EA: All games are now to be streamed.

[John Reynolds]

Same here, and cheap and with a worthy ending.

$30 on Amazon today. Same horrible ending though.

 

[AlNom]

$30 on Amazon today. Same horrible ending though.

SCNR

(and yes, I realize how awful Voyager could be at times. Hell, the end of the last episode was pretty abrupt too)

I think they could have done better in the end, no doubt, but I had a great time through it all. Worth the $40 CAD day one ($30 + Prothean). *cough*

 

[poopypoo]

...i am also confused. if they're streaming large portions of the worlds then they're just limiting their install base by a lot. a good number of US gamers have solid broadband connections, but in many countries that's not the case - and then there's ozzies and their hard caps, for example. Otoh, pirates can easily emulate cloud storage of savegames and small stuff.

 

[pcchen]

Otoh, pirates can easily emulate cloud storage of savegames and small stuff.

That's why IMHO they are going to make games with more "essential" online features, i.e. features they'll make you think important.

For example, we can play Diablo and Diablo 2 offline, although they have quite a few online features, such as a worldwide ranking system. However, Blizzard eliminates all offline operations in Diablo 3, citing reasons like anti-cheating, etc. They are all valid, so people are more likely to buy into these arguments, but now we have an online only game which is very difficult to pirate.

Of course, it's not impossible (there are even World of Warcraft "emulators" out there and there are people selling these private server services. Illegally, of course). However, most crackers just want to crack a copy-protection system. Unless there are monetary incentive, most crackers are not interested in implementing a full Diablo 3 server (no doubt there will be, but the question is how much, and is it going to be profitable).

 

[Silent_Buddha]

...i am also confused. if they're streaming large portions of the worlds then they're just limiting their install base by a lot. a good number of US gamers have solid broadband connections, but in many countries that's not the case - and then there's ozzies and their hard caps, for example. Otoh, pirates can easily emulate cloud storage of savegames and small stuff.

MMO's have done this for years. But you limit what is streamed from the server, hence bandwidth useage is actually really low. You'll consume far more bandwidth just surfing a few websites each day.

Of course, if it's streaming art assets constantly that'll be huge. But if it's just AI, pathing, etc. it's not that big of a deal. Item stats, monster stats, etc. can be stored on server and never transmitted to the client as all combat is resolved serverside.

Regards,
SB

 

[poopypoo]

That makes more sense, certainly, but I am still dubious. Just to take an example, my wife pre-ordered me3 on origin because she is a total bioware junkie. We streamed it in just fine. Our internet connection usually tops out at 100 kBps down, because we're in an old, shitty building. A lot of better broadband plans in HK are still poor when it comes to accessing overseas sites at peak hours, though. Regardless, I presume they have some servers in Asia because we download games from Steam and Origin without much trouble. But... lag... can be a bitch! I cannot play me3 mulitplayer, because the matches are long and there's a roughly 50% chance of losing sync. I get pissed off quickly with lag, and have given up on a number of MMORPGs due to it. Now, i have played some of those here, and also some MP games by companies with a longer track record of solid netcode. They sometimes get hiccuppy but they're often worth the hassle. But me3 mp is a complete no-go for me. Even loading the game takes an inordinately long time due to the server check. If my single player games are doomed to the same fate... I dunno. i guess we'll see!

 

[MfA]

There has to be a way to convince ME3/origin that your internet connection is down ...

If you really take the connection down and put origin in offline mode ME3 starts up a ton faster.

 

[Silent_Buddha]

That makes more sense, certainly, but I am still dubious. Just to take an example, my wife pre-ordered me3 on origin because she is a total bioware junkie. We streamed it in just fine. Our internet connection usually tops out at 100 kBps down, because we're in an old, shitty building. A lot of better broadband plans in HK are still poor when it comes to accessing overseas sites at peak hours, though. Regardless, I presume they have some servers in Asia because we download games from Steam and Origin without much trouble. But... lag... can be a bitch! I cannot play me3 mulitplayer, because the matches are long and there's a roughly 50% chance of losing sync. I get pissed off quickly with lag, and have given up on a number of MMORPGs due to it. Now, i have played some of those here, and also some MP games by companies with a longer track record of solid netcode. They sometimes get hiccuppy but they're often worth the hassle. But me3 mp is a complete no-go for me. Even loading the game takes an inordinately long time due to the server check. If my single player games are doomed to the same fate... I dunno. i guess we'll see!

Yeah, lost packets and latency are going to be the killers for this type of game service model. All I have to do is switch to wireless connection versus wired connection in my location (LOTS of high powered MIMO wireless routers in my area) to see the effects of lag.

Regards,
SB

 

[digitalwanderer]

Oh, I'm sure this idea will go over just fine with the gaming community.

 

[Snyder]

Eventually single player games will be very rare.

Oh, I don't think so. It's just that other companies will be making them.

 

[BRiT]

With PC game publishers like this is it any wonder the outlook for PC gaming looks questionable? I know this sort of event isn't going to be doing them any favors with their customers, or make that ex-customers. It certainly hasn't made me want to get games for the PC.

 

[pcchen]

Oh, I don't think so. It's just that other companies will be making them.

Of course, some will try, but will they be successful (in making money)?

The same goes to ad-supported games, too. Since ad (especially on a mobile platform) works only when internet is available, the best way to make an ad-supported game is to make an online game, where internet connection is required. Then you can make sure all your ads will be served.

 

[DuckThor Evil]

Oh, I'm sure this ideawill go over just fine with the gaming community.

I know this sort of event isn't going to be doing them any favors with their customers, or make that ex-customers. It certainly hasn't made me want to get games for the PC.

What idea? Which sort of event!? Did you guys completely ignore what Arwin said. The news is just EA wanting to expand their games on multiple devices like they already did with Mass Effect 3 with it's iPad App. Their games are going to have mini games on other devices and you can transport the progress of those mini games into the main game.

The streaming thing was an idiotic interpretation from the author in OP's linked article and even that was edited days ago. There is no new DRM schemes here...

 

[BRiT]

Yes, I read what Arwin said, but I was responding to the idea that started this thread, that all EA games would be streamed from here on out. I also have this feeling that EA, Activision and other evil publishers will try to move to a pure control DRM situation. It's inevitable.

 

[Mobius1aic]

We will always have better days, fonder memories.