FFXIV and FFXVI producer Yoshi-P thinks cloud could replace consoles in 10 years or so

Yoshi-P believes that the future of gaming could be in the clouds, but it will take time to make that happen.

Streaming games via the cloud is not an ideal way to play most titles, especially fast-twitch shooters. Right now cloud gaming simply hasn't matured, and this is more than a decade after the technology was really first introduced in a mainline package. That being said, cloud has expanded dramatically, pushing to all forms of gaming: From PC to the Big 3 console family, there's some sort of cloud-based offering for games distribution and access.

How far much will cloud gaming evolve in another 10 years? Yoshi-P, producer and director of beloved Final Fantasy XIV and its expansions (and Final Fantasy XVI), recently said he believes cloud could eventually replace all platforms and consoles over time.

The news comes by way of Twitter user Genki, who translated a Japanese language interview with Yoshi-P:

Cloud gaming isn't cheap, though. Web server costs are racking up, and we often seen video games with multiplayer components being pulled offline because it costs more to maintain than what the game is currently worth. It's also a reason why platform-holders like Nintendo and Microsoft will deprecate entire video game storefronts after many years (the Wii U/3DS stores have been pulled offline, and the Xbox 360 store will go offline in June 2024).

It's also worth mentioning that Microsoft's foray with cloud gaming has not been profitable, and that Google closed down its own game streaming service, Stadia, earlier this year.

Sony has expressed plans to bring cloud gaming to smartphones via PlayStation Plus, and NVIDIA's GeForce Now streaming subscription is going strong, powered by advanced desktop-grade graphics cards.

2