Mobile games encourage you to share your progress with friends and the gaming community at large. Streaming games — or “cloud gaming” — has been growing in popularity in part because of this desire to share more of our gaming experience. A new solution called Hatch Cloud Gaming is optimized for the 5G network and, according to partner companies Vodafone and Hatch, is “the first 5G-optimized cloud gaming service.”
This TechAccute article says the service allows for users to “seamlessly connect with friends, follow live scoreboards, and test your skills against other players in live tournaments.”
Currently, it supports over 100 games such as Beachy Buggy Racing, Monument Valley, Crashlands, etc. on Android 5G-enabled devices. It also features Hatch Kids, a “safe space for children” under Hatch Premium.
Wait, is there even a 5G network to use it on?
The first 5G network started in Germany in July. Vodafone says the goal is to have 20 million people using the network by the end of 2021.
Interested players who want to try it out can already download the Hatch app from the Google Play Store.
Relevancy to Pro AV
As our pal and industry veteran Alan Brawn said, 5G brings three new aspects to the commercial AV table: greater speed (to move more data), lower latency (to be more responsive), and the ability to connect a lot more devices at once (for sensors and smart devices).
When I think of different Pro AV markets which could use a little more data efficiency, my mind jumps right to live events.
eSports, one of the most promising new Pro AV markets, features fans who often share their experience at video game events while the event is going on through discord and other chat services. Increasing their mobile carrier’s speed is only a path to more potential engagement from an already media-hungry crowd.