The video game industry has changed a lot in recent years. From their audience and available platforms, to the various economic models that have been implemented. Some being a resounding success and others that have only served as an example not to repeat them.

Being a market that generates billions of dollars annually it is normal for managers to find new ways to distribute your products to an audience that no longer distinguishes sex and age. The digital format is here to stay, and it is on this basis that another appeared that will surely gain a prominent place in the coming years, streaming video games . Known colloquially as "Netflix of video games".

Before analyzing the options we have today and what might happen in the future, let's review a little about the background that shaped this distribution format.

Cloud gaming, the technology that started it all

The fundamentals of this streaming format are not new. Its first official application dates back to 2010, when OnLive, which has disappeared, will start renting games on its platform in exchange for $ 14.95 per month. At that time, there were very few titles in his library, but gradually the number of games available increased.

Beyond the novelty that represented a service that offered a complete catalog in exchange for a monthly subscription, OnLive patented an infrastructure so that gaming processing was in charge of the servers of the company while the player was only receiving the video signal. The above avoids the need to have a video game console, because through the processing done externally, the video signal can be received on virtually any type of device, including the TV itself. This is now known as Cloud Gaming

To achieve the above, the user needed a connection speed greater than 5 MB, which at the time was a difficulty for most consumers in the market. This was the main circumstance that prevented the growth of the platform. Finally in 2015, the company was acquired by Sony . Two years earlier, the Japanese had acquired Gaikai, a service that at the time was OnLive's direct competition. The two acquisitions are now PlayStation Now .

Cloud Gaming Today

Although the Cloud Gaming has taken significant steps to improve its operation, to date follows suffering from a game between the video signal and actions performed by the player on order . On the other hand, prices for services like PlayStation Now are still off budget that a player would be willing to pay, especially when the game offer is limited and does not include the latest launches of the brand.

The service subscription costs mentioned $ 19.99 dollars / 14.99 € per month. It can be used on both PlayStation 4 and PC. He has more than 650 games in his library including PS2, PS3 and PS4 titles. To work in optimal conditions, the user needs a recommended connection of 20 MB, a data that can become limiting to obtain the service.

As an alternative, there are other platforms of the same type. Liquid Sky Vortex and NVIDIA GeForce Now are among them. The latter has experienced strong growth in recent months, since it is still in the free test phase

The Cloud Game is not only offered as a service . In recent years, some games like Crackdown 3 (still in development), Dragon Quest X and Resident Evil VII for Nintendo Switch, perform a game of its processing on external servers to improve its performance. For no one there is the need to pay a certain type of subscription.

Although this technology stands as the best alternative available, the infrastructure of the present does not allow to benefit as much as possible . It is likely that in the future, it will become the only option to enjoy video games, but for this, the consumer must be ready in terms of connectivity. For that, there is still a long way to go. We could even say that the cloud game was ahead of our time and that we were not ready to receive it properly

Download and play, the most effective method , for the moment

Electronic Arts is one of the most important distributors of today. Its economic potential has allowed it to perform all kinds of commercial experiences, including video games under subscription. EA Access was announced in 2014 and was available the same year. It is a subscription service that includes some of the most important games of the company . Its library has grown year after year (more than 50 titles to date) and is currently available on both PC and Xbox One. Regarding its availability on PlayStation 4, Sony declined to participate . Surely to push PlayStation now on its own platform.

Unlike the methods used in the cloud game the EA service requires the full download of the game on the hard drive of the console or the computer to then be able to enjoy at any moment. This completely eliminates the problem of response time, since game processing is the responsibility of our equipment. Nor is it necessary to have a network of last generation to enjoy the service. It should be noted that the faster our connection, the shorter the download time of selected games. A factor that influences, but not at the same level as in the cloud games

EA Access is available for $ 4.99 / $ 3.99 per month or $ 29.99 / € 24.99 per year. As part of the past E3, Electronic Arts has announced EA Access Premier, a service that includes not only the games of the existing library, but also the titles that are on the way even a few days before its launch from this way, games like Anthem Battlefield V FIFA 19 and Madden 19 will be available in EA Access Premier. Its price starts at $ 14.99 / $ 14.99 per month, but there is an annual subscription of $ 99.99 / 99.99. Will be available first on PC during this summer .

Microsoft did not want to be left behind in subscription games. Those of Redmond offer Xbox Game Pass from June 2017, a service quite similar to EA Access, with the difference that in addition to including title deeds, they also incorporate games of Other distributors such as Namco, Capcom, WB Games, 2K Games and SEGA, adding more than 100 options to enjoy. During E3 2018, the company announced that its library will add games such as Crackdown 3 State of Decay 2 and Forza Horizon 4 . In addition, the future titles of the Franchises Gears of War and Halo will be added to the service at the time. Xbox Game Pass is available for $ 9.99 / 9.99 per month. In the same California event, Microsoft confirmed working on a streaming service that would allow to bring Xbox games to any device . They did not give more details about it.

Nintendo has tried to incorporate this model. The subscription of its online service will include 20 classic games a number that will increase with the passage of time ensured by the Kyoto. Nintendo Online will be available in September from $ 3.99 / $ 3.99 per month up to $ 19.99 / $ 19.99 per year

The Future

While we listened to same companies for years involved in the video game industry, we could soon have another serious competitor for part of the market: Google . Recently, a report emerged that Mountain View would be working on its own video game platform (with hardware included), which would use cloud gaming technology ] to offer streaming games . Although the information is not yet official, it would be very interesting to see Google compete with the rest of the console manufacturers.

Distributors such as Ubisoft, Activision, Square Enix, Bethesda., Among others, have not announced any type of model similar to those previously described . It should not be surprising that at any time they decide to do it, because the giants have already taken the first step in an area that is gradually starting to gain more consumers.

Players now have more possibilities than ever Enjoy your favorite games. The digital format continues to grow, the physical format refuses to die and now video games under subscription become a very serious option by paying a periodic fee that gives us access to dozens of titles.

It is hard to imagine that at any one time the most important companies in the industry will come together to create the same service, since each has different goals on the market. For this reason, the birth of these services will always be given individually for each of the existing distributors. This would force us to pay for more than one service simultaneously, but having access to a very large number of games.

Although the early stages of this model began as business experiences, today they are more consolidated and are becoming more and more of a standard in the near future . After all, music, television and movies have made the jump to streaming services, why the video game industry would not refuse to make such a step?