After the news dropped that Microsoft and Sony would be collaborating on game streaming tech and research, rumors of Nintendo's plans have surfaced as well. The Japanese company is apparently looking to partner with Microsoft and their Azure computing service to build their own streaming platform.
Industry insider David Gibson tweeted that Nintendo is looking into offering its own streaming service in limited regions like the United States and Japan, although nothing official has come to light just yet. "So we end up with streaming winners being Sony, [Microsoft] and Nintendo...just like the current system, but with Azure the backbone," Gibson tweeted. "Their respective studios are crucial to that process and offering a compelling user proposition. More things change the more it stays the same!"
While we can only speculate, Nintendo's investment into cloud gaming could mean we'd be playing games like Luigi's Mansion 3 and Animal Crossing on a much smaller device than the Switch. You'd still be able to stream those games to your TV, you just wouldn't need to dock it. It could make it easier to enjoy Nintendo's less technically demanding titles on the go, although the Japanese company has always been unpredictable in how it innovates with new technology. They could be doing something different, although not necessarily better, than Microsoft and Sony.
But also Nintendo itself is looking also to work with MSFT (Azure) to offer its own streaming service in limited regions (JP, US etc).May 17, 2019
Microsoft and Nintendo have enjoyed a more collaborative partnership as of late. The Microsoft exclusive, Cuphead, recently launched on Nintendo Switch, Microsoft has given ongoing support to Minecraft on Nintendo platforms, and both companies have worked together on cross-play gaming between consoles. The two working together again on this seems likely if the rumor is true.
The news of Sony's plans to use Microsoft's infrastructure for their streaming service took many by surprise, including some at Sony's Playstation division. Sony has also confirmed that next-gen games "can be seamlessly enjoyed independent of time and place" with the PS5.
Cloud streaming services were at the center of the Game Developers Conference earlier this year where Google unveiled their new streaming service, Google Stadia. Amazon has also been rumored to be developing its own game streaming service, although they haven't announced anything officially.
Much of Sony's streaming service will be planned around their next-gen console. Check out everything we know about the Sony PS5.
