If it doesn’t have a dedicated GPU xCloud will be much better
Of course if you have a gaming pc elsewhere in the house you my be able to stream to the TV
Hard drive space is also a consideration too though. My used work desktop is fairly capable but only has a 250gig SSD. I added an old 500gig Samsung I had from my old dead rig, but with games getting to be 100+ gigs each…
So I’ve used XCloud a few times to sample games before downloading, or for the wacky joy of seeing MSFS running on an iPad. But 90% of my usage has been to quickly launch games to unlock Microsoft Rewards points for “playing” specific titles.
So not shocked to see MS testifying that it hasn’t really caught on. If they’d release the thin cheap client they keep prototyping and killing only to serve as shelf decorations for Phil, maybe they’d have more uptake. XCloud games suck on a phone, and the number of people who are willing to spend $15/month for gaming but can’t shell out $250 for a Series S is apparently not huge. Maybe a $50 Apple TV-like device would help? (Then again, does anyone play game on their Apple TVs either?)
Microsoft moved forward with xCloud beta testing in late 2019. But over five days of court hearings in June, Microsoft executives testified that xCloud, now known as Xbox Cloud Gaming, has failed to become a viable alternative to PCs or Microsoft’s Xbox consoles, where games can run locally. Earlier this year Google shut down Stadia, its take on game streaming.
See, tech companies are biased against conservatives!
That’s interesting timing on the article, considering the CMA’s main issue with ruling against the Activision merger was MS’s potential control of cloud gaming in the future. I guess that may sound paranoid, but it seems like if they can get over the FTC hurdle then their next job is to figure out how to get the CMA to back down on their objections. If they can claim that the cloud isn’t really work they way they hoped, maybe that’s one approach to getting the merger approved.
I came across this article and can agree that I’ve definitely started seeing queues when I fire up a game in the cloud. Which I’ll admit is not terribly frequently, but on the occasion that I do this lately, there’s always at least some wait time.
I’m guessing they cut back on servers, given recent articles about low adoption.
Since my XSX is being serviced, I dug my Xbone out and decided to see how Starfield plays over the cloud. I tried to connect over the weekend and just now and it tells me a lot of people of playing and there’s an average wait of about 10 minutes. So, sounds like it’s being used a lot.
I used to use my XB1 to stream the XSX version of games on the big TV sometimes, but it takes 15 minutes to launch a cloud game nowadays. Ridiculous.
ITA. I used to use cloud gaming for Game Pass titles that I didn’t want to use precious space on. Now, it’s becoming an increasingly obnoxious experience.
ITA? 5
I totally agree. Sorry—I thought that was better known; I may be imagining things. :)
I consider it unusable at this point. At least for my purposes.
Must be a regional thing. Even during peak hours i don’t think I’ve ever had to wait more than a minute, two tops.
Depends on time of day too. If I try to start a game around 6pm PST I’m usually waiting, but if I try later, maybe 10pm I can usually get right in.
I’m still guessing they cut server availability after it didn’t meet their adoption expectations.
Or, as I’ve mentioned before, a major Xbox exclusive may have just came out, and folks that don’t have an Xbox or high-end pc paid the GPU price for a month or two to check it out.
Nope, I was seeing the 10-minute delays long before Starfield came out. It’s been happening since early summer.
Right after they said it wasn’t performing up to expectations. Which would tend to put it in “maintenance” mode with fewer resources and less future dev work.
Point ceded. You know a lot more about how MS allocates resources than I do!