CODE EXCEPTIONS

In the 1950s, scientist Herb Grosch predicted that at some point in the future, the entire world would be connected to "dumb terminals" which were powered by just 15 large data centres across the globe.

His theory may never be realised, but long before the invention of the internet, Grosch had outlined the basic principle behind what we know now as the cloud.

As nebulous as term as it is, the cloud has increasingly come to define our online lives. Essentially if you're running a programme that isn't installed on your computer, then you're in the cloud.

Some of the most popular applications around today operate in this manner - iTunes, Gmail and Dropbox are all examples of cloud technology in action.So could the games industry be the next industry to make the leap into virtualization? One of its major players certainly hopes so.

Microsoft has announced its next-gen console, the Xbox One, will be "always online". Although, on the face of it, the main driving force behind this decision is a desire to tighten up on DRM in the hope of reducing piracy.

Not unexpectedly, this hasn't gone down well with gamers who aren't enamoured at the idea of having their wings clipped mid gaming session.

But Microsoft claims there will also be benefits as this always-on approach to internet access will allow the power of the cloud to boost a player's experience.

The theory runs like this - Microsoft would use dedicated cloud networks to boost the processing power of any given Xbox One, leading to better graphics and an improved all-round performance.

This wouldn't be cloud gaming in its purest form - players would still have to buy and install the initial product on their machines, but if it worked it would be an exciting leap forward.

But whether it will work or not remains to be seem. Some have claimed that Microsoft's promises about cloud gaming are just marketing waffle and it won't be able to keep them. Indie developer Jonathan Blow has been the most vocal of its critics on this front.

Then there's the real-world evidence of EA's disastrous SimCity launch. The game required an active internet connection at all times, something which the company partly justified by claiming its cloud servers were boosting the performance of the game.

Unfortunately, clogged servers left many unable to play, and when the games DRM system was cracked to allow offline play, gamers discovered that the benefits of being connected to the cloud weren't as apparent as EA had claimed.

Although the saga is completely unconnected to Microsoft's project, it will only increase the cynicism around the general concept of cloud gaming.

The onus in now on Microsoft and the developers that will be creating the Xbox One's flagship games to prove what the cloud can do for their product well ahead of the console's launch.

If it doesn't do so, then cloud gaming is likely to take another huge hit to its reputation and one that may kill it off for good.