Cloud gaming as a concept has been surfing around the edge of the mobile landscape for years now and although some companies have given it a good go, none have really managed to tap into its fullest potential.
Nvidia, a company prominent for its computer graphics cards and mobile chipset technologies, has been quietly working away in the background on a project called GRID, something it hopes will bring cloud gaming to the masses.
I’ve spoken before to Nvidia about GRID and what precisely it entails (you can read about it here). At its core, GRID is a set of technologies Nvidia has created to enable cloud-based game streaming to end users.
The idea is that you can beam a PC or console game which, ordinarily your smartphone, tablet or Smart TV might not be able to handle, but as the processing crunch is taken care of on a specially tailored remote server, your phone is just the viewing portal and control input and will offer a smooth experience.
But, what’s remained elusive is when mobile users might actually be able to get to grips with it. When exactly is GRID set to arrive?
Well, it turns out that in some places it already has. I chatted to Nvidia’s Phil Eisler, general manager of GeForce GRID Cloud Gaming about the subject and he revealed the service is already active in France and Korea.
‘Our initial focus has been on delivery through fixed broadband at 720p (resolution) and 30 frames-per-second (fps), and a 10 megabits-per-second (mbps) service is needed to deliver this reliably,’ he said.
Consequently, Nvidia’s main partners at present are internet service providers (ISPs) in regions where these speeds are commonplace – and that’s relevant even in the mobile space, as these days the companies providing wired broadband are the same ones running mobile networks too. The potential for cross-platform services has never been greater.
Eisler explained that in France GRID is already available in a limited capacity, describing it mainly as providing ‘casual games’ – stuff like Candy Crush Saga - to fixed broadband customers who can opt to add cloud gaming to their broadband bill at between 5 and 10 euros per month.
PlayCast and GCluster are two partner companies operating Nvidia’s GRID technology, GCluster in particular is being used by broadband providers Orange and SFR to deliver cloud-based casual gaming titles to consumers.
It’s a similar story in Korea, according to Eisler, although he says it has a lot of potential as it ‘leads the world’ on connectivity with speeds between 50-100mbps.
The main thing which becomes apparent from speaking to Eisler is that such services are likely a ways off yet in the UK and US, and that in every region, exactly how cloud gaming via GRID might emerge is highly contextual.
Eisler notes that there are plenty of parallels to be drawn between Netflix and other video-on-demand (VOD) services and the way in which gaming-on-demand services might emerge.
In the US, he said, services such as Netflix are ‘changing delivery’. Originally broadband providers were wary of Netflix as they didn’t want to become what Eisler calls ‘dumb pipes’, but now the use of ‘over-the-top’ services is actually a preferential model for many.
Eisler emphasised that in other countries, including the UK, linking cloud gaming into ISP packages (and by extension, mobile packages) is the more likely outcome. Most ISPs, according to Eisler, take the emergence of cloud gaming very seriously and the majority, if not all, are currently working on trials for such services and have a dedicated cloud gaming representative.
It’s also possible that in the UK we could see an Amazon-like model using ‘pay-per-play’, he added.
There are some obstacles in terms of offering more varied content than just casual gaming titles, however. Eisler pointed out that some game publishers are wary of putting their games onto cloud gaming service platforms as this would forfeit the immediate revenue from sales of boxed copies or digital sales via distribution channels such as Steam. For console games which frequently carry a £60 price tag this is a serious concern.
At one point, Eisler flipped the interview around and asked me what kind of pricing structure and service level UK consumers might expect. I put forward that, for me personally, as much as £10 per month on top of my broadband bill would be acceptable – double what you’d pay for a Netflix subscription. But, I added that I would want to see high-end and brand new games made available.
We agreed that although there are a lot of comparisons to be drawn between VoD via Netflix and cloud gaming there are some key differences too. I pointed out that there will always be an audience for classic films – people will always want to watch Casablanca, for example – but I’m not so sure the same can be said of every older gaming title.
Sure, people will like a bit of retro gaming on Pacman every now and then, but for the most part I think people want to play the latest and greatest, with the best graphics and gameplay. The latest wave of multi-million selling ‘AAA’ titles confirms this even if the retro, casual and indie scenes are also strong. There is room, and indeed a need, for all of the above.
Eisler sees current services in France and Korea as very much testing the water and suggests that, unfortunately, it may be a couple of years before end-users in the UK and the US get to try GRID for themselves.
Another factor is the emergence of 4G LTE which can far more easily meet the speed requirements than conventional broadband or 3G connectivity. Eisler thinks cloud-gaming may well arrive in earnest via such high-speed wireless services first, and of course in the UK at present only EE has a 4G network which is somewhat on the expensive side – this is set to change this year, however, as Vodafone, O2 and Three gear up to launch their own 4G services.
Trials by ISPs are ongoing, but Eisler says that in existing use scenarios, such as those in Korea, adoption of cloud gaming services are showing that there is ‘healthy’ interest from consumers. Apparently around 10 per cent of broadband customers are using cloud gaming services where they’re offered, with some ISPs reportedly having as many as 100,000 cloud gamers per million subscribers.
by pbriden via Featured Articles
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