For decades, the standard way to game has been downloading massive files to physical machines (consoles or PCs). The push towards Cloud gaming (like Xbox Cloud Gaming or NVIDIA GeForce NOW) changes the rules: what if you never need another GPU?

Streaming the Future

Cloud gaming hosts the complicated computing remotely, and streams the visual/audio feed straight to a screen near you, accepting controller input essentially as incredibly fast video interacting. So long as players have access to a stable high-speed internet connection, they can load the newest AAA title on an outdated tablet or cheap laptop.

Latency is the ultimate enemy. A split second of delay in receiving the visual and acting on it feels incredibly frustrating, especially for competitive games. Cloud gaming continues to struggle outside major urban centers with excellent bandwidth.

Will Consoles Disappear?

  • Unlikely in the short term. Physical ownership and offline accessibility are important to many consumers.
  • Very possible in the long term, much like streaming services completely eradicated video rentals like Blockbuster.

If technology solves the final latency hurdles globally, we might be looking at the last traditional console generation within a decade.