Gaming Consoles

Imagine playing exclusive PlayStation 4 hits on your PC, or plunking down on the couch to enjoy a few matches of League of Legends. This year is turning the tables on gaming as we know it, shaping up to offer a ton more options for PC enthusiasts in the not-too-distant future.

The divide between gaming consoles and gaming PCs once shoehorned many players into one camp or the other, but those days are dwindling fast. With console makers pushing for greater cross-platform connectivity, the future of gaming experiences on the PC is poised to blow wide open.

When you consider just how far the industry has come in the last decade, it's hard to envision the way things once were. Remember gaming before high speed internet, online streaming, and wireless connectivity? Remember having to buy physical game discs? No? Blocked it from your memory? We don't blame you. It's a very different landscape out there, and it continues to evolve at a breakneck pace as everyone looks ahead to see what's coming down the line.

Crossing the gaming streams

VR might be generating all the hot industry buzz right now, but the fact console makers have quietly been taking steps of late to bridge the gap to PCs is a different kind of revolution -- and it benefits a much broader base of players.

Following the rollout of Windows 10, Microsoft recently announced its plans to unify its Xbox One and PC offerings under the Universal Windows Application format. Standalone UWA games will be playable on and across multiple platforms, including PC, smartphones, tablets, and Xbox One. This is the latest iteration in Microsoft's ongoing evolution towards a more console/PC hybrid approach. While not a huge surprise given the series of subtle changes rolled out in 2015, it has potential to be a real game-changer that will allow much greater access for players.

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What's interesting, however, is that Microsoft isn't alone in its bid to cater to the needs of PC gamers. Sony also recently solidified plans to introduce an official remote play option that will let you play PS4 games on PC. Remote play between the PS4 and PS Vita is already a popular feature, and the PS4 to PC streaming functionality is included in System Update version 3.5.

Then there's Valve, which is taking a similar different approach with Steam's In-Home Streaming function. In-home streaming lets you play your PC games between any computer as long as it's they're on your home network. For example, you could use a living-room gaming PC and the Steam controller to hop onto the couch and play anything loaded up on your main computer. Or you could stream gameplay from your main higher-powered PC to a lower-powered laptop and play anywhere in your house, too.

At the rate the industry is evolving, it appears that options for cross play between PCs, consoles, and different gaming devices are only going to get better over time. To get the best seamless streaming experience regardless of what what console or system you're playing on, it does help to have a Wi-Fi router that's amped-up for gaming and 4k streaming. That's becoming increasingly important, given the upcoming shift towards 4K and wireless play.

So what does this mean for gamers?

With PC gaming invading the living room and consoles now playing nice with your PC, everything points to a growing desire in the industry to cater to the needs of modern gamers -- which encompasses a much larger and more diverse base than it did decades ago. We're seeing platforms opt for giving players more access, more options in how they play, and more ways to engage with one another. It's an interesting time we live in.