dc.description.abstract | In the recent years there have been a number of video game streaming platforms emerging
on the market. Cloud gaming services like OnLive and PlayStation Now may ultimately
prove successful in tapping the Internet to deliver instant streaming video games. However, there has been a limited research on these platforms, especially focusing on the end user preferences.
In this thesis, preferences of different gamer groups (hardcore and casual) are studied
in order to identify possible development directions for such services.
A test has been designed and performed with users from the different groups. The
commercial PC-based service OnLive has been used for testing the user experience and
user acceptance of cloud gaming. A custom public game test has been conducted as
well. Observation, user surveys and interviews have been used for data collection.
The experiments done focuses on the users perception and response towards such
a systems in terms of fidelity, usability, comparison to traditional game delivery and
likelihood of buying into such a model. The thesis takes a holistic approach were not
only the games themselves are tested, but the total experience in using the game service.
At large, the results indicate that casual gamers are more positive to the cloud gaming
service model than hardcore gamers. The findings suggest that one of the reasons are
that casual gamers choose convenience over high fidelity in their game preferences. | |