Data Center Dynamics recently featured 1623 Farnam in an article written by Vice President of Business Development, Greg Elliott.
The combination of cloud and Edge computing creates a more flexible platform that provides gaming developers and publishers with the ability to scale.
Input latency and visual lag can have an outsized and negative impact on the gamer’s experience, especially for new cloud gaming platforms, if servers reside in centralized cloud data centers that are located hundreds of miles away or more from the end user.
Whereas centralized cloud service providers require companies to keep content in a single location, Edge computing enables the distribution of application processes at the edge of the network and as near to the user as possible. The Edge enables new cloud gaming platforms to eliminate the need of dedicated devices, such as a console or high-end personal computer, while helping solve the latency issues in transferring data from the cloud to the user and the rendering of graphically intensive video.
Many online gaming experiences, especially games with multiplayer functionality, are highly interactive in nature. Multiplayer gaming demands real-time response rates, which the cloud, despite its many advantages, cannot provide solely on its own due to the geographical location of cloud data centers. As a distributed computing topology, Edge computing ensures users across the globe can enjoy a high-quality gaming experience with minimal latency regardless of where they are playing.
The combination of cloud and Edge computing also creates a more flexible platform that provides gaming developers and publishers with the ability to scale. At the same time, Edge computing allows gamers to move seamlessly between different locations and varying devices. Hence, a Red Dead Redemption shoot-out that began at home during breakfast on a 4K television can continue on an iPhone on the commute to work – provided the gamer is not driving.