5G mobile internet will “bring PC gaming to the masses”, according to one of the industry’s most influential chief executives.
Min-Liang Tang, co-founder and chief executive of hardware giant Razer, told Sky News he believes the superfast connectivity standard will “expand the market significantly” – and not just for the likes of Microsoft and Sony.
Both are heavily invested in cloud gaming on their Xbox and PlayStation platforms, respectively, but Mr Tang says games usually reserved for high-end gaming computers would soon be ubiquitous on smartphones.
“It’s one of the biggest innovations out there for gaming,” he told Ian King Live.
“It puts high-powered gaming into the hands of low powered devices through cloud gaming. That’s what 5G really promises to bring to all gamers everywhere.”
The comments come on the day of Razer’s presentation at the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) in Las Vegas, the biggest tech show in the world.
This year, the company unveiled its new Razer Edge, the first Android handheld gaming tablet on the market. The device is capable of playing games locally on the device, or streaming them remotely via 5G.
But Mr Tang predicted that console gaming would also “do incredibly well” out of 5G, even though its rollout has left Britons underwhelmed so far.
With the advent of faster internet, game streaming will likely become increasingly appealing even to those who use premium consoles like the PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X.
Unlike streaming films and TV via services like Netflix, streaming games demands much faster speeds, as any latency between pressing a button and the action on-screen can ruin the experience.
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Gaming ‘through the roof’ despite economic pressures
Billionaire Mr Tang told Sky News that, despite inflationary pressures and economic turbulence leading to “a bit of pullback” in customer spending, the video game industry was still growing at pace.
“Gaming is already one of the biggest industries from the entertainment perspective,” he said, adding that 5G was “going to make it much bigger”.
“It’s become the primary form of entertainment for kids and young adults out there.
“User activity is still through the roof, and we do see growth going forward for the industry.”
Razer unveiled numerous other products at CES, including the Leviathon V2 Pro soundbar, which uses artificial intelligence and a camera to track someone’s position and deliver optimal sound.
Other gaming announcements at the show include an accessibility controller from Sony, designed to help disabled players enjoy games on the PlayStation 5.
