It turns out the Game Gear Micro wasn’t the “big announcement” we were expecting from Sega. Though after learning the details of the below, we’re not sure this qualifies as a big announcement either. Regardless, here are the details.
Sega is working on a “fog gaming” solution that will allow gamers to play arcade games from their home. The setup will use the hardware in arcade machines with a focus on gameplay having very low latency. The idea being that players could still play arcade games and compete against one another even after arcades have closed.
The information was confirmed by Serkan Toto of Kantan Games.
Article now with info:
– yes, "Fog Gaming" is the "scoop"
– Sega will use arcades in Japan as the technical backbone
– CPUs and GPUs housed in arcade machines are mentioned specifically
– ultra-low latency is touted
– commercial idea is to use arcades outside business hours https://t.co/LWOiYuDAYj— Dr. Serkan Toto / Kantan Games Inc. (@serkantoto) June 3, 2020
Our Take
While a neat idea in theory, this still seems to be tackling a very niche market and we’re not sure there’s any market for this outside of Japan and possibly a few other regions. With online multiplayer already dominating the gaming industry and technology like xCloud already giving players a full console experience on their mobile devices, we’re unsure what role this is going to play.