E3, the world's largest video game show, debuted Sunday in Los Angeles. And among the novelties, this year, there is the "cloud gaming". Europe 1 is on site and explains everything.
Play console ... without console
To put it simply, "cloud gaming" is the dematerialized video game: you no longer buy a console, instead you take a subscription to a service. Then, it is the powerful servers of Google or Microsoft who take care of everything and play remotely on any screen: computer, TV and even phone. Cloud gaming should improve the experience for players. Since it is the servers that do all the work, it ensures maximum quality for the graphics and the fluidity of the games.
" It's a bit like Netflix video, dissociating the machine from the content. "The other benefit of 'cloud gaming' is mobility. "Sometimes we want to play his game of the moment but we can not because we are not at home, the 'cloud gaming' will give access to its catalog of games anywhere and n ' when, "says Stéphanie Perotti, vice president of Ubisoft in charge of online services, at the microphone of Europe 1." It's a bit like the video with Netflix.It dissociates more and more the machine and the content. " The French publisher has partnered with Google to offer games on the platform Stadia.
Players should benefit from the best games all the time. "Today, it is very difficult to transpose the most advanced games, the richest, on smartphone.Tomorrow, with cloud gaming, we can access these games on any screen," said Stéphanie Perotti. And because the quality or power of the device will no longer be a determining factor. Thanks to the servers, your computer or your phone will be a simple receptacle.
Microsoft is hitting Google
Clearly, "cloud gaming" is the future of video games. At E3, console manufacturers, game publishers and gamers are just talking about it. Yet it was Google who shot first, even before the show started. The American giant, which is not present in Los Angeles, will launch in November Stadia, its service of subscription games with two formulas: one free with games to download and correct graphics and another to ten euros per month with better graphics and some free bonus games.
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In the process, Microsoft will launch xCloud, dematerialized version of its Xbox. Much was expected of the presentation announced at E3 but it was finally very succinct. The xCloud project will take two forms. The first is pretty classic, pure 'cloud gaming'. "If you do not have a console, you can use xCloud, the Xbox experience in the cloud, and when you want to play a game, servers from all over the world will send the data to your phone, tablet, your PC or TV and you can play without buying a console ", details for Europe 1 Hugues Ouvrard, boss of Xbox France.
Where Microsoft stands out from its competitors, it's with the second option: xCloud will transform its Xbox into a personal server. "People who already have an Xbox One can use it to stream, to send their games to their phone and play on the bus, in the garden, at the beach, etc. This will be done through the Xbox application that will turn on your console and execute the request, "explains Hugues Ouvrard. To develop this cloud gaming service, Microsoft has teamed up with its rival Sony, proof that the stakes go beyond divisions.
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Conquer more and more players
It must be said that the financial stakes are huge. The video game industry today is worth 138 billion euros a year, as much as all the other cultural industries combined (music, cinema, VOD, etc.). But if video games are a hobby, playing can still be expensive. From 300 to 600 euros for a console, up to 70 euros for big games and a few euros to play online: the bill is quickly salted. And that always limits the potential audience.
Cloud gaming promises to break that barrier at the entrance. Google offers a free service or ten euros per month and Xbox should probably align. As for the French of Shadow, pioneers of the cloud, they propose, them, an entire virtual computer, can therefore be used to play, for 30 euros per month. "Thanks to streaming, many people will be able to access very easily the best games", rejoices Stephanie Perotti. "They will not need to buy a PC or console, keep it up-to-date, play, and with cloud gaming, we're going to reach a lot more players around the world." The new era of gaming has begun.