SAN FRANCISCO, March 17, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Google is looking to transform
internet-age game play, with an expected launch of a streaming service which
uses the tech giant’s power in the internet cloud.
Expected Tuesday is the debut of a ramped-up version of a cloud gaming
platform Google tested recently in partnership with Ubisoft.
A video clip teasing a keynote presentation at an annual Game Developers
Conference in San Francisco invites people to “Gather around as we unveil
Google’s vision for the future of gaming.”
The clip cycles through an accelerating collage of scenes one might find in
video games, but says nothing about what Google will announce at the event,
which will be live-streamed at YouTube.
Google collaborated with French video game colossus Ubisoft to use the hit
“Assassin’s Creed” franchise to test “Project Stream” technology for hosting
the kind of quick, seamless play powered by in-home consoles as an online
service.
A select number of people in the US were able to play “Assassin’s Creed
Odyssey” streamed to Chrome browsers on desktop or laptop computers.
A recently uncovered patent that Google filed for a video game controller
hinted that the tech firm might be planning to release its own console and
controller to go along with a streaming service.
– ‘xCloud’ on horizon –
Video games are following television and music into the cloud, with
console-quality play on its way to being a streaming service as easy to
access as Netflix or Spotify.
Computing power in data centers and devices from televisions to smartphones
has surged and streaming technology has advanced, providing tools to break
blockbuster titles from confines of consoles or personal computers.
Google, whose YouTube video service operates an eSports platform for
viewing game competitions, will be entering a sector with other powerful
competitors including Sony and Microsoft.
Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella said late last year that a keenly
anticipated “xCloud” streaming service was in “early days.”
Microsoft’s Xbox consoles and games unit are big business for the Redmond,
Washington-based technology titan, which has been adapting to modern
lifestyles in which software is hosted as a service online and tapped into
using whichever gadgets people prefer.
Video game titan Electronic Arts also has laid out a vision of streaming
video games enhanced with artificial intelligence to create “living,
breathing worlds that constantly evolve.”
– Bigger world of play –
Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter sees Amazon, Apple and Google as
potential big players in the space given huge investments they have made in
data centers that provide cloud services to millions of people.
Amazon, a major cloud operator through its Amazon Web Services, also owns
popular game play-streaming service Twitch.
Console quality video game play streamed online as a service, hosted on
servers in the internet cloud, faces challenges including moving data quickly
enough to avoid lags in action or imagery.
Improvements in internet bandwidth, computing power and data storage
capabilities are enabling “disruptive technologies” such as streaming that
can change the way games are created as well as played, according to Ubisoft.
While streaming game services might nibble at consoles sales, they are more
likely to broaden the audience of players to anyone with an internet
connection, according to analysts.
The US video game industry generated a record $43.4 billion in revenue in
2018, up 18 percent from the prior year, according to data released by the
Entertainment Software Association (ESA) and NPD Group.
“Console, PC, and mobile platforms all saw significant growth, while
developing portions of the market like subscription and streaming services
gave us a peek into a future full of possibilities for the industry and
gamers,” NPD analyst Mat Piscatella said in a release.