Amazon Gaming Executive Jeff Gattis Says Rising Hardware Costs Could Accelerate Shift to Cloud Gaming

Jeff Gattis, Amazon’s head of gaming, told the BBC that the growing price of gaming consoles and PCs – driven in part by a RAM shortage – may push gamers toward streaming services such as Amazon Luna. He noted that only a fraction of the estimated 2.5‑3 billion video‑game players worldwide own dedicated hardware, putting the market for consoles and gaming PCs at roughly 300‑500 million units.

Gattis highlighted that improvements in cloud‑gaming technology and the lower cost of accessing games via smartphones or tablets could broaden the addressable market for publishers and cloud providers. He also pointed out corporate advantages, including tighter control over software distribution, reduced piracy risk, and the potential for subscription‑based revenue models. Competing services like NVIDIA GeForce Now and Xbox Cloud Gaming were mentioned as part of the broader trend.

Some reviewers have criticized current cloud‑gaming performance, citing latency, stuttering, and reduced playability for fast‑paced or fighting games. Nonetheless, Gattis sees the hardware cost trend as a long‑term driver that may eventually diminish the need for dedicated gaming devices.