While the technology hasn’t proven itself the revolutionary force some of its creators touted, there’s no denying that game streaming has come a long way. Experiencing and battling the expected teething pains that every forward-thinking system must overcome; the market today is taken seriously for what it offers.
In this article, we want to take a look back at the predecessors of game streaming systems, such as online casino games. How have these developed, how do they relate to the contemporary market, and is 2022 the time where game streaming could be worth it for you?
What is Game Streaming?
If you’re unfamiliar with game streaming, the best way to understand it would be as a combination of more established technologies like online casinos and video services like Hulu. Taking from online casinos, consider the titles like the online slots at Paddy Power such as Gold Cash Freespins and Mars Attacks. These are available on-demand and require little in the way of device processing power. As such, they run perfectly well over both desktop and mobile systems.
In streaming services like Hulu, the user requests video data from the host website, which is then sent and decoded on their home system. The user doesn’t receive and host the entire file, rather the online system takes what it needs at the time, overcoming the need for storage capacity.
Game streaming is a sort of fusion of these ideas, where the player receives display and audio data as they would watching Hulu, but plays an active part as they do in online casino gaming. This means that requirements are much lower with streaming than they would be if the player ran the game entirely from their system, while still offering full control.
Leaning into Better Technology
Arguably the most important factor to consider when making a well-performing streaming system is overhead. Unlike with games run directly, pushing a host system to its limits when streaming is going to make play untenable. At their limits, latency and bitrate drops will effectively ruin the experience, and this is where streaming needs to borrow from the online casino ideal.
Whether looking at online casino live games or their titles like slots and table games, the websites and software always aim for high performance. Even on mobile systems and low-powered machines, this approach allows for playback without issue, and this has helped consolidate their quality in the public’s eye.
Video game streaming, on the other hand, is still pushing networks to their limits. Here, a player practically requires fiber or 5G to be useable, as explored by CNET. Problem is, these technologies aren’t anywhere near as common or consolidated as the connections usable by online casinos. Again, even in live casino titles, slower modern connections in casinos manage just fine, and this is a lesson that systems like Stadia appear to have overlooked.
Looking at this situation and market, we’re left wondering where we could go from here. Ultimately the answer lies in what companies like Google are trying to do with systems like Stadia. As impressive as video game streaming can be when it works, there’s no question that Google understands their grasp is often greater than their reach.
What Stadia and other services are trying to do is to establish a hold on the market. As demonstrated by the online casino industry, being quick to leverage new technological potential can lead to immense audience interest and business success. On the other hand, being too quick means creating inevitable situations of frustration. Make no mistake, one day, average internet speeds will make services like Stadia simple, like what happened with online casino games. Until that day, however, it’s best to be wary of the lofty promises made by these companies.
