Capcom brought Resident Evil VII to the Nintendo Switch (albeit only in Japan) via streaming back in May. And now, according to an article by the Wall Street Journal, Capcom might be considering other cloud games for the console.
Again, only in Japan.
Presumably, the games Capcom would be considering would be ports, such as Monster Hunter World. The question, however, is just when (or if) we’ll be seeing that in North America or Europe. Furthermore, because of the way Capcom has set up Resident Evil VII for the Switch, players are effectively renting the game from Capcom, as the streaming service essentially functions like PlayStation Now, where players pay a monthly subscription fee.
In the case of REVII, Capcom charges around $18 for 180 days of play. Even then, potential future games may not have the same pricing structure.
You’re probably wondering why bother streaming the games at all. Well, it mainly comes down to the fact that the Switch isn’t exactly the powerhouse compared to the PlayStation 4 or Xbox One. As you may recall, Capcom had been trying to get the game ported, but was running into problems regarding the system’s RAM. With the streaming, this negates the power issue. The quality of your experience, however, comes down to the strength and reliability of your internet connection.
It’s an interesting idea, but one that some gamers might not be too keen on using. In spite of that, companies like EA and Microsoft are already in the process of prepping streaming services for launch two to three years down the road. What say you?