Upcoming 4K video and game streaming on consoles. A menacing warning about the future of custom gaming PCs.
Upcoming 4K video and game streaming on consoles. A menacing warning about the future of custom gaming PCs.
I think upcoming versions of PS4 and Xbox One will support 4K video via HDMI 2.0. Complex modern titles won’t be built locally anymore; instead, services like Playstation Now will handle streaming 4K games by the end of the PS4’s life. The next generation after Xbox One and PS4 might be compact streaming devices that bundle PS+ and XBL Gold, allowing games to run off-site in large data centers. Just as Netflix began as a DVD rental business, consoles could shift toward primarily offering streamed content, moving away from traditional retail outlets like Walmart, Best Buy, and Gamestop.
Ten years ago I had no idea my 1 Mbit DSL connection would soon be over 100 Mbit on cable or 50 Mbit for a similar price. Yet it still falls short compared to what some European and Asian markets provide today. That Iraq war funding could have gone toward education and internet upgrades, but America’s priorities seem different now. Slow fiber rollout across the U.S. will likely delay this further, though eventually—within about a decade—will it happen?
When Sony, Microsoft, and even Nintendo later embraced streaming, how would that impact Steam? If Steam remained unchanged, PC games would probably still be built locally on custom hardware, requiring users to manage maintenance like they do now. What if the major console makers started offering streaming too, similar to Netflix? Then the value of exclusive subscriptions would drop, and services would need to adapt quickly.
The tiered pricing model could become extreme: unlimited game streaming, pay per title, pay for graphics settings, possibly hourly charges like AOL. It’s hard to imagine a company managing this without significant investment. Amazon, with its vast server network, might step in to acquire Playstation and push streaming forward. If it did, would a new entrant like Amazon be needed to drive this change, or would the three big players branch out independently?
Sony already owns Playstation, so that’s a current move. Consoles are often made cheap thanks to economies of scale—millions of units with identical chipsets, built using bulk parts at discounted wholesale rates. The idea is that massive inventory, backed by marketing, would sell quickly. That strategy helped PS4 launch at a loss but was profitable in the long run.
This shift could mean people stop buying expensive consoles altogether and instead use affordable devices with internet access. Costs would be covered by subscription fees from streaming services, which would upgrade their infrastructure remotely. There’d likely be a fierce competition between locally rendered games on consoles and PCs versus streamed titles from servers. Which would be cheaper? What investment would pay off?
All this remains uncertain for the near future, as ISPs and big retailers hesitate. For now, Steam and piracy are the main options, but change is inevitable. If .exe files never reached the public and no one owns the hardware, streaming through services will be the only viable path—potentially ending traditional piracy as we know it.
No, Playstation Now is not available for streaming outside of your home.
It seems the issue lies with the TV's capability rather than the HDMI connection itself.
I fully understand. Previous versions lasted more than seven years and behave quite differently from their original release. Like Netflix, if your connection speed isn't sufficient, quality will drop instantly. I imagine people with high-speed broadband can play at 4K while others on DSL are limited to 720p. It's likely XBLive or PsPlus will offer tiered pricing—perhaps $20 a year for 720p and $50 for 1080p, etc. I think future gaming experiences will evolve significantly over time. The current limitations mainly stem from the power they have now. Improvements in frame interpolation should ease the issue, as most TVs already boost from 30fps to 60fps or higher with minimal delay. On my setup, a +25ms lag from interpolation and 4K upscaling is noticeable.
Peasants aren't familiar with this concept. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Even if people can play games on peasant-box or station without major delays, creating a custom PC would still be essential (by then, a 4K gaming rig would be much more affordable). You'd end up paying a significantly higher price for streaming services compared to buying a PC yourself.