Video games industry looks to the cloud


Streaming services promise to make every device into a console. 6park.com
游戏串流服务承诺让每台设备都变成主机。



Viewing and listening habits have changed markedly in the past decade. Consumers have shelved CDs, DVDs and scheduled programmes for subscription entertainment services such as Netflix and Spotify that are streamed online from vast warehouses of servers. 6park.com
在过去的十年里，视听习惯发生了显着的变化。消费者已将CD、DVD和预定节目束之高阁，转而使用Netflix和Spotify等订阅娱乐服务，这些服务通过庞大的服务器仓库进行在线流媒体播放。 6park.com
  
After a slow start, the video games industry is catching up with the rest of the entertainment sector. 6park.com
在经历了缓慢的起步后，电子游戏行业正在追赶娱乐行业中的其他行业。 6park.com
  
The global cloud-gaming market will grow from about $1bn in 2020 to $12bn in 2026, according to technology research firm Omdia. 6park.com
根据科技研究公司Omdia的数据，全球云游戏市场将从2020年的约10亿美元增长到2026年的120亿美元。 6park.com
  
Media consultants and analysts say that the growth is due to greater consumer demand and increased investment from the main console makers — Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo — which want to expand the reach of their games. They also point to the impetus provided by a rapid increase in internet-connected devices, and by the rollout of high-speed fifth generation, 5G, mobile networks. 6park.com
媒体顾问和分析师表示，这种增长是由于消费者需求增加，以及主要游戏主机制造商——微软、索尼和任天堂——增加了投资，这些公司希望扩大自己的游戏所能触及的范围。他们还指出，互联网连接设备的迅速增加，以及第五代(5G)高速移动网络的推出，提供了动力。 6park.com
  
Initial predictions that cloud gaming could be a “console killer” were off the mark. In fact, cloud gaming is diversifying revenues for console makers and helping them reach new customers. “Ironically it’s console makers driving cloud [gaming],” says George Jijiashvili, principal analyst at Omdia, and gaming expert. 6park.com
最初关于云游戏可能成为“主机杀手”的预测是错误的。事实上，云游戏正在使主机制造商的收入多样化，并帮助他们获得新客户。Omdia首席分析师、游戏专家乔治•吉加什维利(George Jijiashvili)表示：“具有讽刺意味的是，推动云（游戏）的是游戏主机制造商。” 6park.com
  
Cloud gaming broadens the appeal of video games by increasing the number of devices that games can be played on, including not just consoles but also smartphones, tablets, PCs and smart TVs. Only a decent internet connection is needed. 6park.com
云游戏通过增加游戏可以运行的设备数量，扩大了电子游戏的吸引力。这些平台不仅包括主机，还包括智能手机、平板电脑、台式电脑和智能电视。只需要一个良好的互联网连接。 6park.com
  
“It’s similar to the Netflix business model,” says Jeff Youssef, partner and media expert at Oliver Wyman, a consultancy. A further benefit may be gathering better data on customers, he adds. 6park.com
咨询公司奥纬咨询(Oliver Wyman)的合伙人兼媒体专家杰夫•优素福(Jeff Youssef)表示：“这与Netflix的商业模式类似。”他补充说，另一个好处可能是更利于收集更完善的客户数据。 6park.com
  
Services range from the free, with the option of paying for additional features, to $10 or more per month for new premium games and a bigger games library. Customers can also download games to consoles. 6park.com
服务范围从免费（可选择为额外功能付费）到每月10美元或更多，以获得新的高级游戏和更大的游戏库。客户还可以将游戏下载到主机上。



Microsoft’s Xbox is the clear market leader in cloud gaming, Jijiashvili says, helped by the popularity of its console and its large cloud computing business, Azure. 6park.com
吉加什维利说，微软的Xbox显然是云游戏市场的领导者，这得益于其主机的流行和其大型云计算业务Azure。 6park.com
  
At the end of 2021, Microsoft and Sony accounted for almost three-quarters of total cloud gaming market revenue, according to Omdia. 6park.com
据Omdia称，在2021年底，微软和索尼几乎占了云游戏市场总收入的四分之三。 6park.com
  
In April, Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s chair and CEO, said that more than 10mn people had streamed Xbox games. 6park.com
今年4月，微软董事长兼首席执行官萨蒂亚•纳德拉(Satya Nadella)表示，有超过1000万人通过流式传输的方式玩Xbox游戏。 6park.com
  
Meanwhile Sony, which makes the PlayStation console and was the first big console maker to provide a cloud gaming service, says that cloud gaming “remains a critical part of our overall business strategy”. Its customers can stream hundreds of games through its $17.99 per month “PlayStation Plus Premium” service. 6park.com
与此同时，作为PlayStation游戏机的制造商、同时也是第一家提供云游戏服务的大型游戏机制造商，索尼表示，云游戏“仍是我们整体业务战略的关键组成部分”。其用户可以通过每月17.99美元的“PlayStation Plus Premium”服务流媒体观看数百款游戏。 6park.com
  
As the market grows, console makers are increasingly facing competition from dozens of start-ups offering cloud games on subscription, as well as from game developers and tech giants. Both Amazon and Google have cloud gaming services, though Google’s is due to close early next year, while Netflix’s vice-president for games has said the company is considering setting up a cloud gaming platform. 6park.com
随着市场的增长，主机制造商正日益面临来自数十家提供云游戏订阅服务的初创公司，以及游戏开发商和科技巨头的竞争。亚马逊和谷歌都有云游戏服务，但谷歌的云游戏服务将于明年年初关闭，而Netflix负责游戏业务的副总裁表示，该公司正在考虑建立一个云游戏平台。 6park.com
  
The US is by far the largest market for cloud gaming, followed by China and the UK, according to Omdia. By revenue, the US market for cloud-enabled game subscription services is nearly five times bigger than China, says Jijiashvili. 6park.com
Omdia的数据显示，美国是迄今为止最大的云游戏市场，其次是中国和英国。吉加什维利表示，从营收来看，美国基于云的游戏订阅服务市场几乎是中国的5倍。



China’s gaming companies are increasing efforts to expand abroad by acquiring western gaming companies and partnering with hardware makers. The expansion comes as its domestic market has slowed due to regulatory restrictions on the industry. 6park.com
中国游戏公司正在通过收购西方游戏公司和与硬件制造商合作，加大向海外扩张的力度。此次扩张正值中国国内市场因行业监管限制而放缓之际。 6park.com
  
In August, Tencent Games, part of tech company Tencent, until recently China’s most valuable company, and Switzerland-based Logitech, a computer peripherals manufacturer, said that they were partnering to develop a handheld device that will support “multiple cloud gaming services”. 6park.com
今年8月，科技公司腾讯(Tencent)旗下的腾讯游戏(Tencent Games)和总部位于瑞士的电脑外设制造商罗技(Logitech)表示，它们正在合作开发一款支持“多种云游戏服务”的手持设备。腾讯不久前还是中国市值最高的公司。 6park.com
  
Initially, China’s cloud gaming services focused predominantly on its domestic market, sometimes bundled as a service into the county’s 5G network. “You could look at some of China’s early attempts at cloud gaming as a value add for its 5G rollout,” says Neil Barbour, a research analyst and gaming expert at S&P Global Market Intelligence, a financial information and technology provider. 6park.com
最初，中国的云游戏服务主要集中在国内市场，有时会作为一项服务捆绑到该国的5G网络中。金融信息和技术提供商标普全球市场情报(S&P Global Market Intelligence)的研究分析师兼游戏业专家尼尔•巴伯(Neil Barbour)表示：“你可以把中国在云游戏方面的一些早期尝试视为其推出5G的一个增值项目。” 6park.com
  
For all cloud games companies, a key question is whether to try to boost their revenues by increasing advertising. 6park.com
对于所有云游戏公司来说，一个关键问题是是否要通过增加广告来增加收入。 6park.com
  
In the case of mobile phones, it has become the norm, with ads often blocking gameplay features, says Stephen Bradley, managing director at Deloitte Consulting and an expert on the gaming market. 6park.com
德勤咨询公司(Deloitte Consulting)董事总经理、游戏市场专家斯蒂芬•布拉德利(Stephen Bradley)表示，在手机平台上，这已成为一种常态，广告经常阻挡游戏功能。 6park.com
  
But for paid-for “premium” games there is “more resistance” to advertising among customers, he says. 6park.com
他说，但对于付费的”高级“游戏，客户对广告的“抵触情绪更大”。 6park.com
  
Even if game players are prepared to accept more advertising in return for free or lower-cost games, experts doubt whether the advertising will become as important to streamed gaming as it has to television or music. “I don’t think advertising will be able to balance the full costs of the cloud,” says Olivier Avaro, founder and CEO of Blacknut, a French cloud gaming service. 6park.com
即使游戏玩家准备接受更多的广告，以换取免费或低成本的游戏，专家们也怀疑广告对流媒体游戏是否会变得像对电视或音乐那样重要。法国云游戏服务公司Blacknut的创始人兼首席执行官Olivier Avaro表示：“我不认为广告能够平衡云服务的全部成本。 6park.com
  
The sector is expected to grow steadily over the next decade, boosted by 5G, smart TVs and “casual gamers” who want more flexibility about how and where they play. But cloud gaming is unlikely to replace the console any time soon — if it ever does. 6park.com
在5G、智能电视和“休闲玩家”的推动下，该行业预计将在未来10年稳步增长。“休闲玩家”希望在游戏方式和游玩地点方面有更大的灵活性。但云游戏不太可能在短期内取代主机——如果真的能取代的话。 6park.com
  
“It’s still really early days for [cloud gaming],” says Omdia’s Jijiashvili. “It will become increasingly important [and] will coexist with the console.” 6park.com
Omdia的吉加什维利表示：“现在(云游戏)还处于起步阶段。它将变得越来越重要，并将与主机共存。” 6park.com