What makes the next generation so drastically different from the current one is the inclusion of Cloud-based gaming. Microsoft have heavily invested in that area with its thousands of Azure servers and Sony bought Gaikai, a leading cloud gaming company.
Some next gen games like Forza Motorsport 5 are going to use Cloud for its Drivatar system so rest assured we are going to see more and more developers turnings towards Cloud to enhance their games on the fly. On the other hand, Sony have promised that Gaikai will eventually come over to the PlayStation 4 in 2014 and players will be able to stream select PlayStation 3 games.
At Gamescom, Mark Cerny, the lead system architect on the PlayStation 4 shared his thoughts on Cloud and its implementation with the console. He believes that there are some issues with regards to implementation of Cloud to improve gameplay.
“I think we are all right now feeling out what the Cloud can do. We know that Cloud is very good for match making. It’s not clear today what Cloud can bring us beyond that. I have seen for example, research products done and even published games done for example where the physics was distributed in the Cloud but the difficulties we run into are, is it adding anything significant to the [user] experience and what do you if whoever is not connected to the cloud when they are playing the game,” he said to IGN.
He makes some valid points as not all regions have high internet connection speeds which may result in performance variations. Will Sony be using Gaikai for providing only backwards compatibility to the PS4 or will they find ways to improve gameplay mechanics using it? Only time will tell.
Stay tuned for more news and updates.