With streaming move, Google eyes future of gaming

SAN FRANCISCO -- Google is looking to transform internet-age game play, with an expected launch of a streaming service which uses the tech giant's power in the internet cloud.

Expected Tuesday is the debut of a ramped-up version of a cloud gaming platform Google tested recently in partnership with Ubisoft.

A video clip teasing a keynote presentation at an annual Game Developers Conference in San Francisco invites people to "Gather around as we unveil Google's vision for the future of gaming."

The clip cycles through an accelerating collage of scenes one might find in video games, but says nothing about what Google will announce at the event, which will be live-streamed at YouTube.

Google collaborated with French video game colossus Ubisoft to use the hit "Assassin's Creed" franchise to test "Project Stream" technology for hosting the kind of quick, seamless play powered by in-home consoles as an online service.

A select number of people in the US were able to play "Assassin's Creed Odyssey" streamed to Chrome browsers on desktop or laptop computers.

A recently uncovered patent that Google filed for a video game controller hinted that the tech firm might be planning to release its own console and controller to go along with a streaming service.

'XCLOUD' ON THE HORIZON 

Video games are following television and music into the cloud, with console-quality play on its way to being a streaming service as easy to access as Netflix or Spotify.

Computing power in data centers and devices from televisions to smartphones has surged and streaming technology has advanced, providing tools to break blockbuster titles from confines of consoles or personal computers.

Google, whose YouTube video service operates an eSports platform for viewing game competitions, will be entering a sector with other powerful competitors including Sony and Microsoft.

Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella said late last year that a keenly anticipated "xCloud" streaming service was in "early days."

Microsoft's Xbox consoles and games unit are big business for the Redmond, Washington-based technology titan, which has been adapting to modern lifestyles in which software is hosted as a service online and tapped into using whichever gadgets people prefer.

Video game titan Electronic Arts also has laid out a vision of streaming video games enhanced with artificial intelligence to create "living, breathing worlds that constantly evolve."

BIGGER WORLD OF PLAY 

Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter sees Amazon, Apple and Google as potential big players in the space given huge investments they have made in data centers that provide cloud services to millions of people.

Amazon, a major cloud operator through its Amazon Web Services, also owns popular game play-streaming service Twitch.

Console quality video game play streamed online as a service, hosted on servers in the internet cloud, faces challenges including moving data quickly enough to avoid lags in action or imagery.

Improvements in internet bandwidth, computing power and data storage capabilities are enabling "disruptive technologies" such as streaming that can change the way games are created as well as played, according to Ubisoft.

While streaming game services might nibble at consoles sales, they are more likely to broaden the audience of players to anyone with an internet connection, according to analysts.

The US video game industry generated a record $43.4 billion in revenue in 2018, up 18 percent from the prior year, according to data released by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) and NPD Group.

"Console, PC, and mobile platforms all saw significant growth, while developing portions of the market like subscription and streaming services gave us a peek into a future full of possibilities for the industry and gamers," NPD analyst Mat Piscatella said in a release.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Google teams with Ubisoft to test video game streaming

SAN FRANCISCO - Google on Monday announced that it will test a video game streaming platform with the release of "Assassin's Creed Odyssey" by Ubisoft this week.

Google is collaborating with the French video game colossus to use a new installment in the hit "Assassin's Creed" franchise to test the ability of Project Stream technology to provide the kind of quick, seamless play powered by in-home consoles as an online service.

"We're going to push the limits with one of the most demanding applications for streaming - a blockbuster video game," Google product manager Catherine Hsiao said in a blog post.

The technical test will be limited to the United States, where a select number of people will get to play "Assassin's Creed Odyssey" streamed to Chrome Browsers on desktop or laptop computers starting on October 5.

Versions of the new "Assassin's Creed" will be released that same day for play on PlayStation 4 and Xbox Once consoles as well as personal computers on disks or as downloads.

Having a disk in a console or computer, or installing the game software, enables high-resolution, speedy play.

Console quality video game play streamed online as a service, hosted on servers in the internet cloud, faces challenges including moving data quickly enough to avoid lags in action or imagery.

"Google's goal with Project Stream is to solve some existing challenges with streaming," Ubisoft said in a blog post.

Improvements in internet bandwidth, computing power and data storage capabilities are enabling "disruptive technologies" such as streaming which have the potential to change the way games are created as well as played, according to Ubisoft.

Google launched a website were people could apply for invitations to take part in the test, which will feature free streaming play of "Assassin's Creed Odyssey" while Project Stream technology is put through its paces.

"The incredible visual fidelity of its world combined with the mechanical demands of being a Spartan mercenary in Ancient Greece make 'Assassin's Creed Odyssey' the perfect candidate to push Project Stream to its limits," Ubisoft said.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Assassin's Creed eyes French Revolution

LOS ANGELES -- French video game star Ubisoft is bringing its blockbuster Assassin's Creed game to home turf.

The sequel set for worldwide release on October 28 takes players to the streets of Paris during the French Revolution.

"I was surprised how realistic it could be," Ubisoft chief and co-found Yves Guillemot told AFP at a major E3 video game gathering that wraps up here on Thursday.

"From the street names to how it was before compared to how it is now, you are really more into the details when it is your own city," he said.

Billed as the most "dense and immersive" version of the hit franchise ever created, Assassin's Creed Unity casts players in the role of a young man who grows into a master assassin and helps shape the fate of France during a tumultuous time.

"We have been working with lots of people to try to get the spirit of the French Revolution; what happened and why it happened," Guillemot said.

The game strives to capture what people were feeling in France at the time.

Special editions include a Guillotine Collectors Case along with Notre Dame and Bastille themed packages.

Initially launched in 2007, Assassin's Creed games have sold more than 76 million units worldwide to rank among top-selling video game lines.

The Assassin's Creed franchise has grown to include novels, comic books, mobile games and films.

Assassin's Creed was the first game to immerse players in a believable and mature experience inspired by historical events. Games have been set in Italy, Constantinople, and even colonial America. But this is the first time it will play out in France.

Versions of Unity will be tailored for play on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and personal computers powered by Windows software.

The prior version of Assassin's Creed put players in the boots of a bold pirate and tapped into mobile devices to expand play.

Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag was set in the Caribbean during the "gritty and exotic" Golden Age of Pirates with a main character who is a descendant in a line of assassins given starring roles in the popular franchise.

Assassin's protagonists have included a Renaissance Italian; a 12th-Century Syrian, and a Native American during the colonial period here.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Ubisoft out to get smartphone users dancing

LOS ANGELES -- French video game star Ubisoft wants smartphone users to get up and dance.

A test version of hit franchise "Just Dance" that can be played just about anywhere using smartphones as controllers should be released on a small scale for testing later this year.

If "Just Dance Now" resonates, it will eventually be released as a free application for smartphones powered by Apple or Google-backed Android operating systems.

"We've seen the casual games market evolve and a huge explosion on mobile," Just Dance executive producer Jason Altman said at an E3 video game extravaganza that continues here through Thursday.

"We think the opportunity is enormous."

Ubisoft introduced "Just Dance Now" during an E3 press briefing where dancers spread about a theater audience jumped to their feet to see who could best match moves set to a Lady Gaga song.

Smartphones act as controllers tracking how well players copy moves in game video streamed over the Internet to Web browsers in computers, tablets, or smart televisions.

During the briefing, the game was displayed on a huge theater screen.

Altman said the game has handled a simulation of 20,000 people taking part in one game, making it conceivable that an audience at a stadium concert could face off on footwork during a song if an artist put the technology in place for a show.

"This is a huge opportunity to bring 'Just Dance' out of the living room and into the world at large," Altman said.

Ubisoft wanted to see whether "Just Dance Now" catches on before figuring out how it will earn revenue from the game.

For fans of the leading dance video game franchise, a new premium installment is on its way for play on consoles.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Ubisoft hero 'Rayman' hits new game consoles

SAN FRANCISCO -- Ubisoft's captivatingly colorful Rayman videogame hero hit new-generation consoles on Tuesday.

"Rayman Legends" for play on PlayStation 4 or Xbox One videogame consoles is the latest installment of the popular franchise where "rabbids" debuted as zany adversaries that grew so popular they were spun into a separate series.

Ubisoft customized unlockable characters for each of the rival consoles, with one inspired by a villain from "Far Cry" and another based on the hero in "Assassin's Creed IV."

Ubisoft continued its pattern of pouncing on hardware innovations, enhancing graphics and loading speeds to take advantage of greater power and building in exclusive game-play features.

Touch pads on PS4 controllers can be used to scratch "lucky tickets" during game play, and scenes from play can be captured and shared using a camera mode.

"Legends" also takes advantage of the ability to continue game play on PS Vita handheld devices if consoles are turned off, or put to other uses such as watching a streamed film.

The videogame was priced at $40.

Ubisoft and Sony Pictures Entertainment last week announced they are working together on a full-length feature film based on the Rabbids, the irreverent, wacky characters that star in a TV series and videogames.

"There is an infectious quality to the Rabbids," Sony-owned Columbia Pictures production president Hannah Minghella said in a release. "Their simple joy and absurd, anarchic behavior inadvertently causes you to look at the world afresh."

Since their start as wacky villains in "Rayman" videogames, Rabbids have become fodder to comic books, collectibles, mobile games, and television.

French theme park Futuroscope boasts a Rabbids Time Machine attraction.

"Sony Pictures has tremendous experience developing hybrid live-action-and-animated blockbusters for audiences around the world, which makes them a natural fit for what we want to achieve with a Rabbids film," Ubisoft Motion Pictures executive director Jean-Julien Baronnet said in a release.

Ubisoft Motion Pictures was opened three years ago to extend successful videogame franchises to film, television, and online viewing audiences.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com