The Tiny Console Killers Taking On the PS4 and Xbox 720

An anonymous reader writes "As the next generation of consoles looms, we've seen a growing trend towards low price, compact alternatives such as the Ouya and GameStick, many of which run on the Android mobile platform. But this article on the trend raises a very good point: through the use of cloud computing and game streaming technology, it's entirely possible these machines will be able to keep pace with the powerhouse technology inside the Sony PS4 and Microsoft Xbox 720, and perhaps even overtake them. After all, if these little boxes can simply stream from powerful servers, how can the stalwarts of gaming keep up?"

Comments

Latency?

[Anonymous Coward]

Lets say there is a magical server in the cloud which renders game content as a function of end-user input. This server then sends an audio/video stream back to the end-user. In addition to the noticeable latency already present with today's HDTV's and wireless controllers, how much more latency will this add? I would like to know how much latency (in milliseconds, which I will define as the time between a change in input conditions and a change in game content on the display) the average console gamer is willing to put up with.