Resident Evil Village on iOS: A Case for and Against Cloud Streaming

Mobile games are not typically known for their impressive graphics, but several titles have pushed the boundaries of what mobile hardware can do, from Infinity Blade to Genshin Impact. However, Capcom's Resident Evil Village on iOS is a remarkable achievement, offering graphics that are nearly indistinguishable from the PlayStation 5 version. This is a full-fledged AAA console game running on a smartphone with no noticeable compromises. When connected to a controller, it's easy to forget that you're not playing on dedicated gaming hardware. The iPhone 15 Pro and current iPad Pros, which run RE Village most effectively, are brand new devices priced over $1,000, while the PS5 is three years old and costs $500. Although this isn't a direct comparison, it's not surprising that a recently released high-end device can match the performance of an older, cheaper one. Nevertheless, RE Village's accomplishment is still highly impressive and serves as a proof of concept for modern smartphone hardware. The iPhone 15 Pro can match the graphical fidelity of a PS5, and this performance will soon become available on mid-range phones. This raises questions about the technical justification for cloud streaming. The idea that high-end gaming experiences on smartphones require cloud streaming is based on the assumption that these devices lack the necessary processing power. However, cloud streaming is essentially a "thin client" model, where all processing is done on the server, and the client can be a cheap, underpowered device. This model ignores the reason why the world moved away from thin client computing in the first place: processing and storage became cheap and fast, making it more efficient to run programs on local hardware rather than remote servers. The pace of hardware updates is slowing, and console generations are getting longer, making it less likely that cloud services will be an attractive economic alternative. Moreover, modern phones and tablets are capable of running high-quality games, and the idea that they can only be used as thin clients is baseless. Forcing consumers to use cloud streaming on their mobile devices would be a waste of the hardware they have already purchased. The push for cloud gaming is not about technological benefits but rather about the business model it supports. RE Village is free to download initially but costs $40 to unlock, and another $20 to unlock a DLC chapter. While this pricing is standard for console games, it may not be sustainable for mobile users. Cloud streaming starts to make sense in this context, not for technical reasons but because it allows for a subscription-based model, such as Game Pass, which is more suitable for cloud streaming technology. This model is being promoted by Apple with Apple Arcade, Microsoft with Game Pass, and likely Sony with its PS Plus tiers system. It makes more sense for cloud streaming, as it addresses issues with storage space and download time. The convenience of game streaming is a significant advantage when browsing a library of games, rather than buying a single game. At its core, cloud streaming is tied to the idea of subscription services, which is the only context in which this technology makes commercial sense. Resident Evil Village on iOS is a technical marvel that demonstrates the redundancy of the thin client concept, but its commercial performance may still make a case for cloud-streamed subscription services.