Coming to a Cloud Near You: Video Game Systems

Google made some waves in the video gaming industry last year with the announcement of its Stadia gaming system. The most notable feature of Stadia was that it wasn’t a physical device at all, but rather a fully cloud-based streaming service. And this week at one of the world’s biggest gaming conventions in Germany, there’s further talk that cloud gaming could overtake the tried-and-true method of sticking cartridges or discs in a physical console. Perhaps this is more proof that the “streaming economy” is disrupting more than just cable television and the music industry. But for our money, nothing can top the gaming of the Atari 2600 or the Nintendo Entertainment System. Now that was truly the golden age of video games.