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Google Is Planning a Game Platform That Could Take On Xbox and PlayStation (kotaku.com)

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Kotaku: We haven't heard many specifics about Google's video game plans, but what we have heard is that it's a three-pronged approach: 1) Some sort of streaming platform, 2) some sort of hardware, and 3) an attempt to bring game developers under the Google umbrella, whether through aggressive recruiting or even major acquisitions. That's the word from five people who have either been briefed on Google's plans or heard about them secondhand.

So what is this streaming platform, exactly? Like Nvidia's GeForce Now, the Google service would offload the work of rendering graphics to beefy computers elsewhere, allowing even the cheapest PCs to play high-end games. The biggest advantage of streaming, as opposed to physical discs or downloads, is that it removes hardware barriers for games. Whispers have been quieter about Google's hardware, whatever that may look like, but the rumors we've heard suggest that it will link up with the streaming service in some way. We're not sure whether Google is looking to compete with the technical specs of the next PlayStation and Xbox or whether this Google console will be cheaper and low-end, relying on the streaming service to pull weight.
The streaming platform, which is code-named Yeti, was first reported by the website The Information earlier this year.

5 of 149 comments (clear)

  1. Display ads at twice the frame rate! by jfdavis668 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Google will soon be able to display ads at twice the frame rate of the competition.

  2. Maybe one day. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    The biggest problem with streaming will

    only to find that the delay is too much for you to enjoy

    always be lag. You'll press a button or take an action

    the game and that your actions come out in a

    different order to what you were expecting.

    1. Re:Maybe one day. by ColdWetDog · · Score: 4, Funny

      Burma Shave

      --
      Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
  3. Re:Pipe dream by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    Don't be so pessimistic, It might actually work well in the coffee room at Googles Datacenters

  4. Re:"some streaming platform, some sort of hardware by 110010001000 · · Score: 1, Funny

    What are they angry about? Don't they realize that Musk and the other tech CEOs are taking us to the promised land (Mars)?