While it doesn’t look like dedicated gaming hardware will be going away anytime soon, cloud streaming surely still has a place in the games industry, and it’s a place that is bound to inevitably grow in prominence as time goes on and cloud technology progresses. Various developers in the industry have spoken about their interest in cloud gaming, and one developer who seems to be banking on it quite heavily is Square Enix.
The Japanese publisher has already spoken enthusiastically about the cloud’s potential for growth, and recently, the company’s president Yosuke Matsuda touched upon that once again. In a new year’s letter published by Matsuda on Square Enix’s official website, he spoke about how cloud streaming will “further accelerate the transition from the traditional disk-based sales model to digital sales” and “drive significant change in business models themselves”.
“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,” Matsuda wrote. “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.”
Square Enix is also hopeful that cloud streaming will allow video games to expand in markets where consoles have traditionally not been adopted on a widespread scale, such as India and South America.
“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,” wrote Matsuda. “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.”
All of that is to say, of course, that Square Enix are itching to pounce on the potential of cloud gaming, and are committed to “creating gaming experiences only possible in the cloud”, with many such projects already underway.
“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,” Matsuda said. “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,” he continued. “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.”
Square Enix are one of the first (and so far, very few) major third party publishers in the industry that have been so outspoken about their interest in cloud gaming (unlike few others), and it definitely looks like they’re putting their money where their mouth is. What it will amount to, and whether that will be any good, remains to be seen, but this is certainly something to keep a keen eye on.
If you’d rather they focused on making traditional console and PC games, don’t fret- it seems like Square Enix is also currently working on new action IP for next-gen consoles.