My Xbox Series X console is the perfect size, but it’s heavy. Quite heavy, in fact, by console standards: no less than 4.45 kilograms. It doesn’t take up as much space as the PS5, thank goodness, but that extra bit of power sticks out somehow. And despite the fact that thanks to the game in the cloud I only need a controller, any one with Bluetooth, to replay most of my games directly from the TV, I do not plan to stop turning on Microsoft’s black beast. A pity: I would have liked to stop taking her from one TV to the other.
The story, told poorly and quickly, is as follows: from last december it is possible to play the titles included in the Game Pass from practically any Samsung SmartTV manufactured after 2021. You choose the game you want, from Vampire Survivors to Forza Horizon 5, and start playing or resume the game you had in progress.
A shot in the foot? Rather, a master plan to promote the subscription to the service, even if you do not have a console and PC, which in case of convincing leads to a preference (based on progress and hours of play and loyalty). towards the Xbox brand.
The requirements, in addition to the smart television itself, are as reasonable as having an internet connection and a controller with bluetooth. It doesn’t have to be the Xbox one. The process involves downloading the app from the TV, connecting my account and finally linking. If you already have an active subscription, it doesn’t take you four minutes to have everything ready. Simple as it sounds.
On paper, it’s a perfect plan. You start the App from the TV such as Netflix, Spotify, Twitch or YouTube and, once the Xbox Cloud Gaming interface has jumped, you resume the game where you left it knowing that the Quick Resume will ask you later for the file you want to keep.
A declaration of intent how far Microsoft is willing to go in its grand vision of the future of gaming. In practice, however, we are talking about a gaming experience that it’s still pretty green.
Xbox Cloud Gaming is not a replacement for Stadia. Neither in the good nor in the bad
Cloud gaming is not the future: it is the present. And Xbox Cloud Gaming is a great alternative very well directed. The other side of the truth is that more than two years have passed since its initial deployment began and the quality of the games continues to be in the shadow of a Google Stadia that, in fact, never took off on a commercial level working properly. very satisfying. What does Microsoft contribute in this regard? Basically, everything inherited from Game Pass. Which is not little.
I confess to you that cloud gaming stopped seeming like modern magic to me years ago. In fact, I consider that it is something that is taking too long to be well established. In convincing the exceptions. Stadia went to waste returning the investment, but there are other alternatives like Shadowfor example, that really give the genuine impression that you are with a PC right under your nose.
Rephrasing the basic question: why pay hundreds or thousands of dollars for hardware, such as graphics cards, when you can invest directly in a good TV and playing whatever you want? Of course, coexisting naturally with the rest of the formats, as is the case with Steam Deck and its remote Play or, with a new generation Xbox and Xbox Cloud Gaming.
Well, we start from a basic error: for the doubt to be well posed, the gaming experience must be satisfactory. And in the case of playing Xbox on a TV without a console, that step has not been taken. And it will not be because they have not turned to it: Microsoft replaced the hardware that moved the games remotely with the equivalent of its next-generation consoles.
The first conclusion we come to is simple: Xbox Cloud Gaming is not a substitute for Stadia. Neither in the good nor in the bad. Although Xbox cloud gaming was enabled on televisions last year, the proposals from Microsoft and Google are not comparable.
- As has been suggested Xbox Cloud Gaming, is currently an indivisible part of a service that gives access to lots of games and extends its reach to different gaming platforms, such as SmartTVs, web browsers or smartphones. Even the consoles.
- While Stadia was the platform itself, so the games had to be purchased separately. To be fair, Google offered a payment plan with monthly games, but its philosophy was always different.
Does that mean that Xbox Cloud Gaming is currently an unplayable experience on televisions? Absolutely. It is a solution, but it is still too green to be the best solution. Or at least, what is expected of him.
Lights and shadows of playing Xbox without consoles already in 2023
The best thing about everything being centralized on the same platform, in this case Game Pass, is that you don’t have to take detours. When I start my Xbox app on My television I find myself with the same settings that I left in my web browser. I only have to worry about what I’m going to play. My two criteria: something I’ve played a lot and something I haven’t played enough.
The first is the easiest. With my games conveniently sorted by last use and my saves right where I left them on console or PC, I see my old acquaintances parade through the menu: Dragon Ball FighterZVampire Survivoran Assassin’s Creed Odyssey to which I am giving those hours that I lacked in its day… From there one of lime another of sand.
Starting a game on any of them is as easy as on consoles and even more so than on PC: there are no installations, updates, nor do you have to go through launchers. The loading times are thereto which must be added that of the game itself, but at least the games that I have tested have one common element: they are reasonable.
The not so positive part is the resolution, performance and response. For the occasion I connected the television via a cable to the router and I also saw how it performed with Wi-Fi. It goes without saying that you need a good and stable connection to play, it would take more, but unlike mobile screens or monitors smaller than 30 inches, Xbox Cloud Gaming can see the seams quickly on a large screen. At least for now.
I was counting on it when I got into my BMW Z4 Roadster from Forza Horizon 5 after a huge lapse of time. Also when I rode again with Kassandra in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and the landscapes showed little detail. But what really took me out of the game was the time frame when playing Dragon Ball FighterZ. If I’m honest, I didn’t spend more than ten minutes on the latter: two Arcade games and one multiplayer game at a noticeable disadvantage. It was time to see how he fared with more modest games.
My first game immersing myself in the sea of Game Pass indies through the television was Vampire Survivors. It would miss more! And even in these circumstances, when betting on Wi-Fi, we take the app into complicated situations by filling the screen with enemies. All in all, for much more laid-back games like Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition it’s a delight.
I was jumping from the Day of The Tentacle to As Dusk Falls, going through LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga and before closing the last session, unplugging for the umpteenth time the ethernet cable from the television and picking it up to connect it elsewhere, I had the clear reading: Microsoft has a huge revolution in the oven, but also a pending matter: that its cloud gaming alternative works equally well in all games. Or, at least, that it does not give up so much ground in the most demanding ones.
Xbox Cloud Gaming should not be an extra to Game Pass: it should mirror the hardware
If you read us daily or from time to time, you will know that I was a pioneer of Stadia and stayed active on the monthly plan until Google told me that the adventure came to an end. What’s more, he refunded me the amount of what I purchased. Stadia was working really well, but his business model was not going to go much further. Xbox cloud gaming, however, opens up a world of possibilities. Especially when the mouse and keyboard are enabled.
Via Xbox Cloud Gaming Microsoft itself puts the full spin on backwards compatibility, allowing Xbox One players to enjoy games that will only appear on next-generation systems. But, it must be insisted, this will only be a true alternative in the face of mastodons like Starfield o Forza Motorsport if the gaming experience is good.
The other big barrier to overcome is allowing us to play what we already own through the cloud, whether or not it is on Game Pass. the good news is that Microsoft announced that it has already started working on it. Will we see it before or after this phase of Xbox Cloud Gaming Beta term?
Although, as we mentioned at the beginning, it is a total success to offer Game Pass without having to depend on buying a state-of-the-art console or PC in order to build loyalty for both the service and the brand, the truth is that the way to offer the Cloud gaming is closely tied to the Premium subscription and is offered more as a perk or benefit within it (along with Gold and EA Play) rather than as a a way to experience our games.
In other words: make playing Sea of Thieves as easy as turning on the television. That showing a friend or acquaintance DOOM Eternal or your current game of Persona 5 Royale is as simple as activating your HBO Max account on your TV. And why not? Play games like Fortnite or Overcooked! 2 on a SmartTV without having to move the 4.45 kilograms that Microsoft’s black beast weighs.
And yet, the experience of a game as simple as Vampire Saviors could be much better with a Wi-Fi connection in the middle of 2023.
Microsoft has big plans for this year. Not only in terms of games and releases, but also in terms of everything that the addition of Activision Blizzard can benefit Game Pass. And, despite this, it has an Ace up its sleeve that we refuse to forget: its own cloud gaming system. The perfect trojan horse for your master plan. A sleeping giant with a good foundation: its cloud processing is one of its greatest assets.
Phil Spencer himself told us exclusively that his strategy is focused on the player and not so much on the device. It is time to open up that world of new possibilities.
