Crytek CEO expresses cautious optimism over cloud gaming
Cervat Yerli says that industry will overcome teething issues, but early models could be "dangerous"
Crytek CEO Cervat Yerli has told press that he believes cloud gaming is the inevitable future for the industry, but that current solutions will need a lot of polish before being successful.
Talking to Gamasutra at E3 Yerli spoke of his optimism for the new model, albeit couched in terms which expressed some need for caution.
"Gaikai as well as OnLive, they're pioneers in that [area]," Yerli told Gamasutra. "But I also think that [current cloud gaming solutions] can be dangerous in a way, from a business perspective...I have concerns about the way it's approached, but I think cloud gaming is the future, inevitably."
Of the two current market leaders, Yerli sees Gaikai's model of serving demos via browser ads to be the most sustainable, despite a need for evolution to "overcome business issues and scalability issues".
Also necessary for the future of cloud gaming is bringing publishers on board for devoted stream-optimised content, the CEO feels. His own studio's game, Crysis 2, was shown running on Gaikai's technology at E3, but Yerli made clear that it would never perform as optimally via a stream as it does running natively.
"Crysis 2 isn't built to be scaled on a cloud. Crysis 2 is not a cloud game. Crysis 2 is a client-based game that is running on a cloud. And yes, it has the benefit of that scalability on the client side, but it is inefficient on the server side, because it's not meant to be on a cloud.
"Until this is overcome, and people build proper cloud games, this will always be a business issue."
This week, Gaikai announced that The Eurogamer Network would be the service's first European media affiliate, allowing users to play demos and games via browsers without leaving the site.