Xbox is Headlining the Next Generation of Gaming with their Cloud Streaming
Xbox is not stopping their quest to normalize cloud gaming.
In the past couple of decades, we have gotten very few innovations that have revolutionized how and why we play video games. We had the transition from 2D to 3D games, we had the transition from standard definition to high definition resolution, and we saw the creation of online ecosystems allowing for digital game downloading and social interaction with other players. Unfortunately, it’s been a minute since we’ve come across an innovation that has revolutionized gaming like we’ve seen in the past. I think cloud streaming may soon change that.
Today, Microsoft unveiled its plan to launch an app on Samsung TVs that will allow for seamless cloud game streaming on all 2022 model Samsung TVs. That means new Samsung TV owners will be able to sit down, sync a controller to their TV, and jump into almost the entire Xbox Game Pass library. This announcement alone is pretty interesting, and many know it has been telegraphed by Phil and the Xbox team for a while, but what’s even more interesting is what journalists had to say about the in-person preview of this app.
Imran Khan, a writer for Fanbyte, said the following: “I bounced between a few games during the hands-on demo, and nothing felt off. The game didn’t skip at all, the controls did not feel laggy, and it was a far cry from experiencing the debut of Stadia a few years ago. These are, once again, completely ideal conditions, so I can’t necessarily speak to how well it will work on your home setup. But I was doing my damndest to find a crack in the armor, but everything felt within a reasonable expectation of normal.” He is not the only reporter to say something similar; multiple reports are coming out with similar praise for the preview they experienced.
Now we’re not in the future yet, there are still a few major hurdles that Xbox and Microsoft still need to clear. Primarily, the adoption of this technology in other TVs as well as the test against the average consumer’s home network. That being said, if they surpass those challenges with the help of their confirmed streaming puck, we may begin to see a new era of gaming this generation.
I was one of the original adopters of Stadia because I believed in the vision. In fact, I still do believe in that vision, considering their streaming tech was actually pretty phenomenal at the time. Unfortunately, not even a year after its launch, it was clear that Google was missing the most important component of the service, the games. Guess what Xbox does have? I know, in some circles, the joke “Xbox has no games” has been a classic jab since the Xbox One days, but the fact of the matter is, a service like Game Pass is perfect for this cloud streaming model. No,w with the recent news that the streaming on the Samsung TVs is actually pretty good, it seems like the framework is all there. If we can get the hardware in a place where it is both reliable and accessible, I can really see game streaming taking off.
Even with the eventual mass adoption of cloud gaming, my primary platform will continue to be hardware. So why do I care about this? Well, it’s simple: options and growth. For one, I’d like to have the option to play games anywhere without buying multiple consoles. Playing games at a hotel or my parents’ house has always been a painful challenge to solve, and the cloud would only alleviate that. Second, cloud streaming makes gaming more accessible. Hopefully, as gaming becomes more accessible, that means we get bigger investments to bring us more games at a higher level of quality.
Xbox changed the game with the Xbox 360. With that generation, they introduced Xbox Arcade, which had the first-ever downloadable games. We got the invention of Xbox achievements, and they brought us parties, allowing us to communicate with friends across the world. All of these features have been adopted by major gaming platforms over the years and are now seen as the bare minimum. With the Xbox Series X/S generation, it’s good to see them trying hard to innovate once more with cloud gaming. This is the closest I think we’ve ever been to this becoming a viable way to play games.
