Cloud gaming is where the gaming software is not run on a device owned by the player. Instead, the game application is run on a cloud server. The player input is sent to the server, and game video is streamed back to the user. Cloud gaming is becoming popular because, as games become more realistic, they require more powerful and expensive hardware to run. With cloud gaming, the user doesn’t need to buy and upgrade the equipment, but instead, they just need a relatively low-power device to run the stream.
Augmented reality (AR) is where game elements are projected over the real world. This can be done in a stereoscopic headset or on a smartphone camera feed. AR gaming in a headset is still in its infancy with equipment to support it, such as Microsoft’s HoloLens, being rare. AR mobile games have reached some level of popularity due to their ease of access and the novelty of combining the real world with game elements.
