遊戲雲端之商業模式—以OnLive、Gaikai及G-Cluster為例

Abstract

遊戲雲端是近年來興起的雲端技術，將高端的遊戲運算放在雲端伺服器上，透過影音串流技術，可以將遊戲畫面呈現在各式各樣的終端裝置上，如手機及平板電腦。此項技術需要大量的頻寬，也需要高端伺服器的運算，也提供了遊戲廠商在不修改原生遊戲程式的情況下移植遊戲至行動裝置上，也讓一些低階行動裝置廠商有機會豐富手機的內容。遊戲雲端有機會整合網路業者、伺服器供應商、遊戲廠商、行動裝置廠商，提供消費者前所未有的體驗。本研究目的在於分析現有遊戲雲端公司OnLive、Gaikai及G-Cluster跟其他產業角色整合下的商業模式，透過雲端方塊模型(Cloud Cube Model, CCM)及商業模式本體論 (Business Model Ontology) 分析出遊戲雲端的產業特性，進而提出未來可能的發展方向。研究中發現G-Cluster的商業模式可以充分整合軟硬體上下游，可做為台灣科技業的借鏡。

Cloud Gaming is a new clouding computing technology in recent years. It puts high-end gaming calculation in the cloud servers, and streams video and audio to various devices, including mobile phones, pads, and netbooks. Cloud Gaming needs huge network bandwidth, high-end and specific servers. But it also provides chances that game providers can port games through this technology without changing their games. It also provides chances that low-end devices can enrich their contents with Cloud Gaming. Cloud Gaming could be a framework that integrate ISP, server vendors, game provides, mobile device providers to provide customers amazing experiences. We target to analyze the business model of existing Cloud Gaming companies, like Onlive, Gaikai, and G-Cluster. We also use Cloud Cube Model and Business Model Ontology to analyze the characteristics of Cloud Gaming, and propose future direction of it. We found that business model of G-Cluster fully integrates supply chain and could be a good sample for Taiwan’s high-tech industry.