Report: Microsoft tests Xbox game streaming for PC & Windows Phone

According to a new report, Microsoft is developing its own competitor to Gaikai. Like the PlayStation-owned service, Microsoft aims to stream...

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According to a new report, Microsoft is developing its own competitor to Gaikai. Like the PlayStation-owned service, Microsoft aims to stream console games across multiple devices--specifically Windows Phone and PC (running Windows, of course). It's early days, however, with the project clearly labeled a "prototype," and unbranded at the moment.

Sources tell The Verge that Halo 4 was tested on the service running on Windows Phone. According to the report, the latency of the streamed game on a Lumia 520 is 45ms.

It seems unlikely Microsoft will have their cloud game streaming service ready in time for the launch of PlayStation Cloud, which Sony has announced for release in early 2014.

Andrew Yoon was previously a games journalist creating content at Shacknews.

From The Chatty
  • reply
    September 26, 2013 3:45 PM

    Andrew Yoon posted a new article, Report: Microsoft tests Xbox game streaming for PC & Windows Phone.

    According to a new report, Microsoft is developing its own competitor to Gaikai. Like the PlayStation-owned service, Microsoft aims to stream...

    • reply
      September 26, 2013 3:59 PM

      [deleted]

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      September 26, 2013 4:43 PM

      I guess you'd be required to have a controller for your phone/tablet to take advantage of this.

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        September 26, 2013 4:57 PM

        Halo: Spartan Assault didn't have controller support until it was patched into the game after release.

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          September 26, 2013 5:23 PM

          I'm just saying that touch screen controls are horrible and I wouldn't want to even try to play Halo 4 on something like that.

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            September 26, 2013 5:56 PM

            To be fair, Spartan Assault is a top-down twin-virtual-stick shooter, and some people said that the touch controls didn't detract from the controllability as much as they feared (but plenty of people were surprised that it launched without controller support).

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        September 26, 2013 8:06 PM

        Like a USB xbox controller?

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        September 26, 2013 11:12 PM

        Xbone controller uses wifi direct does it not? Most modern smartphones use that too.

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          September 27, 2013 1:12 AM

          It's actually bluetooth, I think, but it should work with phones too, you're right.

          I guess you'd have to pair the controller with the phone, play a bit, then re-pair the controller with the console again, which sounds annoying.

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            September 27, 2013 5:26 AM

            No, I believe the controller is WiFi Direct; if the Xbox One supports Bluetooth, Microsoft has been mighty silent about it. (Which is too bad, because that would mean wireless headset support; but so far there's no sign of wireless headsets being supported on the Xbox One.)

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      September 26, 2013 4:46 PM

      How about just supporting the PC platform assholes, I hope steamos kills windows for gamers

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      September 26, 2013 5:03 PM

      probably will have controller required

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      September 26, 2013 6:19 PM

      It's my dream to one day play Xbox games on my PC. lol

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        September 26, 2013 7:02 PM

        I know you are attempting sarcasm, but let's think beyond the obvious. It would be pretty slick to go on vacation with a tablet and controller, hdmi it to a tv and play full catalog of console games.

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          September 26, 2013 7:23 PM

          Yup first thing I do when I go on vacation is think about the games I should be playing instead if the exotic locale I could be enjoying.

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            September 26, 2013 7:58 PM

            multiple people here were complaining about the original Xbox One online requirements because they apparently took their console to their cabin/vacation home/whatever without internet and that's just too crucial to give up

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              September 26, 2013 8:05 PM

              haha, its great isn't it. I feel like some people will just bitch about Microsoft no matter what they do. What is the possible downside to being able to stream your Xbox One games to your computer screen and phone? I can't think of any.

              Here are some upsides:

              -Someone else is using the TV your xbox is connected to.
              -You are away from home and happen to have your tablet with you.
              -airport
              -stopping point on a road trip
              -grand parents/parents house
              -church :-)
              -waiting for an appointment

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            September 26, 2013 9:49 PM

            Yep, that is everyone on every vacation.

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          September 26, 2013 8:03 PM

          Why not just have tablet play the game with the controller? Why go to the trouble of streaming? In a two or three years can you image how powerful tablets are going to be? The next ipad is going to be diesel as hell, and tha tis probably coming in a month with the new chip from the new iphone.

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            September 26, 2013 8:33 PM

            Thats still not even close to what will be in the next gen consoles. This will allow them to port games with no porting.

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            September 26, 2013 8:55 PM

            The next iPad is not going to be equivalent to the new consoles. And even if it is, that's an $500+ device to buy in addition to a $500 console. Who the fuck does that?

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              September 26, 2013 9:03 PM

              It won't be as good as the next gen consoles next month but it will get a hardware upgrade every year while the consoles won't be upgraded ever. The tablet won't suffer from latency or compression or bandwidth issues.

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                September 26, 2013 9:11 PM

                neither will the consoles...ever. and you buy it once for $500, lasts for 5-7 years, never any latency or compression issues, vs. having to upgrade 2-3 times to get "suitable" performance on a stream to the tablet.

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                  September 26, 2013 9:59 PM

                  no the console will have to stream, on the tablet you won't have to stream.

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                September 26, 2013 9:35 PM

                Your missing the whole point, this is to make it easy to play an Xbox One game on any device. Porting to tablets is not easy.

                Second, the iPad 4 doesn't match the Xbox 360 yet in graphics horsepower, why do you think tablets will catch up to consoles in a few years? Tablets are very impressive for their size, but their size also holds them back.

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          September 26, 2013 9:52 PM

          And if not a tablet, how about something smaller, like a Vita TV? The hardware just needs network access and video decoder.

          I won't be surprised when the Vita TV thing will stream games from Gaikai. In fact that is probably why they created it.

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          September 27, 2013 7:09 AM

          Yeah, not really. Let's think beyond the obvious. Why not just bring the Xbox itself and play that. It's hardly a hassle to carry the little box and a couple of cords around.

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        September 26, 2013 7:30 PM

        I, honestly, would love that. Let me stream all my XB1 games to a PC OnLive-style and I will pick up an Xbone day one.

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        September 26, 2013 8:48 PM

        if only for some goddamn RDR goodness on PC, I'd be behind this!

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        September 26, 2013 11:14 PM

        They'd need to fix the FOV. Console games have incredibly low fields of view, sometimes lower than the lazily done PC ports.

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      September 26, 2013 9:28 PM

      Shouldn't take long, RDP has had media streamin/redirect for years, they just need to get their thumbs out of their asses and actually leverage the tech they have in new products. Idiots.

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      September 27, 2013 12:08 AM

      Wow people really seem to hate the XB1.

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