But before you jump on the bandwagon, you may want to consider why cloud gaming shouldn’t become mainstream and how it could actually harm the games industry.
1. It Could Lead to Unskippable Ads Between Gameplay
With cloud gaming comes the incentive for companies to serve you unskippable ads. Since the console is based so much around streaming, it will seem like a natural jump for companies to do so in order to justify ’low’ prices.
Although it’s unlikely ads will be delivered in a way that negatively impacts your gaming experience, it would still be annoying to play a 5-minute multiplayer match and then be forced to watch an ad before you can get back to the lobby and edit your classes or load-outs.
Do you really want that to become part of the normal gaming experience?
2. Companies Could Remove Games From Library at Will
While this problem isn’t reserved solely for cloud gaming platforms, it’s worth considering that companies could remove games from the library at will. You may only be paying a subscription fee for a handful of games, and knowing they can be removed anytime without your control makes you uncertain.
There are plenty of excellent cloud gaming services to stream video games that already feature ads, so this is definitely likely to become more of a trend in the future.
While this isn’t a massive problem on its own, it speaks to a broader issue about the gaming industry removing choices for the consumer and further forcing gamers to become hyper-consumers who own nothing and have little autonomy over their gaming habits.
3. It Could Encourage Bloated Game Design
Cloud gaming runs off streaming, and the industry as a whole has become more focused on tracking playtime for use in analytics. Playtime is the most important one, as we live in an economy based on attention.
This could encourage the industry to pay game developers based on playtime. The problem with this is that it then incites developers to create bloated, low-effort games that exist purely to keep you playing without giving you an enriching, unique experience.
There are already far too many ill-designed games out there without there being more. You should consider whether a game was designed to grab your attention or give you a good experience the next time you buy a title. Typically, you can expect free-to-play games to be the ones most at fault for the bloated game design phenomenon.
4. It Could Cause Further Fragmentation of the Game Industry
There are so many game consoles. So many titles. Crossplay, unfortunately, lags behind, meaning fragmentation is still a large part of the game industry.
You could argue that it’s always been this way, but that’s not necessarily a good thing. The whole point of video games is to connect and compete with others, and cloud gaming entering the mainstream could prevent that by further fragmenting the global player base.
5. A Monthly Sub and Console Price Tag Is Bad for Consumers
With the Logitech G Cloud and other alternative cloud gaming consoles, you’ll be expected to pay a monthly sub on top of the initial console price tag to play the game library’s offering.
This is bad for consumers and something you should definitely consider, especially since $70 video games are the new normal already, compared to $40 for a game from the early to late 2000s.
This price model will likely set you back even further financially when there would have been no such need for prices like this in the earlier days of gaming. It’s part of a broader shift in the gaming industry towards a less-affordable reality, further encroaching upon consumers’ finances.
6. Cloud Gaming Adds to the Digital-Only Push by the Industry
Cloud gaming becoming mainstream adds to a wider digital-only push by the game industry. While digital options are certainly more convenient and feel like a natural step as global society becomes further entrenched on the internet, you likely still want the option of owning physical media.
There is something about physical media that can’t be replicated when you purchase something digitally. Add to that that when you purchase something digitally, you’re technically only renting it until it is removed from the library or the platform shuts down.
Cloud gaming will encourage gamers to have digital-only options, which is not great for you and other gamers because it prevents you from actually owning anything. Furthermore, this will hamper the preservation of gaming titles that significantly impact our society.
7. Lack of Accessibility to Those With Bad Internet
Cloud gaming runs on streaming, requiring at least moderately-decent internet to maintain a connection while playing for long periods.
If cloud gaming becomes mainstream, you’ll be left out if you have bad internet, which is very frustrating, especially if you can’t do anything about your internet quality. If there’s not much you can do about your internet quality; your last resort is to try out tips to reduce latency and speed up your cloud gaming experience.
Cloud gaming platforms will make every effort to be as accessible as possible because that translates into higher profits, but there’s only so much these companies can do. Cloud gaming could push the industry into being less accessible to those who live with lousy internet.
8. You Can Never Fully Own Cloud-Based Exclusives
You can never fully own any game launched only for cloud-based gaming—but it’ll still take a significant amount from your wallet when it releases. The problem with digital game libraries, in general, is that you don’t actually have ownership over them, but this extends to cloud-based solutions.
This isn’t a problem if you’re not someone who’s bothered about ownership of your games, but it’s still an important point. Do you really want to spend lots of your hard-earned money on a platform that gives you very little in return?
Cloud Gaming Should Not Become Mainstream
Depending on your age, you may remember a time when gaming was not as money-hungry an industry as it is now. Unfortunately, there are no signs of that trend slowing down, so you’ll have to get smarter about saving money with your gaming habit.
There are many ways to save money while still playing a decent number of games. Regardless of your thoughts on cloud gaming, it doesn’t look like it’s going away soon.
