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Cloud Gaming May Kill Video Game Consoles, Says NvidiaCloud video game streaming services are pretty widespread these days and are definitely a topic that is considered by various companies, including game publishers, rental services and even telecommunication providers. However, the technology yet has to be widely adopted by the end-users. According to Nvidia Corp., in five years time cloud video game streaming may become very significant and in ten may even dominant way of playing games. "We will see [cloud gaming] gain momentum throughout next year. But if I look out five years, I think it could be a significant...

PALMDALE - In a giant hangar at Air Force Plant 42 where strategic nuclear bombers were built to win the Cold War, computer giant Microsoft has staked its future in the gaming industry, an $8 billion global market. An Internet underground marketing campaign brought 3,000 dedicated players from around the world to the Antelope Valley for Microsoft's North American launch of its newest game system. "It's basically a 30-hour party. There's never been anything like this," said Ricardo Torres, a senior editor at GameSpot.com, an online entertainment forum. In the virtual reality world of computer gaming, the giant from Seattle...

Microsoft's (MSFT) grand plan to take the lead in the video game console business from rival Sony (SNE) gets under way Tuesday when the software king releases its next-generation game machine — the Xbox 360. Microsoft is counting on its head start over Sony's next console, the PlayStation 3, to give it an edge this time around. PS3 won't hit the market until next spring. The Xbox 360 goes on sale Tuesday in North America, Dec. 3 in Europe and Dec. 10 in Japan. The company expects to sell up to 3 million consoles in the first 90 days.