Article by R.D.
It seems that everyone is trying to break into the video game market these days. With countless consoles, platforms, game options, and player modes, the competition is fierce to have the next hot ticket item.
Amazon, in a never-ending attempt to rule the world, has entered the ring with titles Crucible and New World, which will be releasing in May 2020. Their goal will definitely be to appeal to hard-core gamers using the cloud-gaming processing system. Basically, games need consoles (phone, PC, XBox) to perform the duties of downloads, patches, and installments. Instead of utilizing a physical console, cloud gaming uses a corporate data farm that practically does the hard work of your console. Meaning you can play the games from the provider on cheaper devices. Cheaper devices=more players.
So will Amazon games prevail or will it fall flat against global gaming expectations? To answer this question, we’ll pose a brief breakdown.
The Games
You log into Amazon all the time. There’s a specially curated set of gaming recommendations: headsets, light attachments, maybe even PC fans to cool down your engine. You have access to new games, classics, and any console imaginable. In another corner, you also have Twitch, where you can watch other people play yout favorite games while you…do whatever one does while watching a stream. The subscriptions and money flying around has to be tempting.
Is it really a suprise that Amazon would throw money at the multi-billion dollar industry of gaming?
But the starter games for Project Tempo (the cloud-gaming platform’s code name) seem…generic.
Crucible. When I hear the word, I instantly recall The Crucible, a play by Arthur Miller based on the Salem Witch Trials. It’s hard to think of a Fortnight/Overwatch combo game while all I’m thinking of is a bunch of foolish Puritan girls pinching each other and fainting in a courtroom in 17th century Massachusetts (for those outside of the U.S., The Crucible is typically–but not always– taught to teens at the high school level).
But enough with the name calling. While the PvP sci-fi game seems like it may offer excellent fighting and maybe some decent multiplayer, the game just seems like another battle royale set-up that gamers just can’t seem to get enough of.
The second title to be released in May is New World. The official site sets the game up: “Under the surface of Aeternum’s breathtaking landscape lay the seeds of an ancient evil that plots to erase all traces of humanity from its shores. Warriors of bygone ages, doomed adventurers, and creatures of legend have all succumbed to its corruption. It must be stopped.” All of this seems suspiciously close to the plot of GreedFall, which I just finished up on PS4.
Both involve islands, colonists, “taming” the wilderness, uncovering secrets of the island, and fighting an unseen and unknown evil. Oh yeah, GreedFall also takes place in an alternate, 17th century world of colonizing forces driven by…get it…greed and the need for resources and power.
The System
But it’s not just the game that counts, but the platform that will be running it. It’s no secret that Google’s Stadia has fumbled into the gaming world and stayed down. While the system boasts a futuristic gaming experience, consumers have been hesitant to hop on the Stadia train. On a page for purchasing, the company claims: “There’s no need to overpay for expensive hardware. With Stadia, you get up to 4K 60 FPS2 gameplay on TVs3 without the hassle of time‑consuming game downloads or in‑game updates. And you can take your favorite games with you on your laptop, tablet, or phone4 as long as you have Wi‑Fi.5 “
Many of Stadia’s players complain about limited game options, lag, and poor reviews. While Stadia has several cloud-gaming competitors with better gaming options, it doesn’t change the fact that developers and investors marketed the system as a new gaming experience but recieved a “lag-ridden mess” instead.
Stadia’s release should have been a warning for anyone delving into the world of cloud-gaming or system development but will Amazon learn from the mistakes of predecessors or will it make the same mistakes? And at what cost?
Amazon seems to be keeping mum about some of the technical aspects of the releases, but we’ll definitely be keeping a sharp eye on any more information that they’re willing to share.
Pictures credit: Amazon, Hexus, RPGamer, vg247.com, MMORPG.com,
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