🎮 Microsoft announces Project xCloud, a game streaming service
Just like they promised, Microsoft has announced a service to stream console games. xCloud, according to The Verge's recap, streams Xbox games to consoles, PCs, phones and tablets.
According to their marketing video, which I would highly recommend watching, Microsoft broke down Xbox Ones and stored their guts in servers. These servers will stream the game to basically anything with a screen.
The most interesting part of the video was their positioning. Microsoft said they understood hardcore gamers want the full experience, but more casual players might like streaming better. They see this as a way to sell console gaming to people who don't own consoles. They're trying to segment the market.
As we've seen with Fortnite, people will play a console game on mobile, touch controls and all, if it's good enough.
Watching this video gave me pause about the future of this service on mobile, however. One woman in the video talked about how much she loves streaming games to her Android phone. This makes sense because Microsoft is trying to colonize Android.
However, it also makes me wonder how this service will work on iPhones. Apple famously kicked Steam Link off the App Store for allowing users to purchase games from Steam on an iOS device. This is a no-no since Apple mandates you give them a 30% cut of any in-app purchases.
My guess is Microsoft will get this service onto iOS and pay Apple's 30% tax when people sign up for a subscription on their iPhone. Netflix pays the same tax and they hate it too.
I also wonder how well this service will work over data. In the video, Microsoft says game streaming will "push the limits of 5G," which does not even exist yet! I get why they're doing it—better to design for 2020, when this actually launches—but man, that's a high ask.
Connectivity in general will be an issue with xCloud. In its announcement post, Microsoft says the service will run off the Azure server network. This is their secret advantage to streaming games and why they think they've solved latency issues.
But. Now we have an issue of where Azure covers. Look at this helpful map they published with their blog post:
Microsoft's response to this will likely be that people who don't live in an Azure coverage area can just buy an Xbox. That still sucks, though, especially if you want to stream games to your phone.
My last thought is their intro video is notable for what it doesn't show: new consoles. Presumably the next generation of Xboxes will be designed with streaming in mind. I'm curious to see where how this goes.
🎮 funtime-error