Online games that can be played on any kind of personal computer in a typical Internet browser will get massive improvement in quality, according to a former high-ranking executive of Sony Computer Entertainment. Those games will also get more immersive and will be able to attract so-called core gamers to open platforms, such as PCs.

“I think [we will] see [a game of the quality of Modern Warfare 2 running in a browser]. I think in the next five-to-ten years we will easily get this level of game inside a web browser, on your mobile platform, on your iPad, and we will be able to deliver that level of immersion to any kind of screen," said Phil Harrison, a co-founder of the London Venture Partners and the former president of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, during his keynote session at the Italian Videogame Developers Conference.

While Mr. Harrison does not predict the end of the video game consoles or the personal computers as devices for gaming, he claims that the largest war that is incoming is among browsers features that they offer to help create better games.

“Somebody is going to win. Somebody is going to deliver console level 3D graphics, video and audio into a web browser. That will be the tipping point for the evolution of our industry that will accelerate what we can do in a browser, and I think will create the next generation platform for games," said the ex-Sony exec, reports Develop web-site.

Even though browsers should support some kind of common set of multimedia functionality, since devices offer different level of performance, server-side rendering will be needed to unify experience across different platforms.

“The battleground for the future, and the opportunity in the future is going to be about […] who is going to be satisfying the needs of the core gamer on an open platform,” said Mr. Harrison.

But games and platforms designed for actual hardcore gamers will also get improvements. For example, they are already getting unbelievably advanced graphics effects, stereoscopic-3D technology, high-definition audio as well as advanced pointing devices. As a result, while in-browser games may get traction among core gamers, dedicated gaming platforms are likely to continue to exist.

Tags: Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo