Google's new gaming
platform, STADIA
At Game Developers
Conference 2019 (GDC2019) held in San Francisco on March 20, Google unveiled a
new game platform. The platform, named STADIA, is a platform that can be
streamed in real time without additional hardware or installation to run the
game. It is a big issue with the announcement breaking the existing idea of
having a PC or a separate console device is required to enjoy the game.
Anticipated Google's gaming
platform
The patent literature that Google
has filed gives a glimpse into the game market using such a streaming game
platform (cloud game). It is described in the patent literature that a user can
enjoy a game in a streaming manner only by accessing Google's cloud service
using a smart phone or an existing PC without any additional hardware. Patents
have also been filed for Google's dedicated controllers to enjoy such games.
wipsglobal.com/ WIPS patent search database <Google's patent on game platform>
Google's streaming method
has the advantage of being able to enjoy the latest games anywhere, even with
low-end devices, unlike high-end hardware that is required to run the latest
games. Therefore, consumers who have to buy hardware such as expensive personal computer or
consoles for games can be less economically burdened, which can greatly affect
the demand for expensive gaming PCs and console devices.
wipsglobal.com/ WIPS patent search database <Google's patent on game controller>
What are the disadvantages
of streaming games?
Of course, Google's
streaming method is not the only advantage. This method is greatly influenced
by the network quality because it is necessary to send and receive the data
necessary for the game with only online connection without hardware. If the
network quality is low, the delay will occur and the operation response will be
very slow. Netizens who actually watched the demonstration have many opinions
that the response to the input is delayed due to the delay time, and it is
still not enough to enjoy the game properly. Therefore, it is important to
minimize the delay time in the streaming method, and various researches such as
connection with the 5G network are going on.
Evolving game market
The game market, which was considered
a childhood entertainment, has now become a huge entertainment market for many
people, both young and old. As the size of the market grows, and the public is
increasingly at eye level, the game market is also evolving. Google's game
platform is showing off the game market that is evolving from the traditional
way. We need to see if Google's new challenge can make a big difference to the
game market.
