I used to think this was a stupid idea, because of latency; and the only reason it got funding was because it would be fantastic for publishers (if it worked):

I used to think this was a stupid idea, because of latency; and the only reason it got funding was because it would be fantastic for publishers (if it worked): no pirating, can charge by the hour, most people don't play their console 24/7, so it's a better utilization of resources (you can even time-zone it, albeit with worse latency), etc. But just today I recognized it as a profound disruption: a service that isn't very good, with a cheaper business model, that targets non-consumption. When the network does become good enough - and it's only getting faster - these guys will have encountered and solved all the myriad other technical problems (like iron man and altitude freeze). And they will also have solved all the problems with the business model (suppliers, charging, customer issues). It will be hard to catch them. And... turns out people are saying the latency isn't actually as off-putting as you'd think, for FPS etc. I've heard a bigger problem is with mouse-pointers - the latency between the mouse moving and the pointer moving is apparently much more perceptible. So, I say congratulations to these guys. Make a crap product for cheap; let everyone laugh at you; make it better. They are the visionary entrepreneurs, who actually change everything. No derision means no revolution.