Microsoft announces Project xCloud, a game streaming service



While Google has revealed their own game streaming project, currently in a testing phase, Microsoft has decided to show off their alternative as well. Officially announced as Project xCloud, Microsoft promises that this is the next step in gaming, allowing for players to have access to their Xbox One games, anywhere and anytime. Private trials are soon to be underway, with a public trial to occur in 2019, which will showcase how well Microsoft's Azure cloud platform handles high quality game streaming. In the video above, lead developers at Microsoft note that preserving graphical quality, as well as having low latency are highly important to streaming video games, and that their service will be prepared to tackle such issues with ease. Microsoft will have a library of its own games that will be able to be streamed, while making it simple for third party developers to add their games to the repertoire as well, "with no extra work on their part". 5G network support is planned, for the areas that the technology is rolling out in. xCloud will exist as a service to allow console and PC gamers to take their games with them, and will also open a door for a wider audience of more casual gamers to play Xbox titles.

Cloud game-streaming is a multi-faceted, complex challenge. Unlike other forms of digital entertainment, games are interactive experiences that dynamically change based on player input. Delivering a high-quality experience across a variety of devices must account for different obstacles, such as low-latency video streamed remotely, and support a large, multi-user network. In addition to solving latency, other important considerations are supporting the graphical fidelity and framerates that preserve the artist’s original intentions, and the type of input a player has available.

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AshuraZro

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I'm amazed at how many people appear to take borderline personal offense to the idea of cloud gaming. There are numerous legitimate concerns around the areas of games preservation and licensing vs owning (an area that is already proven to be problematic) but cloud gaming is definitely not going away. I remain interested to see what Microsoft brings to the table and the reliability of it.
 
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Can I play in real 4k (like xonex) on a xones with that? Would be a nice upgrade.
 

KingVamp

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I'm kind of surprised that there isn't a bigger push from the government for fiber optic cables.

Anyway, as long as pure cloud gaming remains just an option, I don't care. That said, cloud gaming games that you already own, which sounds like what this is, I can actually get behind.
 

Foxi4

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Seems like a really half-assed attempt at competing with Switch without releasing additional hardware. I wonder if you could run "xCloud" through Rainway and play Xbox One games on Switch?
I don't see how this is an attempt at competing with the Switch, the Switch is a singular SKU. The idea here is to let you play your games on whatever device you have available to you at any given time, be it an Xbox, a phone or a microwave, it doesn't marry you to a device. Not everything orbits around the Switch, especially not if you're a core gamer interested in the plethora of games that the Switch wouldn't be able to push, not even in a million years.
 

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With all due respect to game developers, fuck the industry. Cloud gaming harms gamers because its chief design is to turning game buying into long-term game rental at a greater cost. It aims to destroy the second hand gaming market which fundamentally threatens the ability to keep reselling the same game based on nostalgia or in any other way continue to re-extract revenue from the same copy of a game sold to a person. There's very little--I won't say no--advantage to cloud gaming as a platform.
Except physical copies don't seem to be going anywhere any time soon. This is also only going to be available in certain areas as they roll out 5G. Also, I don't see anyone complaining about video services and the death of rental stores.

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Seems like a really half-assed attempt at competing with Switch without releasing additional hardware. I wonder if you could run "xCloud" through Rainway and play Xbox One games on Switch? :P
Hardly. You should read up on Azure servers. This is gonna make the Switch look even more half-assed.
 

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I don't see how this is an attempt at competing with the Switch, the Switch is a singular SKU. The idea here is to let you play your games on whatever device you have available to you at any given time, be it an Xbox, a phone or a microwave, it doesn't marry you to a device. Not everything orbits around the Switch, especially not if you're a core gamer interested in the plethora of games that the Switch wouldn't be able to push, not even in a million years.
Yeah, this was going to happen with or without the Switch. That said, I don't think he was being completely serious.
 

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Yeah, this was going to happen with or without the Switch. That said, I don't think he was being completely serious.
Hence the emote, but he raises a good point. For years Microsoft has vehemently refused to make a portable Xbox, presumably because they knew they wouldn't be able to deliver a compelling experience on mobile - it just wouldn't be the same. With cloud computing they can, so that is their "in" when it comes to gaming on the go.
 

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Hmm interesting that they called it XCloud

https://www.theverge.com/2018/7/24/...scarlett-xcloud-game-streaming-service-rumors

Referred to as codename “XCloud” internally, Microsoft has been experimenting with combining four lots of custom Xbox consoles into a single server blade for its datacenters. These servers will launch initially with developers in mind to build and develop games in the cloud instead of local debug machines, and then to stream games to consumers.


Microsoft is currently developing its next-generation Xbox, with recent reports suggesting the console will launch in 2020. While the hardware will undoubtedly surpass the capabilities of the current Xbox One Xconsole, Microsoft is also focusing on game streaming for the future of Xbox titles. Thurrott.com reports that Microsoft is also working on a second Xbox console that will be limited to streaming games.


Xbox Scarlett 2020 huh?

Hopefully Microsoft when it comes to PCs that are powerful enough they allow you to download your games instead of just streaming them
 

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Except physical copies don't seem to be going anywhere any time soon. This is also only going to be available in certain areas as they roll out 5G. Also, I don't see anyone complaining about video services and the death of rental stores.

Physical copies aren't a thing or only a limited thing for a good many indie games. Admittedly, it seems there's more digital-only on things like the 3DS/Switch than the XBox One. As for video services and rental stores? There's no gatekeepers for DVD/Bluray production. As much as there is DRM on both, it's pretty trivially circumvented. That's mostly true with video streaming services, although I believe there's more effort involved--really haven't looked into it.

Honestly, though, I don't give a shit about 99.999% of videos produced in the last 20 years. Hence, I don't personally care. Philosophically, though, I'm against video streaming services and don't subscribe to any of them (except incidentally with Amazon Prime which I've already cancelled). As for the "death of rental stores", I'm pretty ambivalent about them being alive or dead.
 
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Xzi

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Hardly. You should read up on Azure servers. This is gonna make the Switch look even more half-assed.
It doesn't matter in the least how good the servers are if internet/cell data service is shit in your area. Streaming will never be a sufficient substitute for offline play powered by your own hardware. It's only an alternative for people who would rather rent than buy.

It's also going to be interesting to see how Xbox One games look on a smaller screen, since they aren't designed for it like Switch games are. Probably a lot of unreadable text.
 
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they claim access the games are accessed anywhere anytime.. Well, no internet connection is covered under anytime right? will i be able to play them then? Yeah that's a big fat no. Games i actually buy that are physical can already play anywhere anytime.. So this service helps me how?

This service pretty much confirms that their next shit box will be more a streaming console then a standalone local console. To all those that support game streaming, just remember, your the ones to be blamed when it replaces local gaming. So dont complain when they tell you to stop playing your favorite game. Also dont complain when you own nothing. I for one, will never support game streaming. I will wait till the games are jacked off their server and then i can run them locally.
 

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It will be interesting when companies start migrating to these anti-developing world solutions for good, we'll see who will step up and be the player to capitalize on that market. Nintendo is so backwards with their online, it might as well be them.
 

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here you have my friends the ugly face of the future

As another fellow said I too like options...

But this is not "options"

Some background. I AM NOT AGAINST THE CONCEPT. The concept is sound and can be done. In fact I had a blast with my psnow trial a few months back and loved how it worked on my vita and ps4. I walked away a believer in the sense that this can technically be done. Yes this is true.

But I must say we as gamers must fight this tooth and nail and not I repeat not support this or any other such venture.

Based on current events in terms of switch and ps4 hacking I imagine our lives are to be changed forever. If they see even moderate success in such a venture I fear us being able to own physical copies being taken away...

forever...

the implications here are in fact vast...
 
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