Gaming Moguls - Cross Platform Ownership, where are we?

[Scott]

More and more when I'm gaming I always feel irked about changing between platforms for different games. It absolutely does my nut in.

How far away are we from gaming Netflix? Is it something that's even in the works?

My current game is The Witcher. It's taken me long enough but I'm a few hours in now and really enjoying it. The latest update recently landed that brought about some very nice visuals.

I currently play on my Nvidia Shield through Gamestream (which is about to bite the dust). I'm fortunate that if I want to play a PS4/5 game, I can also remote play onto the Nvidia Shield (by far and away the best gaming bit of kit I've ever bought).

I want to play on my kids Nintendo Switch though. Why oh why can I not use the tech available to play the games I already own. It really does my head in. Especially when I can Moonlight remote into my bleedin mobile phone...... but not a handheld console.

The Switch is absolutely fantastic, I love it...... but they're almost as bad as Apple with their pay to play software control

I'm far too old to be cracking every console/handheld I own to make them do what I want...... but I'm not rich enough to pay for every game on every platform just for convenience (although saves aren't convenient either).

TL;DR - Gaming Netflix.... where we at?

 

[TonyCarter]

Yes, I'd love the offerings to be platform-agnostic - and be able to continue my latest game save from whichever device I have at hand (or prefer) - but the closest we've got is Microsoft Gamepass Ultimate...and that's only Xbox & PC. Even then not every game is available on both platforms, and in a lot of cases the saves are not cross-platform.

I'm not sure the TV streaming model is that brilliant either, as I have multiple streaming services already (Netflix, AppleTV, Disney, Amazon Video, Virgin/Sky catch-up, BBC iPlayer, ITVX, Hulu, etc.)...and sometimes there's a couple of seasons of a show available on one service, and the remainder on another.

 

[Scott]

It doesn't make sense to me to be so restrictive with the platforms in all honesty. I get the licensing and ownership entirely, to be only able to purchase the games through certain platforms or vendors I am absolutely fine with. Any argument past this point falls down for me though.

Exclusive games tied to platforms are put in place to get you to buy the console which then entices you to buying the games for that platform. Most companies make loses on the consoles so purchasing the console isn't their aim, it's tying you into the ecosystem that's the main aim.

None of this has to change in order to make what I'm looking for available. In fact, I think Devs could actually make more money. As I would buy exclusive games that I didn't even have the console for if I could then, somehow, play them through another avenue.

Absolute bare minimum we should be allowed to stream gameplay to whichever device we have. If we own the console and the game, why not have the option to stream to other consoles.... so that we can have convenience of multi-gaming setups throughout the home. PS5 in livingroom, Xbox in study, switch in kids room, etc. No matter where you are, you can play a title remotely from another console.

I don't see the down-side for the corps, other than people not paying for games twice...... but honestly, what's the margins on that right now? I would never do that, unless pricing was so low that I paid for that convenience (saves are then an issue for me though).

 

[TonyCarter]

As a consumer, it makes little sense not to allow this sort of thing, but at a corporate level they all want to keep their own little fiefdoms, and really do want every last % of margin they can out of a puntercustomer...even if it's 'only' another 5%, as it's 5% in their pockets rather than someone else's.

 

[TonyCarter]

The closest offering I can think of is GeForce Now...which has clients for many platforms (not all of course). But this only solves the 'playing platform' part of the problem, and not the 'game source platform'...and doesn't support all games...but I suppose it's a step in the right direction.

Just got to get Nintendo, Sony & Microsoft to allow these cloud-based game streaming services on their platforms.

 

[SpyderTracks]

The closest offering I can think of is GeForce Now...which has clients for many platforms (not all of course). But this only solves the 'playing platform' part of the problem, and not the 'game source platform'...and doesn't support all games...but I suppose it's a step in the right direction.

Just got to get Nintendo, Sony & Microsoft to allow these cloud-based game streaming services on their platforms.

I think the best option is going to be a steam streaming platform, let's face it, it's the biggest catalogue of games on the planet, and now EA are selling on it, is it only Ubisoft who are still holding out?