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An essay on cloud gaming and the emergence of massive interactive live events (MILEs) as a new cloud-enabled genre of interactive experiences. Could this be the future of interactive entertainment?
When the tech journalists, venture capitalists, and talking heads of the games industry first introduced the world to the concept of “cloud gaming,” the hype was sky-high:
Play games anywhere!
4K quality!
Cross-play on all devices!
Expand the audience for console experiences!
…But somewhere between the Google Stadia reveal and the fast-follows from Amazon, Microsoft, and even Wal-Mart, the promise met a harsh reality.
While lowering the barriers for non-console gamers to be able to play console games is a noble cause, there are many reasons why this hasn’t yet come to fruition. One is that there needs to be a proven market for console games beyond console platforms. Most AAA experiences designed for PC and console do not accommodate mobile form factors (for example) without requiring additional peripherals. Furthermore, there is no established market for those gamers beyond Xbox, Playstation, or PC. Plus, even if AAA experiences could transcend their existing platforms, they would still fail to meet players’ expectations due to higher latency…
