June 27, 2025

Clouds or Consoles

Clouds or Consoles
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Clouds or Consoles
This episode explores the evolving battle between cloud gaming and traditional consoles. Between Two Pixels and Finn Circuit break down the benefits, drawbacks, and future of gaming platforms, from instant access in the cloud to the tactile joys of classic hardware. Discover where tech is headed and what it means for gamers everywhere.
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Alright,
welcome back to Tech Between the Lines!

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I'm Between Two Pixels, and as always,

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I'm here with the one and only Finn
Circuit.

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Today, we're diving into the ultimate
gamer debate: cloud gaming versus

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traditional consoles.

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Finn, are you ready for this?

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Ready as I'll ever be.

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Though, I gotta say, every time someone
says "cloud gaming," I picture

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my old Atari cartridges weeping in a
drawer somewhere.

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Ha!

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I mean,
it's wild how the lines are blurring,

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right?

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Xbox is pushing this "play anywhere"
thing-TVs,

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handhelds, even VR headsets.

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It's not just about the box under your TV
anymore.

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We've got Google Stadia-well,
had-Xbox Cloud Gaming,

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PlayStation's streaming, and of course,

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Nintendo Switch doing its own hybrid
thing.

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Yeah,

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and don't forget, back in my day,

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a LAN party meant lugging a CRT monitor
the size of a microwave to your

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buddy's basement.

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Now you just log in from your phone.

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Progress, I guess.

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Dude, my first LAN party was Halo 2 in a
friend's garage.

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Extension cords everywhere,
pizza boxes stacked to the ceiling.

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But now,
you can literally play with anyone,

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anywhere, no cables required.

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It's a whole new battlefield.

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So,

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let's break down how cloud gaming
actually works.

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Instead of running the game on your
console or PC,

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you're streaming it from a server farm
somewhere-like,

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racks of GPUs doing all the heavy lifting.

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Your device just decodes the video stream
and sends your inputs back.

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It's kinda like Netflix, but for games.

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Yeah,

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except if your internet hiccups,

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you're toast.

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I mean, it's great in theory-no need for
a thousand-dollar graphics card.

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But you better hope your Wi-Fi isn't
fighting with your neighbor's microwave.

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Totally.

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But when it works, it's magic.

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Like, NVIDIA GeForce NOW lets you run
Cyberpunk 2077 on a Chromebook.

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A Chromebook!

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That's bonkers.

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You don't need a gaming rig, just a
decent connection and you're in Night

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City.

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Yeah, "decent connection" being the
operative phrase.

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I tried streaming a game once on hotel
Wi-Fi.

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Let's just say, my character spent more
time rubber-banding than actually

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moving.

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But you know, there's something about
consoles that cloud gaming

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just can't touch.

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The feel of a controller,
the click of a cartridge,

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even the smell of a new game manual-yeah,

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I'm old, sue me.

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There's a reason people still line up for
PlayStation 5s and Xbox Series

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Xs.

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Oh, for sure.

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The hype around those launches was insane.

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I mean, people camping out overnight,

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tracking restocks on Twitter,
the whole nine yards.

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It's like a rite of passage for gamers.

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I remember lining up for the original

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Xbox in 2001.

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Freezing cold, coffee in hand,

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arguing with some kid about Halo.

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There's a community aspect to it.

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You don't get that with a download code
and a progress bar.

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Yeah,

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and there's just something about holding
the hardware,

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you know?

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Like, it's yours.

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It's real.

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Even if it's just a plastic box with RGB
lights.

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But here's where cloud

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gaming really shines: access.

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You can play anywhere, anytime,

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on basically any device.

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No need to drop five hundred bucks on a
new console.

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Just grab your phone, tablet, whatever,

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and you're good.

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Yeah, I'll give you that.

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The entry cost is way lower.

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You don't have to sell a kidney to keep
up with the latest hardware.

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Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, for example,

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lets you stream games to your smartphone.

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That's a big deal for folks who can't-or
don't want to-buy a new box

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every few years.

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Exactly.

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It's democratizing gaming in a way.

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You don't need the latest console to play
the latest games.

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Just a subscription and a halfway decent
screen.

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But let's talk about

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the elephant in the room: latency.

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Cloud gaming lives and dies by your
internet speed.

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If there's lag, you're done.

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Especially in fighting games or anything
that needs split-second timing.

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I tried playing Mortal Kombat on Stadia
once-felt like I was fighting

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underwater.

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Yeah, latency is the final boss.

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But there's some cool tech trying to
solve it-like,

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low-latency protocols, edge computing,

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all that jazz.

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I geek out over this stuff.

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The difference between 30ms and 100ms can
make or break a match.

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But, uh, not everyone has fiber in their
neighborhood,

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right?

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Not even close.

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I'm still on DSL half the time.

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And don't get me started on hotel Wi-Fi.

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Until everyone's got gigabit speeds,

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cloud gaming's always gonna be a
little...iffy.

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Yeah,

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it's like, the tech is there, but the
infrastructure isn't always keeping

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up.

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It's a classic "future's here,

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but not evenly distributed" thing.

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Okay,

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here's a big one: do you actually own
your games in the cloud?

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Or are you just renting access?

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With consoles, you've got the disc,

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the cartridge, whatever.

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But with cloud gaming,
it's all DRM and licenses.

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If the service goes down,
so does your library.

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Yeah,

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just ask anyone who bought games on
Google Stadia.

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When they pulled the plug,
poof-your games are gone.

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That's the risk.

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You're at the mercy of the platform.

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If they lose a license or decide to shut
down,

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you're out of luck.

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It's kinda scary,

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honestly.

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Like, you could spend hundreds on a
digital library and have nothing

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to show for it if the servers go dark.

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At least with a console, you can dust off
your old games and play them

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years later-assuming the hardware still
works.

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Yeah,

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and don't get me started on DRM.

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I miss the days when "ownership" meant
you actually owned something,

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not just a license that could vanish
overnight.

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So,

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what about hybrid approaches?

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We're seeing more of this-like,

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you can play on your console at home,

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then pick up where you left off on your
phone via cloud.

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Remote Play, cloud saves,
cross-platform stuff.

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It's not all-or-nothing anymore.

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Yeah,

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but some of these "hybrid" features feel
half-baked.

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Remember the Sega Dreamcast modem?

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That thing was supposed to bring online
gaming to the masses.

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Instead, it mostly brought busy signals
and headaches.

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Ha,

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fair.

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But I think we're getting closer.

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Like, cross-save between Xbox and PC is
actually pretty slick.

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You can start a game on your Series X,

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then finish it on your laptop.

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That's the kind of flexibility people
want.

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Yeah,

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as long as it works.

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I'll believe it when I see it.

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Or, you know, when it doesn't crash
halfway through a boss fight.

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One

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thing that's super exciting is how cloud
gaming could reach billions of

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people who never owned a console.

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No hardware limits,
just a phone and a connection.

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Industry folks are predicting huge growth,

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especially in places like Southeast Asia,

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Africa, and South America where consoles
are expensive or hard to get.

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Yeah,

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that's a big deal.

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If you don't have to import a PlayStation
or pay a fortune for a gaming

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PC, suddenly gaming's open to a whole new
audience.

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That's good for the industry,
and for players.

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Assuming, again, the internet holds up.

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Right,

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and as infrastructure improves,

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the market just explodes.

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It's not just about selling boxes
anymore-it's about subscriptions,

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access, and reach.

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But at the end of the day,

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some folks are always gonna stick with
consoles.

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Others are all-in on the cloud.

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It comes down to what you value-nostalgia,

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convenience,
maybe just what you grew up with.

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I see younger gamers who don't care about
physical media at all.

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Me?

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I still like a good cartridge.

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Yeah,

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I saw this Reddit thread the other
day-total warzone.

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Some people were like, "I'll never give
up my PS5," others were flexing

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their cloud setups on a tablet.

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It's a generational thing,
but also geography and tech comfort.

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Some people just want to play,

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wherever, however.

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Others want the ritual, the collection,

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the shelf full of games.

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Yeah, and that's fine.

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There's room for both.

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Just don't try to take away my old-school
hardware,

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alright?

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So, where's all this headed?

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I mean, with 5G, fiber optics,

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edge computing-gaming's only gonna get
more accessible,

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more seamless.

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Maybe one day,
latency won't even be a thing.

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You'll just play, anywhere, instantly.

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Wake me up when I can play Doom

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on my toaster.

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Until then,
I'll keep my expectations in check.

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Tech moves fast,
but people-and infrastructure-move slow.

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Fair enough.

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But hey, whether you're a cloud convert
or a console diehard,

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it's a good time to be a gamer.

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And that's what matters.

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Yeah, I'll drink to that.

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Alright, that's it for this week.

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Between,
always a pleasure arguing with you.

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Same,

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Finn.

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Thanks for tuning in, everyone.

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We'll catch you next time on Tech Between
the Lines.

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Later!

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See ya, folks.

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Don't forget to back up your saves-and
your expectations.