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Threats to the Cloud Gaming Revolution

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Cloud solutions are expected to be the future of video games, but is the cloud ready for the seismic shift that gaming brings along with it?

Many of the big name companies are bracing themselves for when this shift happens because they know it could revolutionize the gaming industry for years to come. However, there are three potential problems that could slow down and create obstacles for the gaming shift to the cloud: Broadband infrastructure, Data caps, and Digital rights management.

Broadband Infrastructure

Currently, when someone is playing a game at home, the expectation is that the home server is all that is needed to play the game. But when gaming moves more consistently to the cloud, players will be interacting with software that is hosted on distant servers. Since there will be so much information sent out in the cloud, broadband connections will need to be even speedier. The concern right now is that people who have broadband connections will not have the speed needed to support cloud gaming. There will be requirements for speeds that games will need in order to operate. This could mean a lot of people would need to change their broadband network.

Data Caps

Many internet service providers cap their customers’ data use. This will give users the incentive to lower their data use, which will lead to less traffic. Many of the big ISPs have the infrastructure already in place and could do away with the data caps. As to whether they’d actually do that, well, who can say?

4K video streaming has also forced consumers to run their data ceilings very high. When cloud gaming gets added to this list, it could lead to even bigger issues. Both of these problems will need to be worked out in order to proceed.

Digital Rights Management

Microsoft caused quite a stir when they discussed their thoughts on digital rights management back before the Xbox One released. Users wouldn’t be able to sell their used games or play their own games on someone else’s Xbox. This seemed to be a bit overly dramatic, and the resulting backlash prompted Microsoft to ease off. But this initial reaction could be an indication of further issues that companies could bring up when the business model of the gaming industry completely changes.

All three issues can be solved, but it will take some time to sort all the logistics out. There will certainly be battles between cloud gaming companies and internet service providers.

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