Eurogamer: Google and Xbox just started the next platform war And this one will be different.

[Playstation Tablet 1,723]

Looks like MS is doesnt care much about competition with Playstation anymore next-gen, that's secondary compared to fighting google. Poor lemmings, MS is taking them to a battle them never wanted to be part of in the first place.

 

 

Full article: https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2018-10-11-google-and-xbox-just-started-the-next-platform-war

 

 

Game streaming is coming. It's been coming since before we all laughed at OnLive and ignored PlayStation Now, and those too-little-too-soon gambits did nothing to impede its inevitable arrival. It is the future, in the sense that a credible and widely-used iteration of game streaming technology is around the corner and is something everyone reading this will probably end up using. Whether this future will prove mutually exclusive with other futures - those of games consoles and of digital platforms like Steam - is much more debatable. But it's coming regardless.

The games industry was unequivocal on that fact at E3 this year. Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot mentioned it to anyone who would listen, while EA promised its own service tied into EA Access. More consequentially (with the greatest respect to EA), Phil Spencer said Microsoft was planning an Xbox-branded game streaming service.

Earlier this week, we heard the first details about what Microsoft is calling Project xCloud, in apparent response to last week's announcement of a long-rumoured game streaming offering from Google. Google's Project Stream is already in testing in the US; xCloud hardware is being installed in data centres, but public testing won't begin until next year.

So, if game streaming fulfils its potential and follows the trajectory of other streamed media, the seemingly modest and speculative announcements of the last seven days could prove to be momentous indeed. We could be witnessing, in the early days of Project Stream and Project xCloud, the foundation of ubiquitous game platforms of the future with the potential to rival or even sweep aside players such as PlayStation and Steam. After all, who watches DVDs any more? Or buys CDs?

Well, some do, and this is the first clue that this video game platform revolution could be quite different to those that came before it and perhaps not quite so all-consuming. Particularly relevant has been the rise of vinyl records in the face of digital and streaming music. Vinyl, with its warm analogue sound and large, beautiful packaging, provides a tangibly different experience to streaming, which is more than you can honestly say of CDs. It's more tactile and intimate.

I think the same is likely to be true of games, where hardcore fans and competitive players are highly attuned to the responsiveness of the controls. No matter how good streaming gets, local gaming will always feel different. You can imagine some players resolutely sticking to local hardware, while others might prefer it for some games (FIFA, Street Fighter) while being happy to enjoy a slower-paced experience like Assassin's Creed over the net.

[dakur 460]

Vinyl has an audience because of the hipsters and because a song actually sounds different on just digital or playing through physical media. Unless physical media represents some type of difference to how the game is played through streaming I think streaming will eventually take over once it solves the lag problems. Also, why did that article dismisses PSNow so easily? Sony has a headstart on streaming video games over those other companies right now.

[Playstation Tablet 1,723]

14 minutes ago, dakur said:

Vinyl has an audience because of the hipsters and because a song actually sounds different on just digital or playing through physical media. Unless physical media represents some type of difference to how the game is played through streaming I think streaming will eventually take over once it solves the lag problems. Also, why did that article dismisses PSNow so easily? Sony has a headstart on streaming video games over those other companies right now.

Because PSNOW will probably be absolutely secondary to hardware even if they have a stream box. PSnow will never have the infrastructure because setting all this shit costs tens of billions, and due to costs of streaming its very likely both will be loss leaders for years or won't even break even.

 

The FT article points to Sony focusing on a tablet for streaming, which means they will have a very niche hardware base to stream to compared to Google and MS, that will shove this onto everything from phones to Switch to whatever. The reality is that Sony will simply never give up Horizon 2, or God of War 2, or Spiderman 2 from their push of hardware to stream to any platform possible.

 

The great thing about this, is that the console hardware becomes such an after thought for MS, they might break and just go for a native PS5 solution for ports. Sony's future is consoles that 100 million consoles sold a gen. The reality is while these battle of the streaming battlefield someone has to provide the hardware for gamers regardless.

 

Just like Sony can't realistically enter the hardware battle of portables, because they simply can't pull off a pure handhle. The same thing goes for Sony in the streaming realm, to suggest they can go up against the infrastructure of Amazon, Google, and MS is just unrealistic, and it shouldnt be a goal even outside of being a minimal side thing. There is absolutely nothing wrong if Sony doesn't enter this battle, and it doesn't seem that they even want to seriously enter it.

Edited October 11, 2018 by Beta Bux Romeo

[Playstation Tablet 1,723]

 

 

[Playstation Tablet 1,723]

 

 

It can work, it has no predictive algorithms, there are no worldwide server farms across the world to keep the lag down. They ain't competing forget it.

 

 

 

[Playstation Tablet 1,723]

Also Sony removed PSNOW from Vita and PS3. Which says all you need to know about their planning of putting PSNOW on other platform, if they are dropping it from their existing Playstation brand consoles.

[dakur 460]

31 minutes ago, Beta Bux Romeo said:

 

 

It can work, it has no predictive algorithms, there are no worldwide server farms across the world to keep the lag down. They ain't competing forget it.

 

 

 

People claimed the same with Netflix. They said Amazon and other bigger companies would destroy it and yet, it is still the biggest movie-streaming service. I wouldn't discard PSNow so quickly.

[Playstation Tablet 1,723]

3 minutes ago, dakur said:

People claimed the same with Netflix. They said Amazon and other bigger companies would destroy it and yet, it is still the biggest movie-streaming service. I wouldn't discard PSNow so quickly.

It's a good thing Psnow isn't Sony's main focus. Their hardware platform with PS5 will be the ultimate driver.

 

This is a GOOD thing for serious gamers. It's a war cows should be happy Sony isn't entering or you want to see God of War on mobile phones and Switch? Or Sony burning billions to build this shit up instead of taking a hardware lose on PS5 hardware, and majorly funding exclusives.

 

Streaming has to be done at the expense of the console. It's a very fair trade, and not worth the sacrifice for the core of the console audience that we are all part of.

Edited October 11, 2018 by Beta Bux Romeo

[Vini 430]

I can't deal with latency and input lag of streaming games I don't know how they're going to get around that

[-GD-X★ 7,729]

Psnow was just a cheap way to do BC. Google and MS are investing lots of money and resources to deliver a near-flawless experience. 

[Playstation Tablet 1,723]

14 minutes ago, Vini said:

I can't deal with latency and input lag of streaming games I don't know how they're going to get around that

You aren't and don't forget even if it's streaming at "1080p" thats with artifacts and much poorer sound, artifacts can't be removed no matter the connection.

 

This is for casuals for who the experience of "good enough" is not a problem. When we're discussing trivial differences between the X and Pro, we can't take streaming seriously.

[lynux3 2,049]

6 minutes ago, -GD- said:

Psnow was just a cheap way to do BC. Google and MS are investing lots of money and resources to deliver a near-flawless experience. 

Eh, I don't think paying $380 million and continued investment into console quality game streaming games is exactly cheap.

[Playstation Tablet 1,723]

35 minutes ago, lynux3 said:

Eh, I don't think paying $380 million and continued investment into console quality game streaming games is exactly cheap.

The issue is Sony has no platforms to even realistically stream to. What the fuck are you gonna do? Stream PS5  games on your PS5? This is schizophrenia.

 

Streaming PS5 games to PS4? They need to sell PS5 hardware.

[-GD-X★ 7,729]

1 hour ago, lynux3 said:

Eh, I don't think paying $380 million and continued investment into console quality game streaming games is exactly cheap.

eh maybe. i just don't see them really pushing it. 

[jehurey 3,227]

Microsoft can't even beat Sony, who was in a financial tight-spot after the PS3, how can they possibly beat Google? They can probably throw more money at this business venture than Microsoft.

 

Google must already have some sort of agreement with Ubisoft.  It wouldn't surprise me if Google is telling the major third parties right now "we'll set up the server farms, we'll provide the service, just put your games on our service and we will take x percent."

 

Hell, I bet Google would establish a $20-$29 gaming streaming service, and they will pay EA/Ubi/Activision a lump sum payment for them to put Madden, Battlefield, FiFA, AssCreed, CoD, and the main high-profile releases, and Google will just eat the losses for the first 2-3 years while they build a userbase of subscribers.

[Playstation Tablet 1,723]

Why would I EVER want Nintendo to abandon it's good Switch design and do THIS.

 

[JonDnD 2,607]

Ms will have the most powerful dedicated gaming box next gen and a streaming service . Ms is buying up studios left and right. 

 

It's gonna be hard for Google to get high quality studios to compete with Ms for a long time .

 

The gen after will probably be all streaming from all game companies . Sony will be the furthest behind 

[JonDnD 2,607]

4 minutes ago, Beta Bux Romeo said:

Why would I EVER want Nintendo to abandon it's good Switch design and do THIS.

 

Tbh outside of looks , that is better.  You have a higher rez display with a much better controller .

[Vini 430]

2 hours ago, Beta Bux Romeo said:

You aren't and don't forget even if it's streaming at "1080p" thats with artifacts and much poorer sound, artifacts can't be removed no matter the connection.

 

This is for casuals for who the experience of "good enough" is not a problem. When we're discussing trivial differences between the X and Pro, we can't take streaming seriously.

 

Yea most people don't even put their TVs in low input lag GAME mode I guess casuals don't care

 

I can't deal with high input lags even in single player games it's too annoying and distracting

[Playstation Tablet 1,723]

4 minutes ago, Jon2B said:

Ms will have the most powerful dedicated gaming box next gen and a streaming service . Ms is buying up studios left and right. 

 

It's gonna be hard for Google to get high quality studios to compete with Ms for a long time .

 

The gen after will probably be all streaming from all game companies . Sony will be the furthest behind 

So MS will release a brick with no exclusives. Do you even realize how unappealing this sounds.