The original version of the PlayStation 5 weighs 4.5 kg, almost twice as much as its predecessor (2.8 kg). The Xbox Series X was so big that many on the Internet joked that it was the size of a mini-fridge — prompting Microsoft to build an actual console-shaped mini-fridge. But as technology advances, it inevitably miniaturizes as more battery, processing power, and memory are crammed into smaller phone or laptop chassis. The same goes for video games. Nintendo pioneered portable hybrid gaming when it released the Switch, which became the fastest home console to reach 100 million units in 2021. Its ability to function as a traditional TV console and portable attracted customers faster than they could be built. Now, competitors like Steam Deck are invading the portable gaming market with better graphics cards, storage and processors. One company that launched its laptop over the summer is Aya. The Chinese company’s flagship Neo Air Pro features up to 30GB of RAM, decent battery life and a graphics card powerful enough to run the latest blockbuster games on the go. When Sky News tested it, games like Overwatch, Call Of Duty and FIFA held up well at lower graphics settings at 60fps. The unit also features a USB-C output, making it possible to connect a physical keyboard, mouse and monitor and turning this supercharged Game Boy into a gaming desktop. Image: The Neo Air Pro. Photo: Aya Neo Will video games get their own Netflix? But mobile phones also shine in games. The advent of game streaming, similar to Netflix, allows gamers to run the most graphics-intensive versions on the market on mid-range smartphones. Where your iPhone might traditionally be used to play classics like Clash Of Clans or Farmville, it can now massively stream PlayStation or Xbox games with nothing more than a 5G connection. Xbox, PlayStation, and Google (for now, at least) offer cloud streaming services that allow players to play supported games over the Internet. Sky News tested the Xbox cloud streaming app installed on Oppo’s flagship foldable smartphone, the Find N. The phone’s OLED screen (produced by the same manufacturer that makes Samsung’s foldable screens), doubles up to double the original screen size, greatly improving the gaming experience on the go. Using a stable EE 5G connection, we were able to stream Forza Horizon 5, one of the most graphically demanding games on the market, with little to no lag. As broadband and data speeds improve in the UK, cloud gaming could become the medium of choice for gamers. However, the format recently took a hit when Google announced it was ending its Stadia service. It was one of the first such services to launch in the UK, but failed to generate enough interest with players to continue from the Silicon Valley giant. Read more tech news: We spoke to Google’s latest AI chatbot The future of Twitter under Elon Musk Image: Google Stadia was announced to much fanfare in 2019, but it’s closing in the new year “Cloud gaming is the future” Mike Rose, founder of No More Robots, a game publisher that was recently forced to pull the Stadia version of Soccer Story, told Sky News: “I think the writing was on the wall for a while … it was pretty obvious that someone was going to die moment. It was more a matter of when. “I’m pretty sure that cloud gaming is going to be the future of video games.” Mr Rose said cloud services like Xbox are more likely to survive because they have a more differentiated offering: “The problem Stadia had was that it was trying to start a whole new store that’s entirely focused on the cloud, rather than letting people to engage in cloud gaming little by little.” In a vote of confidence, No More Robots has about half a dozen titles coming to Microsoft’s xCloud over the next 12 months. According to the government, 68% of UK premises now have access to gigabit-capable broadband, with the aim of achieving at least 85% gigabit-capable coverage across the country by 2025. How quickly people adopt the ever-increasing supply of Netflix-like cloud gaming services will largely depend on whether infrastructure goals like this are met.
