Guys, so what is result of yours talking, will be Nvidia grid avilable on nexus 7? When it will be released?
Eventually all PC's will be "nodes" with bare basic hardware to just get you online. All your apps and games will be streamed like this. Basically it will solve the need to constantly upgrade your PC every year. Just like these little $49 Android PC's that can remote desktop into a server desktop and work from there. These Servers are privatized on huge mainframes and power is allocated per need.
You know, I never thought of the PC gaming evolutioning into something like this, but it's pretty obvious that this is gonna be the way to go.
And the consoles will just be co-exsiting how they are now
I see your pointWith several devices becoming "smart" (TV, fridges, ovens etc...), the opportunity to change the market with this technology is at hand IMHO. Don't forget that today we still have "software exclusives" for specified platforms, that constrain the users to purchase a specific hardware.
This would simply override the problem (p.e. I decide to buy a specific console A, but a game that I would really like to play is on the console B; I purchase a service to stream it on my device (paying it as A SERVICE, not as A PRODUCT)).
To me, the developers could also benefit by the streaming services developing programs just for one "hardware" and gaining incomes thanks to a "subscription plan" instead of royalties "per sold" copy (dependent on the console, the availability of a distributor, etc).
Paying as a service would also grant a benefit for users on games that have a ridiculous longevity, with an option to "rent" it for a limited time and, if the interest fades quickly, you surely spent less than buying a physical copy of the same game.
On the other hand, while it would completely kill the piracy, it would also kill the market of used products (that is again a plus for the gaming industry but not for the user).
I see your point
But the phrase "opportunity to change the market" (in my understanding) means that thr whole industry will turn into streaming-based only
So let me explain why it's not gonna happen
I think that streaming service can only and ONLY be applied to the PC gaming segment
If such a thing is applied to the console segment - imagine how much money can developers actually earn by spreading their games in streaming service online shops (let's call them like this for now)?
Today it costs millions of dollars to develop a game, especially when you do it for several platforms, which means that you gotta spend money and resources to develop and test the game on each announced platform
So, even with a streaming service, which means a single platform, the money go to the service holder, who pays some % of the income to the devs
The downside of it is that when a player pays 50$ a month (which includes unlimited access to the games library) - the devs literally get nothing from that
Today the Gaikai service (and Nvidia Grid) exist only because devs can afford to spread their games in these service, since they gain profit from the sales on other platforms
So I see several main downsides of the situation when streaming services take over the industry:
1. It creates a single platform, which means that the user has no choice, just a straight-on "subscribe and play scheme"
2. A single platform on the market means that there will be no competition, except for maybe the service holders, but it will just tend to lower the prices and maybe increase perfomances
3. Main rule of ANY market is there's GOTTA be competition. No competition = no progress = high chance of a fatigueness
4. Changing the market into streaming-based will only create chaos and it literally means an end to exclusives and such, no uniqueness
5. Since today most companies release their games on several platforms - it means that the devs can cover most of the money they spent on actually developing the game, and that means BIG money since the platforms have big audiences (and they only tend to increase more and more) which literally equals to 60$ per a game X number of platforms X number of units sold (mostly the numbers are more or less equal)
And 6. Since the devs wouldn't get much $$$ from spreading their games in a single streaming service - it would only lead to creation of several services from each of the big companies
I bet that today's Steam vs Origin example would be the best. We don't want or need that to happen with each gaming company, right?
Wow, sorry for the long post
P.S. Sorry for possible typos - typed this on my N7 lol
A couple of days ago, nVidia presented their new portable gaming device alongside one particular feature. The ability to stream PC games via cloud and from a nVidia powered PC with GFE (equipped with at least kepler Ge Force GTX 650) to any device able to have their Grid client.
This is nothing more than the evolution of what Splashtop brought (with nVidia sponsorship) on CES 2012 (confirmed by nVidia Italy itself on Facebook).
Now during the conference it was stated that the client would have reached every android device (not only Tegra ones nor Project shield) and in the next days some hands-on with different "non-shield" devices were recorded.
Finally also the one recorded on Nexus 7 landed (cortesy of Droid-Life)
here it is:
I honestly think that if there will be the option to customize controls other than the only gamepad, the Nexus 7 could be even a better device that the shield itself for this kind of gaming (even if it lacks the Tegra 4 SoC). Furthermore it will surely be a great boost for android gaming in general (thanks to the direct support of nVidia and their money / partners- compared to the influence of Splashtop Inc.). The staff of the Tegra page on FB confirmed me that Grid (that I intend in its incarnation of both LAN (via GFE) / internet streaming (via third party partners)) will have a different timetable than Project Shield, so I think we'll have the opportunity to enjoy this feature sooner than the release of Shield (maybe at the same time with the announcement of the Nexus 7 successor @ Google I/O or even sooner with an open bea :laugh
The question is - will Grid work on N7/N10/current top tablets?
Or is it going to be Tegra 4-exclusive?
May I ask you to link the video you watched to see if the different framerate could be relevant to some particular environment?
IMO 30FPS is mostly enough, though for fast paced racing and fighting games 60FPS is a must. Especially for fightings.
I believe that if we use a game with less graphics-heavy vicuals - then the stream should be pretty smooth, right?
Like, let's say, games like Diablo II, StarCraft, WarCraft III and Trackmania/Trackmania: Sunrise should work pretty nice