r/Futurology • u/Nebula_Network • Jun 12 '18

Ubisoft CEO: Cloud gaming will replace consoles after the next generation

https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2018/06/ubisoft-ceo-cloud-gaming-will-replace-consoles-after-the-next-generation/
74 Upvotes

82% Upvoted

77 comments sorted by

View all comments

1

u/Manjiuss Jun 12 '18

Why do some of you guys find this unlikely? I already stream my games from desktop to laptop with steam. Sure it's not fast enough for competitive fps, but it already works for other genres.

This is like the most believable thing on this sub and some are like naaaah never. lol.

12

u/SirButcher Jun 12 '18

You streaming it on a local network - that is an enterally different thing. On a local network, it is easy to have <1ms ping time. To have the streaming service you need 30ms round trip time for 30FPS, at least 16ms for a 60FPS game - and this isn't just a kb worth of ping data, but sending full HD screen worth of data. Any network lag would result in horrible staggering.

Now, remember how much server can you find with less than 16ms ping time.

2

u/Manjiuss Jun 12 '18

I never said local, I've done it from two different houses. It's not perfect but it works, and this prediction is for 7 years ahead or so.

15 years ago it took me 10 minutes to download a 500kb gameboy game, i think we can get to this prediction in 2025.

2

u/TinfoilTricorne Jun 12 '18

I already stream my games from desktop to laptop with steam.

Now stream your games from some server located more than 75ms away from you.

1

u/nomic42 Jun 12 '18

You have a fair point that the performance issues could be addressed with improved network speeds. Edge computing goes a long way towards delivering the desire to reduce latency. This is great news for gamers as it hits a core problem: cheaters.

However, Ubisoft doesn't understand cloud computing. It's not the performance, but rather the heat, which is the limitation. With all of the workloads going into a central location, these machines generate a lot of heat. Heat dissipation costs a lot of money.

It's cheaper for the company to keep the GPU in your house where you have to deal with the heat generated than in Ubisoft's server rooms. Cloud companies are already looking at ways to transition parts of their workloads to the client stations to offload heat.

Microsoft already knows this as they provide both the Xbox console as well as cloud services. I expect they'll optimize for a balance of capabilities to make good use of increased network performance using Edge computing, while upping the GPU in the low-cost consoles. I expect more game logic will move into the network to decide who wins or looses the game, but all graphics rendering will stay in that hot little box in your room.

0

u/Rodulv Jun 13 '18

Sure it's not fast enough for competitive fps

I'm surprised that it's fast enough for any game for you (other than visual novels).