New details appear on ‘Google Yeti’, the supposed (and mysterious) cloud-based streaming video game platform.
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At the beginning of 2018 we learned that supposedly Google was preparing an aggressive strategy to enter the next-generation video game market. The project has the code name ‘Yeti’ and would contemplate three main pillars: a kind of console or transmission hardware, a platform for streaming content, and a massive recruitment of developers to create exclusive games.
Curiously, all this coincides with the forecasts of the industry, which suggest that the future is in video game streaming, a kind of ‘Netflix’. In fact, a few days ago we saw the statements of the Ubisoft co-founder, who claimed that we will play as we listen to music, by streaming. Similarly, Microsoft, who during E3 announced its Xbox Game Pass, which is precisely committed to this type of strategy. Now, it seems that Google has found its opportunity and seeks to enter this field, and through the front door.
The key is in the developers and the studios
According to new information from Kotaku, Google has been very active in the video game industry lately, it was seen at the last Game Developers Conference and at E3. In both cases, people who had access to meetings with the company, mention that Google was measuring the interest of the sector before the arrival of a new streaming video game platform.
The interesting thing about all this is that Google also took the opportunity to do a kind of developer recruitment, and even dared to launch purchase offers for independent studios, which means that the company knows that the business is in the developers. If not, ask Microsoft.
During these meetings nothing was mentioned about the supposed console or Google hardware, everything focused on the Cloud Gamin platformg, which would theoretically handle all the graphics rendering work from robust servers elsewhere, allowing even the most inexpensive entry-spec PCs to play high-end games.
One of the people familiar with ‘Yeti’ described it in a clear and amazing way: “imagine that you will be able to play ‘The Witcher 3’ within a tab in Google Chrome”.
And the most attractive thing about ‘Yeti’ would be that the platform would be available for a wide variety of operating systems, from mobile to desktop platforms, including Playstation and Xbox. Come on, it sounds too beautiful to be true, but knowing the scope and potential that Google has, this may not sound so far-fetched.
Key 2: streamers and YouTube
We know that Google has tried to compete against Twitch without much success, just see what happened with YouTube Gaming. Well, the arrival of ‘Yeti’ could be that momentum that this video platform lacks. People say that Google would add almost native YouTube support to the Cloud Gaming platform, which would allow us to search for tutorial videos on how to pass a level of a game from the same screen and without having another device at hand.
But that would not be all, since this native YouTube support would allow those who like to share their games, can broadcast live to your YouTube channel without having to invest in additional equipment. That is, Google would bet on streamers by providing them with tools for their transmissions in a simple and direct way.
The doubts: the hardware, the price and the necessary bandwidth
Before all this, developers are skeptical, and there are still many doubts about how all this will work. In addition, as it is proposed at the moment, everything points to regions with high bandwidth and a robust infrastructure that can support all this data download. Here we must remember that not everyone has fiber and in some countries there are limits on data and broadband consumption.
On the other hand, the price of the hardware will be decisive, although we do not know if Google will seek to compete in specifications against the next Playstation and Xbox. Likewise, a very probable monthly or annual fee should also be considered, which would give access to all the content that Google would offer. This without mentioning the issue of compatibility and support with other operating systems and consoles, which until now is a mystery.
What is a fact, and in case all this is real, is that Google is aiming for something big and here it is only enough to see his latest movements where the signing of Phil Harrison stands out, a veteran of video games who was part of the top team of PlayStation and Xbox executives. In the same way, there have been hiring of video game developers and vendors of companies such as EA, Playstation and many more.
What will Google be up to? We will have to wait to find out, but this adds more wood to the streaming video game trend that we saw at E3 this year and to which we already dedicated an episode of ‘Clear the X’, our podcast that you can subscribe to on iVoox or iTunes . We leave here the chapter related to video game streaming so that you can listen to it directly.
