2020: Cloud gaming is surging
Now, mobile games and cloud gaming platforms are important contributors to the expansion of the video game industry. According to the latest data, the cloud gaming market has grown from an estimated US$45 million in 2017 to US$66 million in 2018. If this trend continues, by 2023, this figure is expected to soar to US$450 million. With major companies such as Apple, Google, and Microsoft launching new products to flood the cloud gaming field, lesser-known platforms have also begun to receive industry momentum. For example, Nvidia GeForce Now and PlayStation Now are two of the multiple options that provide cloud gaming functions. But what exactly is cloud gaming? Why is it on the rise? In order to answer this question, it is important to decompose the foundation of the basic infrastructure.
What is cloud gaming? Cloud gaming refers to the practice of playing video games using remote hardware (usually a server owned and operated by another company). Cloud gaming is not about downloading games or using physical media to play on the console, but using Internet streaming to deliver games to player devices. As a result, mobile phones, TVs, and computers do not rely on internal hardware to drive games, and data is stored remotely. In this way, cloud gaming is an effective mechanism for achieving interoperability between devices. However, some people emphasize the requirement of a durable Internet connection, which is a potential barrier to widespread adoption. Although highly developed countries like Japan are leading this action seamlessly, less developed countries such as Africa lack the infrastructure to achieve this goal. Equipment cost and interoperability Perhaps the most significant benefit of cloud gaming is that computers, TVs or mobile devices can deliver games without relying on local hardware. In addition, because the game data is stored in the cloud instead of a physical device, players do not need to worry about lost progress. This dynamic mechanism ensures that the game remains compatible with any device, and expensive hardware upgrades are still the responsibility of those operating the cloud network. For developing economies, such as economies throughout Africa, this feature allows users to access the latest games without worrying about their expensive hardware and physical media purchases. Cloud gaming in emerging economies According to the latest data, the number of global mobile phone users reached 4.9 billion in 2018. However, many of these users already live in countries with strong Internet infrastructure. In developing countries that lack broad broadband, the use of mobile phones has become the key to "crossing over" development barriers. By achieving unparalleled interoperability, cloud gaming has the potential to improve the inclusiveness of entire mobile-dependent countries. Data from GSMA Intelligence highlights this dependence, which shows that sub-Saharan Africa has the second fastest growth in mobile adoption. However, the speed of mobile networks is still an obstacle to providing consistent cloud gaming services in these developing regions. Reflecting this reality, in South America and sub-Saharan Africa, the data centers of well-known infrastructure providers such as Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud still have a small footprint. Despite the current reality, data shows that Africa's top annual cloud service revenue is expected to double between 2019 and 2023. In addition, revenue from public cloud services will be set to triple by then. Although there are still barriers to widespread deployment, there is still a lot of upside space, especially when 5G is beginning to rise. The impact of 5G networks The increasing growth of global high-speed Internet is one of the main factors driving the growth of the cloud gaming market. As mentioned earlier, cloud gaming relies on continuous Internet streaming, and 5G can provide an excellent user experience. However, at least so far, device compatibility is likely to limit market growth. In fact, 5G services are still limited. In the past year, the first mobile phones that truly support 5G have been put on the market. In addition, market penetration is unlikely to occur before 2023 or 2024. In the meantime, even if users eventually download the game library to their device instead of streaming it, many platforms have only begun to aggregate the game library. In developing countries, the transition to 5G technology may take longer, and sub-Saharan Africans also agree with this belief. GSMA found in a recent survey that 67% of respondents believe that 5G will arrive after 2025, which is much later than the forecast of developed markets. At least for now, most game consoles or PC gamers have little incentive to make a major shift to cloud gaming in developed regions. In the less developed economies, this transition is even less likely to happen before the second half of the decade. How these trends affect blockchain As the progress of 5G accelerates, integration with Blockchain 5.0 or the current generation of blockchain technology is about to appear. By setting up 5G to enhance the interconnectivity of devices, the use of Blockchain 5.0 (such as payments and remittances, digital contracts, distributed cloud storage, and digital identity verification) are some potential use cases. Next year, all these applications of Blockchain 5.0 will affect the growth of the gaming industry. As users in developed countries adopt 5G for gaming purposes, simultaneously verifying digital identities and maintaining anonymity will be crucial. Achieving the right balance is still a challenge, but Blockchain 5.0 relies on a more agile infrastructure to increase the efficiency of privacy protection mechanisms. Cloud gaming in 2020 and beyond Between Microsoft's Project xCloud and Google Stadia, the biggest tech giants seem to all participate in cloud gaming. However, these software and service companies are also betting that they will soon switch to 5G network speeds. These speeds are essential to enhance the high-quality experience gamers need before permanently turning off their consoles and PCs. When 5G reaches global penetration, especially in developing countries, cloud gaming will revolutionize the entire industry while promoting economic development. In Africa, the later introduction of 5G technology will allow countries to bypass today's centralized networks. These later 5G iterations will provide opportunities to develop decentralized systems that are not affected by governments and companies. This network architecture will eliminate many of the conflicts we observe today, such as the battle for market dominance between Huawei (China) and the United States-neither of which leaves much room for emerging economies. Cloud gaming and other decentralized technologies represent the separation of the Internet of Things from national interests, which is an important part of maintaining peace as technology advances. From the perspective of the game itself, players may need to pay a monthly subscription fee to play cloud-based games on any device and from anywhere. In developing countries, cloud gaming will take advantage of already high mobile device usage. Although it is not clear how fast we will achieve global inclusion, it is clear that 2020 will be the starting line. Chris Cleverly is the CEO of Kamari, a blockchain project that aims to build a mobile gaming and payment ecosystem for one billion people in Africa.












