Microsoft and Sony team up to improve cloud video games

Microsoft and Sony currently offer digital games through their own subscription services. The games delivered via cloud computing networks seem to be the next step in the evolution of video games.

Microsoft is expected to begin public testing of its Project xCloud game streaming service later this year. Google plans to launch its Stadia cloud game service later this year, and Electronic Arts is also working on its own streaming service.

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Amazon, the owner of the Twitch video game streaming platform, is also reported to have developed its own game streaming service. Similarly, the Chinese Internet company and game maker Tencent is also testing its own system.

"Sony needed an infrastructure partner to stay competitive as cloud games and services began to gain traction," said Piers Harding-Rolls, director and head of game research and AR analyst. / VR for IHS Markit in a commentary released by Microsoft-Sony. treat. "Microsoft has deep expertise in deploying game services in Azure and is developing its own cloud game service in Azure, which is likely to impact Sony's thinking when choosing a partner." . "

What does this mean for video game players?

Not much today, but to finish, playing video games might not require a console, discs or cartridges from $ 300 to $ 500. Microsoft has already released a $ 249.99 Xbox One S system earlier this month with a 1TB hard drive to store downloaded games, but no Blu-ray Disc players.

And players could potentially be able to play almost any game together and against friends, even if they had different game systems, says David Pucik, vice president of gaming and digital strategy at the firm. Magid market research. (It started to be more common with some titles, including the popular game "Fortnite", which can be used on Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch and mobile devices.)

Although revenue-sharing and licensing issues remain to be solved for a larger cross-platform game, "a Sony-Microsoft back-end collaboration could dramatically simplify this process of switching a digital switch," Pucik said.

True cross-platform game, you can play a game on an Xbox, PlayStation or smartphone whether you're at home, at work or on the go – allowing you to record your progress in your cloud version of the game , whatever the device. "The multi-platform conversation among highly engaged players is a clear indication that players' audiences will only be increasingly looking for more transparent, integrated and less friction-based approaches, and this collaboration is an important step towards being able to deliver. that, "he said.

More ads could be added to the games

Free video games have become a major market force. For better or for worse, cloud games could expand as it would be easier for advertisers and publishers to embed ads in games.

"Disc-based games offer advertisers limited opportunities because they can not be updated in real time," says Anne Hunter, executive vice president of strategy and growth for Kantar Research & Consulting. "Through streaming, in-game advertising has the ability to align with specific campaigns and utilize techniques such as ubiquitous audience targeting on others." Digital platforms: Increased speed and innovative sensors will also open up new advertising formats for games not yet imagined. "

A potential loser? Retailers

Just as the Microsoft-Sony partnership will intensify competition in the cloud games, it will put more pressure on physical retailers already jostled by the enthusiasm of players for digital downloads.

"This will have a real impact on gaming retailers like GameStop, as well as on big box stores like Walmart and Best Buy, which draw their traffic from their purchases of physical game titles," Hunter said.

For now, the agreement continues the momentum of Microsoft in the field of cloud computing, where it remains second only to Amazon, said Sid Nag, vice president of research at the research firm Gartner. "The game is an application that requires huge amounts of scale – what better platform than the cloud, because it is potentially scalable and offers very high capabilities," he said.

According to Harding-Rolls, Sony needs this kind of scalability to satisfy its PlayStation audience against the cloud offerings of Google and Microsoft. Even though its PlayStation Now service is the world's largest cloud operator with 36% of the global cloud games market, which amounts to $ 387 million in 2018, "it's exposed in terms of infrastructure in cloud and service delivery, "he said. "He has to associate to compete."

PlayStation Now ($ 19.99 per month, some PS4 games can be downloaded) is an on-demand video game subscription service featuring more than 750 games developed for PlayStation 2, PS3 and PS4. Sony also operates a live broadband TV service, PlayStation Vue (starting at $ 44.99 per month).

Microsoft has its own subscription game service, Game Pass, offering more than 100 Xbox games at $ 9.99 per month. Later this year, Game Pass and the Xbox Live Gold Online Multiplayer Network ($ 9.99 per month) will be available for $ 14.99.