EA and Microsoft are Working on Netflix-like Services For Video Games
We have streaming services for movies and TV shows like Netflix and Hulu. We can stream music through Spotify and Pandora. It looks like some companies are trying to get it so we can stream video games. Microsoft and EA both announced at E3 that they are working on some kind of cloud gaming. Microsoft’s Phil Spencer didn’t give us too much info for their service, but here’s what he did say to The Verge:
“Our cloud engineers are building a game streaming network to unlock console gaming on any device.”
EA was able to give a bit more as they showed during their presentation that they would be able to stream games to a smart TV, phone, and even a low-end Chromebook. They’re still not ready for public demos and are still working on the technical build. I think they’re on to something, but it’ll be a few years before it’s ready for a public demo.
Neither company has given pricing information, but that will come when we get a lot closer to it being more of a reality. I’m really excited for this though. I don’t have any current generation consoles and can’t afford to buy every game that comes out at $60 a pop. This could potentially (depending on pricing) save me a bunch of money since I won’t be buying a lot of individual games, nor will I have to buy a console/high-end PC. I’m very interested to see how this plays out and I hope the pricing isn’t crazy.