with fast network to play data intensive games on the go. “With 5G network available in India by 2022, we expect this trend to graduate, as more high graphics and data intensive games launch, necessitating even faster network speed. We are yet to fully experience cloud gaming in India, but certainly from the prospects of it and fast adapting younger generation, we expect with the launch of 5G network, cloud gaming will steadily witness growth,” said Jain.
“Also, despite the fact that there is no 5G network yet in India, and it’s a “devices go first market” with the first 5G phone available back in February 2020, there are numerous 5G smartphones offered in the market currently, as affordable as INR15,000. This further ascertains the fact that for cloud gaming to pick up, consumers will be able to access the high graphics games without spending much on either the hardware or the game itself. Currently, the cloud gaming is based on subscription model in markets like US where it costs as low as $5/month and we expect this model to be replicated in
India with more partnerships coming into play (brands/telco/gaming vendors),” he enumerated.
The India smartphone market is on its growth trajectory with upgraders in low, low-mid price segments, shift from 4G to 5G devices in the upcoming years, however we are still far behind from 5G becoming mainstream. As masses get
educated for clear use cases, is when IDC estimates cloud gaming to eventually pick up at faster pace.
Set to boom
The raw speed of 5G isn’t the only benefit it will offer gamers. Higher bandwidth and lower response times means cloud computing becomes more viable. This will allow developers to handle more arduous processing and rendering duties remotely, and stream a higher quality end result to players. This would lessen concerns over whether a game runs on older or lower spec phones – as long as the end user has a 5G data plan, they could enjoy higher quality games.
The key to this is mobile edge computing – effectively, localised cloud servers rather than larger, centralised ones. This basically means the devices in your pocket will communicate with more, smaller data hubs that are physically closer to them – on the “edge’ of the network. Rather than games having to send data to a distant central server, process it, and ping back a response, all of which slows down overall communication speeds, they will be able to access more power, closer to their users.
ramesh@mymobileindia.com
“India has got its smartphone population covered with a high speed 4G network and the launching of 5G is underway which will further strengthen the building blocks of online esports”
– Lokesh Suji, Director, Esports Federation
of India