In this Slogging post, our community and staff discuss whether Xbox cloud gaming will be successful in the future and whether it will hit the mainstream. We also discuss games that would work best on the cloud.
This Slogging thread by Jack Boreham, Abeer, Sara Pinto and Mónica Freitas occurred in slogging's official #gaming channel, and has been edited for readability.
What do we all think about Xbox cloud gaming? Is it a good idea? Do you think it will be successful? For context, see this article: https://www.theverge.com/platform/amp/2021/11/17/22787396/xbox-cloud-gaming-consoles-series-x-s-one
Abeer
If it’s anything like Shadow or Stadia, where you stream games from powerful cloud servers, I can see it becoming normalized in the next 5-10 years. Many gamers like the idea of having their systems and games offline but especially now that online gaming is so prevalent, it’s just a matter of time until people realize they don’t need high power devices to play compute-heavy games.
Sara Pinto
Jack Boreham, I think this might become an actual big thing. Gaming online is already a reality, and if the goal is to be even more interactive, this could be it. Personally, features such as the possibility to stream the game, as it said in the article, that ables the other gamer to have a preview, are incredible and made me quite curious.
Hey Jack Boreham! I'd say the main pros are that you can play on different devices without losing your progress, and you no longer need to install a game. As for the cons, well, you're always at the mercy of your internet service provider. If your internet is bad, good luck playing 😅 Besides, there is the game ownership issue: you can buy a service and get access to a game, but if there are changes in ownership, you may lose it altogether. I found this great article comparing console gaming and cloud gaming for those wanting to know more: https://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/cloud-gaming-vs-console-gaming/
Abeer, completely true, but do you think the mainstream public will ever catch on to it? For us gaming folk, we know all the details about Xbox cloud gaming, but it could be far too convoluted for normal folks. In short, can it ever replace core console gaming with massive hardware?
Sara Pintois right! It offers huge possibilities; PlayStation has been doing the streaming game preview thing for year's now with PlayStation Now. It seems like Xbox is expanding on this by allowing players to jump in on games that they do not own. Sara Pinto, are you a gamer? Would this get you more into gaming?
Mónica Freitas, great article! Ownership is very important, especially online nowadays. For me, the Internet issue is the key problem. Without good internet, Cloud gaming won't work. I've tried cloud gaming before, and it works horrendously when you've got bad latency and poor Internet connectivity. Without worldwide quality internet, cloud gaming will never go mainstream. However, 5G technology might offer hope. Mónica Freitas, do you currently own a console or play games?
Sara Pinto
Jack Boreham, I'm not a gamer (yet, haha), but I would give it a shot! I do think it provides a more dynamic experience. Plus, this feature may appeal to a wider range of people, such as me, who might want to try it out for the sake of curiosity. If nothing else, it will probably increase competition and give Playstation a run for their money!
Jack Boreham, I'm a disgrace. The only console I've ever had was PS2. Now I find myself playing more games on my phone, but I've been thinking about giving gamming a fair shot. Not FIFA or League of Legends, though. 😅 If you have any suggestions for newbies, hit me up.
Sara Pinto exactly; I think it will open up the market for others to jump in. After all, using cloud tech, you can play all the latest games from your phone! Mónica Freitas, hahaha well, cloud gaming might bridge that gap for you!! As I said, you can play the latest games on your phone now. It depends on what kind of genres you are into?
Abeer
Jack Boreham, I can see a future where it competes with owning consoles with powerful hardware. For non-tech-savvy folks, I can see simple presets working in their favour. Instead of selecting all the specs one by one, maybe they can have an option to choose a console, and predefined specs for that console will be used.
Jack Boreham, I like strategy games, so if you have a few suggestions top of mind, please, do share.
Abeer I love that idea. Kinda full customisation of specs. Similar but an extension of PC settings. Personally, I hope they do this!
Mónica Freitas, I would suggest the civilisation games https://civilization.com/en-GB/. Also, the Xcom games, oh and of course Clash of Clans on mobile. You will love these.
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Jack Boreham, I've heard of Clash of Clans. How would you describe the experience? Does it take long to learn the ins and out of the game?
Mónica Freitas, not really; it doesn't take long at all. It gives you a short tutorial that will set you up for later missions. It's tower defence; besides strategy, any other mobile games? 😄