The next big thing for the gaming industry is cloud gaming, which will change how these products are accessed, says Serkan Toto, chief executive officer of Kantan Games, a Japan-based independent game industry consultancy. Cloud gamers don’t need dedicated console equipment. Instead, they can play anywhere and at any time, as long as users have access to a screen and own a controller, which Toto says cost as little as $30 to $50.
Cloud gaming may be here soon. Google announced last week a game-streaming service called Stadia, which is being dubbed a Netflix for gaming. And on Monday, Apple announced plans for its own streaming service called Apple Arcade. Microsoft, Sony and Amazon are also eyeing cloud gaming. All of this will be enabled by the rollout of 5G telecom infrastructure that will make for faster internet connections.
Pachter says anyone with an internet connection can access cloud games, which will allow the gaming-curious to explore what’s available and could lead to new users. He says there are 250 million households with gaming consoles, but 2 billion households globally have internet service.
“You're probably going to see a tenfold increase in the addressable market,” he says. “You're going to double sales of every game, eventually. So yeah, it's a great industry.”