Microsoft: cloud computing not mass-market
Analyst also predicts Apple console at BAFTA conference
Cloud computing services such as OnLive and Gaikai will not be mass-market propositions for the "foreseeable future", claims Xbox Live EMEA boss Jerry Johnson.
Speaking before an audience in a conference at BAFTA discussing "Digital Distribution and the Future of the European Games Market", Johnson stated that "streaming technology is something that the industry is betting on longer term… right now I don't believe that technology can scale out against the experience we can offer on a local machine."
"The technology will continue to improve. As an industry we'll have to accept that and move with it - but I don't think it's on an accelerated timeline for the foreseeable future," he added.
The London Games Conference was part of the ongoing London Games Festival, where TechRadar UK also reported Screen Digest analyst Nick Parker's predictions of Apple re-entering the home console market. He suggested that he would not be too surprised to see Apple launch a dedicated gaming console in the next generation, possibly using Intel's Larabee chip technology.
While also predicting that 2014 could see digital distribution and retail sales reach parity, Parker suggested that the next hardware generation of console could see "one big new entrant to shake up the ecosystem".