What is "Cloud Gaming"?

It is to play video games by streaming on the Internet, on any screen (desktop, laptop, tablet, smartphone or TV), thanks to a new technology.

Microsoft, Nvidia, Google, Sony, Electronics Arts or Amazon, as well as other players in the video game industry, offer now more and more their video gaming streaming services on demand.

How do video games work?

When you play a game on a PC or a game console, whether it is a video game as packaged media (a physical disk) or a video game you have downloaded, the machine will read it and play it thanks to its processor, its graphics card and the other components necessary for its treatment. But for the most sophisticated games, especially in terms of graphics, you usually need a console of the last generation or a fairly powerful computer.

With streaming video games on the Internet (or "Cloud Gaming"), you can enjoy the best graphics on any device that has a screen, because the calculation processing of all graphics is done by very powerful servers that are located in the "cloud".

But to have access to the very large number of games available on streaming video game platforms on the Internet, you will have to subscribe to pay a part of the cost of all this equipment (servers, etc.). As a rule, subscriptions are around 15 € per month.

How does streaming video games over internet work?

The principle of streaming video games over the Internet is to run the games on servers of the service provider, which are themselves hosted in data centers. Then, the images of the video games are transmitted via the Internet in real time in the same way as when you receive via video on demand the images of a film or a television program. Of course, the main difference is that you can use a joystick, a keyboard and a mouse to control the game and your commands you send to play the game will in turn be relayed to the server to execute (for example) all the movements of your avatar.

Video games streaming on the Internet, who is it for?

Of course, if you already have all the equipment you need in order 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, video games streaming on the Internet, are probably not for you. However, if you want to play the latest games without buying them or even possibly from time to time some much older games, , 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 and laptop, and even on a TV, you will always be able to enjoy your favorite games.

Compared to usual video games, what are Cloud gaming advantages and disadvantages?

Enjoying a vast collection of video games is certainly the main advantage of playing video games on demand via streaming on 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 offer of streaming video games on 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 new console of the latest generation or an even more powerful PC. Because be sure that, without increasing the price of the subscription, as new components arrive on the market, the suppliers will update the equipment of their servers regularly, 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 fiber will be highly recommended to take full advantage of this technology. To ensure the best reaction time during the game, it is also essential that the reactivity and latency is the best possible. The goal is for the commands you send (movement, spell casting, sword blows, etc.) to be executed as quickly as possible, especially in playing games online with multiple players.

Finally, for mobile gamers, it will be important to check that your Internet subscription package fee is able to support a sharp increase in data flow, because playing video game on the internet via streaming would consume much more data than streaming video .