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It's hard to imagine a reality five to 10 years from now, where a huge chunk of our gaming isn't done through some kind of cloud service.
Recently, Microsoft lifted the curtain on Project X cloud, giving Android users a look at the beta version of the service.
For everyone else, it'll release on September 15.
I've spent about a week with Project X cloud, and I gotta say it definitely provides a compelling list of games, some of which are major Microsoft exclusives.
But just like other streaming options out there, xCloud isn't necessarily a console replacement, but instead a solid substitute when a console isn't really an option.
Because xCloud is currently locked into Android phones, and tablets, I bought a couple of controller clips to mount my phone onto my Xbox controller.
There are definitely bad clips out there so be sure you get one that lets you have total adjustment flexibility and double as a separate stamp.
I got a Microsoft endorsed one from a company called Power A, but there are tons of options out there.
X cloud will sync your saves from games you've already played on console, and it works pretty well.
So I was actually able to continue my games from the last time I played.
I also thought it was important to test x cloud against Google's stadia game streaming service.
And there did seem to be a clear performance winner in that head to head, But more on that later.
x clouds position as a sort of value add to having a game pass ultimate subscription easily makes it worth the price of admission, but that's the value side of it right?
How does it perform well, It's kind of a mixed bag at the time of this recording.
There are 39 titles available for play in that game pass beta app, and Microsoft promises that there's going to be more than 100 titles available at launch.
So get a good feel of the overall experience.
I tried a variety of titles from what was available.
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Now of course with that some games just having more generous sort of leniency when it comes to lag.
To that point I had a much better time playing a game like Streets of Rage four than I did say Halo five.
Gotta admit is almost unplayable for me.
For one the delay you experience is really bad for first person shooters and playing on a small screen like your phone.
I mean, let's be honest, it's not the best right?
I did get my Android phone to show up on my LG OLED so that helped with the smallness issue.
But it of course did not eliminate the latency problems, if anything, and actually made it worse.
Over the years of trying out game streaming.
You sort of develop this acceptable lag reflex or at least you're able to train yourself on how to compensate for when you're playing games online.
But for shooters, there just really isn't any kinda acceptable window of legs so I just don't play them this way.
I will try it out Forza Horizon four, which seemed to perform well, and I was able to compensate someone for its noticeable lag, but also this really weird thing where this streamer mode was locked on for some reason, which meant I couldn't listen to certain radio stations.
I've been meaning to play through Ori and the will of the wisps.
And I decided that I was gonna commit to the whole thing on x cloud.
But it wasn't long before I encountered too many situations where timing is so key in that game, and going back to the console version was night and day just so much better.
Again, x club should not be considered some kind of replacement for playing Xbox games.
I mean, right now, it just can't be.
But there is no doubt that some version of this is our collective gaming future.
A lot of that is gonna rely on your internet connection.
So for example, here at my house, I get 200 down and only 35 up where I live.
But that's well above what Microsoft says are the minimum requirements.
Presumably we probably need to get to a place where internet latency is so good that it's indiscernible from the minimal latency we currently have when we play locally.
And yeah, we'll get there one day or, you know, we'll figure out a way to brute force our way there.
And what about how Project X cloud performs against other game streaming servers.
So I decided to test Google stadia essentially, side by side as best as I could to x cloud.
And I did find out that for the most part, stadia performed noticeably better mostly in the lag department.
Regardless of whether or not I was hard wired to the internet.
Which of course, is the most important area?
I guess overall, it's probably a bit tough comparing these two services just because they feel like such different products, right?
I mean, stadia is a standalone service that costs $10 a month for the premium version, and it offers all these different games.
Though it'll be interesting to see if any of those titles overlap.
Once x cloud gets out of its beta and adds all these games they're promising.
And also, let's not forget that both of these products are evolving, right they will change over time.
technology improves interfaces, refine And usually, the user experience moves forward.
So, that is some hands on impressions with x cloud, it's definitely a compelling service, a solid value add for game pass ultimate, but definitely suffers from the similar shortcomings.
That all of these game streaming services sort of limit.
Let me know what you think about game streaming.
Are you gonna jump on x cloud?
Are you a stadia person please sound off below.
Be safe everyone and thanks for watching
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