Video games battle for the cloud as industry girds for change

SAN FRANCISCO - The knock-down, drag-out battle in the video game world heads to the cloud as the premier industry event looks to adapt to a consumer shift to streaming services. New blockbuster titles will be on center stage as usual at the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) opening in Los Angeles on Tuesday, but the big question for the sector will be how consumers play. The E3 opens with gamers gradually moving away from traditional console play and Google seeking to capitalize on that trend with a new Netflix-style service allowing people to play cloud-powered games on any connected device. Adapting to the new trends will be critical for players in the massive video game industry, which last year generated more than $135 billion globally, and $43.4 billion in the United States. According to the Entertainment Software Association, which runs E3, more than 164 million adults in the United States play video games, and 3 out of 4 U.S. households have at least one video game player.