Late 2018, some companies and media sites were talking about cloud gaming becoming the “next big thing,”. But in 2019, a large number of outlets ran with “cloud gaming is the future” given that Google Stadia was to release late that year. Fast forward to early 2020, and Square Enix believes that 5G will help cloud gaming become a new trend in the near future.
In a new blog post, Square Enix claims that gamers will flock to cloud gaming when 5G arrives. In other words, despite Google Stadia barely making headlines — and when it does, it’s for the wrong reasons — Square Enix believes that 5G will help gamers ease into the trend of “cloud gaming.”
To help the initiative of cloud gaming, Square Enix is not only making “steady progress” on developing next-generation titles for consoles but also actively trying to support cloud gaming when possible.
Although this plan sounds like it has many holes in it, Square Enix is determined that cloud gaming will help turn video games from being a “one-way-street” into a medium that appeals to more people through “live-service mechanics.”
If all of that sounds off-putting and leaves a sour taste in your mouth, here’s an excerpt from the blog post Square Enix posted to usher in the new year:
“Against this backdrop of change, we are not only making steady progress on developing next-generation console titles, but also actively readying ourselves to support cloud gaming, which we expect to take off with the advent of 5G. The arrival of streaming as a new distribution platform will not only further accelerate the transition from the traditional disk-based sales model to digital sales, but could also drive significant change in business models themselves via the adoption of subscription models, for example. We are especially hopeful about the major potential cloud streaming services possess to expand markets in growing regions such as India and South America, where there has not been significant adoption of traditional game consoles. As telecommunications infrastructure improves, cloud streaming will directly provide customers in such markets with playing environments that eliminate the need for traditional consoles or PCs. From a game development perspective as well, we will strive to create gaming experiences only possible in the cloud, meaning developing cloud-native or cloud-centric games.
“For cloud streaming to enjoy mass adoption, there will need to be innovation not only in terms of distribution, but also in terms of gaming experiences. We believe that new gaming experiences that would have been impossible on traditional game consoles will be a major driver of cloud gaming adoption. Our efforts to develop cloud-native or cloud-centric titles are already underway, and we will strive to create new gaming experiences. We naturally face a mountain of challenges, including technological hurdles that must be overcome and issues with telecommunications costs. However, we have no doubt that cloud gaming will represent a major trend over the next five years as we enter the age of 5G and that our strategies for flexibly responding to that trend will be key. We intend to stay on top of new developments and leverage cloud gaming to drive new growth.”
Furthermore, the blog post goes on about how Square Enix plans on exploring better artificial intelligence (AI). This “smart” AI will not only appear in video games but in other forms of entertainment too.
But that’s not all Square Enix has its R&D department looking into advancing efforts into technologies such as XR. As per Yosuke Matsuda, president/representative director at Square Enix, he believes the company will be able to start unveiling achievements of such efforts in some projects as early as this year.
