You are a great fan of video games, but you cannot afford the machine you want, whether it's the newest-generation console or a powerful PC. For you, cloud gaming can be THE ideal solution. Indeed, online video gaming by streaming on demand is a new technology that resembles streaming video (Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, etc.) or streaming music (Deezer, Spotify, etc.). We will explain how cloud gaming works and present its advantages and disadvantages. It allows you to play video games by streaming over the Internet on any screen (desktop, laptop, tablet, smartphone or TV), thanks to a new technology. Microsoft, Nvidia, Google, Sony, Electronic Arts and Amazon, as well as other players in the video game industry, now offer more and more on-demand video game streaming services.
How Do Video Games Work?
When you play a game on a PC or a game console, whether it is a video game on packaged media (a physical disc) or a video game you have downloaded, the machine will read it and play it using its processor, its graphics card and the other components necessary to process it. But for the most sophisticated games, especially in terms of graphics, you usually need a latest-generation console or a fairly powerful computer.
With streaming video games over the Internet (or cloud gaming), you can enjoy the best graphics on any device that has a screen because very powerful servers located in the "cloud" handle all graphics processing.
But to access the very large number of games available on streaming video game platforms on the Internet, you will have to subscribe to pay for part of the cost of all this equipment (servers, etc.).
How Does Streaming Video Games Over the Internet Work?
The principle of streaming video games over the Internet is to run the games on the service provider's servers, which operate in data centers. Then, the servers transmit the images of the video games via the Internet in real time, in the same way that you receive images of a film or a television program via video on demand. Of course, the main difference is that you can use a joystick, a keyboard and a mouse to control the game, and your device will, in turn, relay the commands you send to the server to execute, for example, all the movements of your avatar.
Who Is It For?
Of course, if you already have all the equipment you need to play the latest games, whether it's a new-generation console or a very powerful PC, or if you're a very advanced and expert player, streaming video games over the Internet is probably not for you. However, if you want to play the latest games without buying them, or even possibly play some much older games from time to time via a service provider, as we explained earlier, you could enjoy cloud gaming on your console or PC.
The real benefit of cloud gaming will be for gamers who want to play wherever there is a fast Internet connection because they travel a lot. Thus, on a smartphone, a tablet, a laptop or even a TV, you will always be able to enjoy your favorite games.
What Are the Advantages and Disadvantages of Cloud Gaming?
Enjoying a vast collection of video games is certainly the main advantage of playing video games on demand via streaming over the Internet. Of course, this will also depend on the service provider's partnerships with major game publishers, but the main players in this sector have announced their plans to develop cloud gaming, which is why this offering of streaming video games over the Internet will develop more and more.
In addition, you can take full advantage of the very strong computing power of servers to play the latest games with optimal quality, especially if you do not want to buy a latest-generation console or an even more powerful PC. You can be sure that, without increasing the subscription price, suppliers will regularly update their server equipment as new components arrive on the market, in order to always guarantee the best possible quality of service.
Of course, this new technology also has some disadvantages. First of all, it is essential to have a very stable and quite fast Internet connection. This is why we highly recommend fiber to take full advantage of this technology. To ensure the best reaction time during the game, it is also essential to have the best possible responsiveness and lowest possible latency. The goal is for the server to execute the commands you send (movement, spell casting, sword blows, etc.) as quickly as possible, especially when playing games online with multiple players.
Finally, for mobile gamers, it will be important to check that your Internet subscription plan can support a sharp increase in data usage because playing video games over the Internet via streaming would consume much more data than streaming video.
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