So, according to this article, game producer EA is doing surveys to see if PC gamers are interested in a service that is similar to Netflix. According to the article, gamers will pay a fee to have access to video games from multiple video game publishers. The article later goes on to state that at this point it is nothing more than a possibility, and isn't set in stone.



So, let's gather some thoughts. What do you guys think of the idea? Do you love it, do you hate it? I'm going to share my thoughts right here.



Alright, my opinion about this is mixed. I really want this program to succeed and be worth the price that they may pick. Let's look at a very similar service to this for the mean time. If you own a PlayStation 3 or a PlayStation 4, you are most likely aware of the existence of their game-streaming service: PlayStation Now. So the big thought I am running into is: Will the games be streamed, or downloaded?



It sounds like this service will start out to be PC only, and they will most likely try to build Origin through this program. If they let you download the game (with DRM or any other measure needed to protect against piracy or otherwise keeping the game after your subscription is expired), and the price tag is reasonable in comparison to their game library, I think that this system would be a very nice addition to what we are being offered today.



On the other hand, if it streams games like PlayStation Now, unless it is very cheap I think it will fail. Video games just aren't meant to be played with latency for control input. It just doesn't feel right and can feel noticeable if you don't live in a city with top-of-the-line internet. I just don't think people would be okay with streaming games at a cost.



So, these are my opinions on the matter, and I'm interested to see what you guys think!



Edit: The hyperlink seems to not play well due to the word "subscription" in there. Here is a directly link you can use to access the source:

www.vg247.com/2015/09/24/ea-survey-hints-at-netflix-style-subscription-service-for-games/

First of all, I think it's sad that EA compared this to Netflix when it's merely a modernized version of the Sega channel from back in the day, with a few tweaks. I didn't see the article, but it feels like comparing it to a Video Game Netflix is taking credit for the idea in general, or at best lacking knowledge of video game history. But then I can find fault with EA far too easily. I don't like them.


As for the idea, I think if it's done right, it would be good. However should I be the one to point out to EA that PS+ and Xbox Gold (or whatever they call it) have been doing this for years? Granted it's confined to a single brand's console/handheld, but they're hardly pioneering it. Enough salt though. Sorry.

Yes, if EA is reasonable (holding back more bashing comments. Yay self restraint!), then I like the idea. Hopefully if it happens and is successful, they bring it to consoles (and handhelds) as you said. However, this idea will be much more difficult to sell to the PC crowd as they already have tons of free games and cheaply priced ones without a monthly fee. In my opinion, they should have hit up console gamers first, as I could see it being rather popular with them.

I think an idea like that would best be done if Valve did it for Steam. They pick a bunch of games, put up a fee for the month and you play those games the entire month. It kind of sounds like what would happen if Steam merged with Gamefly.

I think it could work if the games were more of a temporary download as opposed to a stream, because streaming video games is simply a bad idea.
But I wonder about the idea of that, and I don't see it happening anytime soon, because video games are still the most expensive branch of the entertainment industry.

Isn't this what gamefly is already doing? I mean, this would be digital instead of physicals, but it would be the same thing. I won't use such a service though, I'd buy any game that I'd wanted to play (or pirate it, and maybe buy it later).

There were actually a game streaming service for PC called OnLive, which was sadly discontinued April 30, 2015. It was pretty cool as it let you stream PC games to you smart phones. I was of course experiencing a huge amount of latency since I'm from Sweden and was most likely very far away from the servers.

Square Enix actually had another service too, which I don't remember the name of, which instead streamed parts of the games that were stored temporary on your computer. It also let you watch ads to gain time to play the game for free, which was nice. As someone who's usually too far from the servers, I would love a streaming service similar to that,.