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Microsoft Project xCloud will also allow people to stream games to mobile devices.
Microsoft
Microsoft’s new game streaming service, Project xCloud, is now available on Android phones and tablets. It competes directly with Google’s Stadia, which launched last year and allows people to play PC games on Android phones, Google’s Chromecast Ultra, and in the Chrome web browser on most computers.
Think of xCloud as the “Netflix of games.” MIcrosoft’s game streaming service allows you to play high-quality games, which typically require a powerful Xbox game console, anywhere there is a fast enough internet connection (10 Mbps or better) without the need to buy one. Xbox. Netflix, by comparison, requires half that speed, or 5 Mbps, for an HD video stream.
The service can help attract casual gamers to the Microsoft ecosystem, as they don’t need to spend hundreds of dollars on an Xbox. Game streaming is included as part of Microsoft’s $ 14.99 / mo Xbox Game Pass Ultimate service, offering over 150 Xbox games. Most games also require an Xbox controller paired with your phone via Bluetooth, though some like Microsoft’s “Minecraft Dungeons” also support touchscreen controls.
Google Stadia is free, but you have to pay full price for the games, which range in price from $ 14.99 to $ 60 or more. Stadia Premium subscribers get access to more free titles per month and 4K games, if their internet connection is fast enough to support them. Microsoft’s solution is much more like Netflix than Google’s, offering a buffet of all-you-can-eat games that you don’t pay for individually, but that you have access to as long as you pay the monthly fee.
Your experience depends entirely on how good your internet connection is. That can sometimes be a problem. At home, where I have fast internet, it feels very similar to playing directly from my console. But it won’t work if your connection is too slow, a problem Google Stadia has too. It’s one of the reasons carriers are pushing newer 5G networks that will one day offer data speeds fast enough that games can be played anywhere you have your phone.
Some industry leaders are not yet fully sold on streaming services like Google Stadia and Microsoft xCloud. In an interview with Protocol published Tuesday, Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick said that streaming games will not transform the way we play. Take-Two is a major player in the gaming industry. It publishes hit games like the Grand Theft Auto series and “NBA 2K” and some of its titles are already available on the competing platform of Google Stadia.
Zelnick told Protocol that streaming services are too dependent on Wi-Fi or cellular networks that they won’t always be fast enough.
“I’m speaking against my own interests, right? We are supposed to paint this picture of nirvana, but I don’t think it’s nirvana,” he told Protocol. “Nirvana is having great successes, and then people will find them. We have sold 135 million units of Grand Theft Auto V, 32 million units of Red Dead Redemption. I wish I could tell you that there will come a point where multiple clouds game will mean those numbers will double or triple, but I really don’t see it. “
Gamers who own iPhones and iPads are also unable to use Microsoft’s new service on those devices. Apple’s development rules prevented game streaming services until very recently. And, although Apple updated its developer terms on September 11 to allow these types of services, Microsoft believes they will still offer a “bad customer experience” as Apple will require Microsoft to offer each game as a separate download.
You can test Microsoft Game Streaming now by doing this:
- Sign up for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. It costs $ 14.99 a month after a $ 1 free trial.
- Pair your Xbox controller with your Android phone or tablet by pressing the little pair button on the back and opening Bluetooth on your Android phone and then selecting the controller.
- Open Google Play Store on your Android phone.
- Download the Xbox Game Pass app from Microsoft.
- Open the app and log into your Microsoft account.
- Tap the “Cloud” tab at the top.
- Choose “Play” under the game you want to play.
