While the “power of the Cloud” may seem like a phrase from yester-year, there are some really big headlines coming out of the technology all of the sudden within the gaming space. According to the most recent announcement, publisher EA (Electronic Arts) will be picking up the tab for GameFly’s infrastructure and personnel in an acquisition announced late yesterday.
According to the announcement, EA closed an acquisition deal this month to bring over both the technology behind GameFly’s service and the Israel-based personnel to Electronic Arts’ team. However, EA isn’t opening their lips yet about how exactly they are looking to use this service, simply stating they are looking to “continue to innovate and expand the future of games and play.”
For those of you that don’t know the mid-2000’s GameFly commercials like the back of your hand, the company runs a DVD-to-mail subscription service. The retailer long-advertised itself to be the Netflix of gaming, only later adding cloud-based solutions after select acquisitions. And while EA is covering costs in grabbing cloud-based technology and personnel, nothing has been announced in regards to a merger of the companies or, for that matter, GameFly closing down.
Now what can EA do with cloud gaming? Recent examples within the field suggests a lot. For one, Capcom revealed earlier this week that Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (or, better to say, the Japanese Biohazard 7: Resident Evil) will be making its way to Nintendo Switch with 99% less data required through utilization of a proprietary cloud service. Similarly, this may offer Electronic Arts the means and method to launch their premium, graphics-intensive games on lower-performing consoles like the Nintneod Switch.
Otherwise, EA may be picking up cloud gaming simply to boost the performance of upcoming games like Battlefield V. Although “the power of the cloud” has become somewhat of a meme within the gaming space, it is unquestionable that in games that require always-online connections, cloud gaming can offer a significant technology boost.
How do you think EA will start using cloud technology? Let us know in the comments.