Microsoft See Big Gains In Its Cloud Gaming .

[Novalee]

"Microsoft said GamePass, the company's $10 monthly gaming subscription, has 18 million users, up from 15 million disclosed in September. The Xbox Live online gaming service has more than 100 million monthly active users. Microsoft did not give an update on the 115 million Teams daily users it disclosed in October but did say that the mobile version is used by 60 million daily users."
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-microsoft-results-idUSKBN29V2IN


18 million on Gamepass so far is pretty good with no end in sight .

 

[Novalee]

I will add this here https://www.theverge.com/2021/4/29/22409285/microsoft-store-cut-windows-pc-games-12-percent.

Microsoft is shaking up the world of PC gaming today with a big cut to the amount of revenue it takes from games on Windows. The software giant is reducing its cut from 30 percent to just 12 percent from August 1st, in a clear bid to compete with Steam and entice developers and studios to bring more PC games to its Microsoft Store.

 

[Novalee]

I think this continues on with the topic .

https://www.gamespot.com/articles/x...ded-streaming-devices-announced/1100-6492606/

"Microsoft is working with TV manufacturers around the world to "embed the Xbox experience directly into" internet-connected TVs. The idea is you'll be able to play Xbox games with no additional hardware, except for a controller. This is a very big deal because it opens up a potentially much larger audience for Xbox: people who don't want to spend hundreds of dollars for a console but still want to play games on their TV."

"In another effort to expand Xbox, Microsoft is working with telecom providers on "new purchasing models" like Xbox All Access that allow users to get a console (with Game Pass) for a monthly price instead of paying more up front. This is the model that has been popular and widespread for smartphones for many years.

Additionally, Microsoft announced that new Xbox-branded "streaming devices" to push Xbox cloud gaming on "any TV" without the need for a console. Again, no specifics or images were provided for this."

The only downside i can see so far is that people that want to own a physical copy of a game wont be thrilled but other than that , for someone like me that doesn't really want to buy a next gen console , can get a option like this instead .


If there is other downsides i am missing feel free to point them out .

 

[FPV MIC]

I think this continues on with the topic .

https://www.gamespot.com/articles/x...ded-streaming-devices-announced/1100-6492606/

"Microsoft is working with TV manufacturers around the world to "embed the Xbox experience directly into" internet-connected TVs. The idea is you'll be able to play Xbox games with no additional hardware, except for a controller. This is a very big deal because it opens up a potentially much larger audience for Xbox: people who don't want to spend hundreds of dollars for a console but still want to play games on their TV."

"In another effort to expand Xbox, Microsoft is working with telecom providers on "new purchasing models" like Xbox All Access that allow users to get a console (with Game Pass) for a monthly price instead of paying more up front. This is the model that has been popular and widespread for smartphones for many years.

Microsoft have been doing that here for a while with Telstra as a partner. While I'm certainly not 100% sure, I'm pretty sure they were doing this with the last gen console too.

Additionally, Microsoft announced that new Xbox-branded "streaming devices" to push Xbox cloud gaming on "any TV" without the need for a console. Again, no specifics or images were provided for this."

The only downside i can see so far is that people that want to own a physical copy of a game wont be thrilled but other than that , for someone like me that doesn't really want to buy a next gen console , can get a option like this instead .


If there is other downsides i am missing feel free to point them out .

Downsides? Yeah... living in Australia with our crap internet

 

[Novalee]

Microsoft have been doing that here for a while with Telstra as a partner. While I'm certainly not 100% sure, I'm pretty sure they were doing this with the last gen console too.

View attachment 1016800

Downsides? Yeah... living in Australia with our crap internet

Yes , that is a problem in North America still. Is Starlink going to work in Australia ? I would imagine it should at some point . .


Whats your thoughts on Xbox or Sony consoles being built into a tv or streaming stick ?

 

[FPV MIC]

Yes , that is a problem in North America still. Is Starlink going to work in Australia ? I would imagine it should at some point . .


Whats your thoughts on Xbox or Sony consoles being built into a tv or streaming stick ?

Yes it is, but it's a really odd deal. It's only available to a small area atm and it can only be provided to low density areas, which is most of Australia bar the cities where we need fast internet the most . It does have higher ping numbers than our NBN service though (10ms NBN vs 40ms Starlink). They're also not sure if the dish will be able to handle the heat of Australian summers. There's a good write-up on it here: https://www.abc.net.au/news/science...link-operating-australia-what-is-it/100062862

I have no issue with console and streaming being built into TV's as long as it doesn't drive the price up on the TV for those that don't want to use it (eg. my parents). I still don't think we're there yet here in Oz. Google Stadia isn't even available here, but I can stream some games through my Nvidia Shield.

 

[Novalee]

Yes it is, but it's a really odd deal. It's only available to a small area atm and it can only be provided to low density areas, which is most of Australia bar the cities where we need fast internet the most . It does have higher ping numbers than our NBN service though (10ms NBN vs 40ms Starlink). They're also not sure if the dish will be able to handle the heat of Australian summers. There's a good write-up on it here: https://www.abc.net.au/news/science...link-operating-australia-what-is-it/100062862

I have no issue with console and streaming being built into TV's as long as it doesn't drive the price up on the TV for those that don't want to use it (eg. my parents). I still don't think we're there yet here in Oz. Google Stadia isn't even available here, but I can stream some games through my Nvidia Shield.

I think i said it wrong . I guess what they are doing is making the tv act like a browser to play games through xcloud , and a streaming stick that does same for tv that doesnt have it built it so i cant see the price going up to much . more pixels seems to be still to costly for me lol .

I do agree that new tech shouldnt be used in a way to force people to pay for it .

 

[Tristan H]

There are also all the downsides related to a streaming service:
1. The service quality is limited by the internet connection as already mentioned.
2. The content can be changed anytime at the discretion of the service provider. A game you love can be taken away at any time.
3. You must continue to pay on a monthly basis to access the service. If you play a lot of different games all the time this can be cost effective, but if you only pay a few games sometimes it would often be cheaper just to buy the system and games outright. Plus if you buy outright they can't be taken away like point 2.

 

[mika haka]

Got 200mb and fps games are unplayable on their service.

Somentimes work but after about 5mins the delay causes lost inputs and your guy ends up spinning or doing something you pressed two mins ago.

Shame as the concept is brilliant but i dont think it will ever work unless they rewrite the whole internet

 

[EngieDiesel]

Shame as the concept is brilliant but i dont think it will ever work unless they rewrite the whole internet

The problem is that the infrastructure isn't being improved at the same rate as demand is increasing. In the densely populated places where the telcos and ISPs (who are basically the same entity) make most of their profit the networks are oversaturated and there's little room left to expand them, and in the rest of the country service is substandard because they don't want to spend the money to upgrade where it's been "good enough" in the past. And of course while everyone wants better Internet, nobody wants the cost and inconvenience of having roads dug up to lay and service the new data lines, least of all the local governments who would have to deal with that. And this is hardly a North America exclusive problem as well, I've heard the fiber rollouts in both the UK and Australia are a shambles that are projected to be years behind schedule.

 

[Novalee]

There is more information on Microsofts cloud gaming future plans in this article .

Microsoft will build native Xbox games for the cloud, and the woman behind Portal will lead

Talk about thinking outside the box.

www.theverge.com

“We don’t know exactly what that looks like today, or what that even plays like,” Wyze told Polygon. But perhaps in a few years, we will. Metal Gear Solid and Death Stranding auteur Hideo Kojima has repeatedly said he would like to create a game explicitly for streaming, and VentureBeat’s Jeff Grubb says Microsoft is in talks to make a deal there."