Through the mists of rumours and hopes, the fog has cleared... which is to say, we were promised a huge SEGA announcement, and it has turned out to be the reveal of SEGA Fog Gaming.
But what is SEGA Fog Gaming? You raise a valid question, my friend, and this article will hopefully provide you with some form of an answer!
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Oddly enough, on the exact same day that this news broke, SEGA also revealed the SEGA Game Gear Micro, which seems to have upstaged the Fog Gaming announcement somewhat.
If you are wondering about SEGA Fog Gaming, though, keep reading to find out exactly what it is...
What is SEGA Fog Gaming?
Japanese journalist Zenji Nishikawa had been hyping up a big piece of SEGA news, and now we know what it was! The big scoop from Famitsu magazine, which Gematsu has now shared online, turned out to be the reveal of SEGA Fog Gaming.
In the words of Gematsu, "The 'huge scoop' teased by Nishikawa is that Sega is doing research and development on 'Fog Gaming,' a potential new game platform that could be utilized by Japanese arcades."
You can put the following rumours to bed, then: SEGA has not announced a new home console, and nor has SEGA announced a partnership with Microsoft to launch the Xbox Series X in Japan. (Both of those rumours were cool suggestions, though!)
READ MORE: SEGA Game Gear Micro vs Nintendo Switch
SEGA Fog Gaming explained
As Gematsu explains it, "Fog Gaming would repurpose arcades across Japan as part of the cloud, as well as channel arcade game machines’ CPUs and GPUs, resulting in lower costs.
"This would provide ultra low latency, and the concept is similar to fog computing. Players would be able to enjoy high-quality games, and arcades would be able to make money even after business hours."
Basically, SEGA is dreaming up a way to connect real-life arcades to the cloud, which allow gamers to access the arcades' delights around the clock. It's worth remembering that arcades are still a huge thing in Japan, and this could give them a major boost!