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[Humdinger]

Well, good luck to them with the whole streaming of videogames. They are aiming for a market that is not me. It sounds to me like they're still trying to find a way to capture the big, broad, casual market, just as they did with Kinect, then with TV/TV/TV in 2013. Maybe 3rd time is the charm.

I don't really care. I'm not interested in streaming. For the foreseeable future, it's going to be inferior to playing games locally, so why would I bother?

 

[M1chl]

I'm assuming Sony no longer wanted to manage the backend, but even if it was on Azure the backend built on top of Azure would still have to be managed....I mean it can help not having to physically manage servers but there is still costs and management involved.... Azure or AWS don't really solve all those issues.

I get it, what is important is that it would run on virtual machines which would spawn instances as they are needed, so you would not have to shut down whole server which has predetermined slots an it does not matter, how much people are playing. But obviously backend would have to probably take into account this concept of scabality/server load... I am not sure about Azure SDK and what it can do.

 

[DanielsM]

Actually that’s what I’ve been thinking as well. Power of the cloud will come true within 10 years and bring physics into new heights. Google has deepmind AI,l which will improve and change gaming in a fundamental way.

A functional dymanic AI that will offer huge amount of choices and consequences in a gaming world is the best counter for Sony’s linear story driven games.

Sony actually needs a miracle ps5 gen so they can fund all these cloud and AI research MS, google and amazon have.

Physics can already be done in the cloud, but for the most part its a nothing burger or adds complexity to the situation with few benefits.

There is only so much money that is going to go into a single game as far as costs.

I get it, what is important is that it would run on virtual machines which would spawn instances as they are needed, so you would not have to shut down whole server which has predetermined slots an it does not matter, how much people are playing. But obviously backend would have to probably take into account this concept of scabality/server load... I am not sure about Azure SDK and what it can do.

Absolutely. The ability to spin up VMs can help with costs and efficiency but at the end of the day, its not really something the end user is going to be aware of.

 

[V4skunk]

If MS think Google and Amazon are going to be their main competitors they are out of touch with reality.

 

[Hendrick's]

He's not wrong. Cloud will be how we consume all media eventually.

 

[Three]

He was saying the same shit in 2012

 

[wolffy71]

Im not sure how people keep saying theres no demand for mobile gaming. Its just flatly wrong, theres a huge demand. All this is, after all just an angle to capture all possible gamers.

The question about it is will it be AAA gaming or will it continue to be what we have now. Streaming or not, it has to be a available on a phone for sure.

My money is on some sort AAA gaming. Idk how its gonna work but since the demand is there, some company(s) is gonna make it happen.

 

[Three]

Lol And I was a delusional PS fanboy for saying that MS would shift towards GamePass and xCloud and next-gen would just be a transitional phase if it takes off?

They keep being more upfront about it.

Let me just put it out there. MS will release a next gen system because they have to not because they want to. They were debating whether to even do next gen, they built their xcloud services on xbox one hardware, they aren't releasing next gen only games. They are happy to sell services at xbox one level games but don't want to miss out on next gen buzz, sales and people jumping ecosystems.

 

[Gavon West]

OK Einstein tell us again how cloud gaming is going to take off because google Stadia experiment has failed horribly so far,
Xcloud isn’t really a thing yet and you say its the best thing ever.
Amazon just delivered a package of games to me so that’s as close to any kind of gaming I’ve seen from them.
You base too much on products proven customers don’t really want, it’s been proven over and over and over .......
Relax with the personal insults you come across like a corporate shill for ”next gen“ gaming.

I didn't insult you. I insulted your post. And Xcloud isn't Stadia. We all know this. We also know that people trust Microsoft to bring a competent streaming service to the masses than any of the other players. Even if you aren't fan of streaming, you know Xcloud has the most potential of not fouling things up with game streaming. The fact Sony is seeking to emplor Azure for their own streaming service says loads.

Its like this, game streaming and services are going to be huge next gen. Doesnt matter who disagrees, doesn't matter who like it. The writing has been in the wall for a while now. Hardware is just one piece of a very large pie. Out of Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony, only one has the infrastructure to play ball with the likes of Google and Amazon. And because Microsoft has Azure, that automatically gives them an edge against Sony and Nintendo by default.

Their only other competition would be Google and Amazon. Those are two huge players. Since game streaming is becoming a thing and will most certainly grow, wouldn't you call it wise that Microsoft looks to the other competitors who are just as prepared to battle for gamer dollars in the streaming realm? I'm just sayin...

 

[Rentahamster]

I'm getting flashbacks of Reggie talking about how Microsoft and Sony aren't competitors to the Wii.

 

[BacklashWave534]

The PS5 is using cloud gaming too. It was on the slide of features.

What he's saying is that Amazon and Google have massive cloud services they're using for gaming.

Microsoft has Azure. They don't need to invest to make what Amazon and Google already have. Sony signed on to use Azure.

So instead of investing billions making their own cloud service, Sony is using Microsofts. Likely because they realize what Spencer just said about investing to make the infrastructure.

Google Cloud is pretty far back in the list of reputable cloud service offerings. Microsoft Azure is years ahead of them (especially for anything GPU driven) and Amazon Web Services is trailing just behind Microsoft.

 

[DanielsM]

He's not wrong. Cloud will be how we consume all media eventually.

Yes and no, just not the way he would want you too. I mean Steam has been a thing since around 2003, the problem for Microsoft is they can't compete... in the software digital distribution realm i.e. Games for Windows Live/Microsoft Store. I mean Microsoft was streaming movies before Netflix was... and they were selling and streaming music for a very long time before they shutdown Groove Music formerly Xbox Music, formerly Zune Music.

A good portion of media has been consumed remotely or digitally for well over a decade now... the issue for them in gaming.... its not needed the way his boss is going to like.... meaning services. I would say the biggest thing with gaming is a gamer is generally only going to consumer a few games a year on average... where as a family of four might consumer 1000s of hours of movies/tv shows PER YEAR.
So... its not that anyone is wrong... they are just wrong in context, imo.

I would say we already are consuming media remotely or digitally.... its just they are the odd man out.

Basically, what he is doing is setting MS up to be a traditional publisher, yet, Nadella wants them to be the middleman for everyone... that most probably isn't going to happen.

 

[Omega Supreme Holopsicon]

Really game streaming is generally a solution for a problem that doesn't exist.

So true, switch gets good ports of most current gen games, and next gen phones will likely outclass it. So they'll be able to run console ports natively with decent quality, especially given the small screens.

 

[McCheese]

Because people google 'best console to get in 2020' and then go to amazon to buy a PS4 or Switch?

 

[DanielsM]

So true, switch gets good ports of most current gen games, and next gen phones will likely outclass it. So they'll be able to run console ports natively with decent quality, especially given the small screens.

Well, even if you wanted to stream to a mobile device, you can from your own equipment so.... even if there is a case, cloud gaming is still somewhat a solution looking for a problem. Limited audience, only so much money people will spend.

Only 1/3rd of Playstation owners pay for PSN. LOL Gaming is cheap as hell... services not so much.

 

[Gavon West]

C'mon now, Google and Amazon are YOUNG in gaming, SONY knows more about gaming than both of them put together.

If that were true, Sony would've prepared for cloud streaming eons ago. They haven't. At all.

 

[Gavon West]

Cool I hope that means Sony focuses on games as usual while microsoft focuses on streaming and whatever retarded bullshit.

So we're just gonna ignore the studios they've bought and allowed the complete independence and virtually blank checks, eh? Okay...

 

[DanielsM]

If that were true, Sony would've prepared for cloud streaming eons ago. They haven't. At all.

Huh. I would say Sony is the first company I remember involved in game streaming, you could actually game stream on a PS3 in 2006 as a test/beta for selected games. PS Now has been more or less operational since 2014, seemed to work when I was a beta tester.

What planet are you on? You can't be serious? Right?

(not that I think highly of game streaming... although if you do it from your own equipment, nice in a pinch)

 

[nowhat]

If that were true, Sony would've prepared for cloud streaming eons ago. They haven't. At all.

Uhh. PS Now? That predates all of the current streaming options?

 

[ManaByte]

Uhh. PS Now? That predates all of the current streaming options?

Wasn’t developed by Sony.

 

[Gavon West]

Uhh. PS Now? That predates all of the current streaming options?

Uhh.... that's not their own cloud servers they are using, are they? In fact, the service they are using doesn't even compare to Azure. So, no... Not really.

 

[nowhat]

Wasn’t developed by Sony.

...and? The post I replied to said Sony hadn't prepared for cloud streaming, "at all". I think buying a company that did it way before it became a thing (or feasible even, at the time) is very much preparing.

 

[nowhat]

Uhh.... that's not their own cloud servers they are using, are they? In fact, the service they are using doesn't even compare to Azure. So, no... Not really.

Who gives a fuck what infrastructure a cloud service uses? Amazon frequently serves their most bitter rivals, such as Netflix. But when it comes to streaming games, Sony has been in the game way before the current upcomers.

(this is not to say I'd particularly like PS Now, it's not that interesting)

 

[DanielsM]

Uhh.... that's not their own cloud servers they are using, are they? In fact, the service they are using doesn't even compare to Azure. So, no... Not really.

How so? Please explain. What is technology is Sony using and how could it be improved? (details please)

I stream from my own house using my own equipment, is that bad?

 

[Gavon West]

Who gives a fuck what infrastructure a cloud service uses? Amazon frequently serves their most bitter rivals, such as Netflix. But when it comes to streaming games, Sony has been in the game way before the current upcomers.

(this is not to say I'd particularly like PS Now, it's not that interesting)

Who gives a fuck about infrastructure, you say? Apparently not Sony and Nintendo. Lol.

And Ill agree. Sony did start game streaming with Ps Now but it's an after thought. Because they started streaming means, nada! Especially when you consider they've ALWAYS treated it like a red head step child. That's why its easily forgotten.

 

[Omega Supreme Holopsicon]

Well, even if you wanted to stream to a mobile device, you can from your own equipment so.... even if there is a case, cloud gaming is still somewhat a solution looking for a problem. Limited audience, only so much money people will spend.

Only 1/3rd of Playstation owners pay for PSN. LOL Gaming is cheap as hell... services not so much.

True. Remote play from ps5 or pc has the benefit that you don't have to pay for a subscription to play your own games, and could very well have lower latency.

 

[nowhat]

And Ill agree. Sony did start game streaming with Ps Now but it's an after thought. Because they started streaming means, nada! Especially when you consider they've ALWAYS treated it like a red head step child. That's why its easily forgotten.

From my perspective, it's rightfully a red-head stepchild - consoles have been dead for like how many generations now? Yet they still keep on chugging, and no, 5G or whatnot will change the inherent latency of streaming. It's good as a complementary service, but to replace consoles (or PCs for that matter), it's not happening. However, you previously wrote

If that were true, Sony would've prepared for cloud streaming eons ago. They haven't. At all.

...that's quite false, innit, by your own admission?

 

[Kagoshima_Luke]

It's a competition between Microsoft, Amazon and Google to see who can create Skynet first.

 

[DanielsM]

Who gives a fuck about infrastructure, you say? Apparently not Sony and Nintendo. Lol.

And Ill agree. Sony did start game streaming with Ps Now but it's an after thought. Because they started streaming means, nada! Especially when you consider they've ALWAYS treated it like a red head step child. That's why its easily forgotten.

Please explain in detail as to their (Sony) "infrastructure" and how its lacking and what that means to the end user in detail. What is their current infrastructure consist of?

You are making some bold comments their cotton but really not providing anything of relevance.

Not sure what you mean by "red head step child", I would say its the gamers that treat it that way... Sony would like nothing more than to see subscribers.

 

[Psykodad]

Let me just put it out there. MS will release a next gen system because they have to not because they want to. They were debating whether to even do next gen, they built their xcloud services on xbox one hardware, they aren't releasing next gen only games. They are happy to sell services at xbox one level games but don't want to miss out on next gen buzz, sales and people jumping ecosystems.

I never said otherwise.

 

[New Yorks Finest]

I luv these

 

[polybius80]

But there was this agreement, with Sony and MS with sharing technologies...

an agreement doesnt mean much if there are no details, using azure doesn't mean using for everything, azure are mostly linux servers on virtual machines and there are competition for that, cost is very important along with availability, security etc

 

[Vawn]

You know the main reason Netflix dominates over other similar services?

It has shows that more people want to see.

Microsoft fix your GAMES issue. The problem isn't a lack of cloud servers, not enough subscription services, etc. It's the lack of reasons to sign up with anything Xbox related. Those reasons are games.

You fix that, and I'll happily play my Xbox as much as I play my Switch and PlayStation like I used to during the early 360 years.

 

[Texas Pride]

This looks like when you can't score move the goal posts imo.

 

[Coulomb_Barrier]

Idiotic statement from every gamer's 'friend' Spencer.

We've seen in the latest financial reports, despite them having 4 versions of Xbox out right now and putting all their games on PC as well and also owning gaming money printing machine Minecraft (that is on every platform that's ever existed), they still make less than half the gaming revenue of Sony, selling games on just PS4 and PS4 Pro.

Here's a thought Spencer: why don't you release a game on Xbox or Gamepasd that I actualy want to play or I'll continue to ignore your products and services like most of the gaming world. I dont give a shit MS as s whole made $30 billion profit in the financial year.

 

[Clear]

In the end its all about brand and IP.

The product is the draw, not the service itself. Neither Amazon nor Google have any real experience making games, they are just really good sellers of them.

That MS wants to put themselves in that company should speak volumes about how committed they are to games and gaming. It's basically just another digital revenue stream to them.

It strikes me as being tremendously arrogant of them to presume that they can push every other platform to the wayside just because they have the deepest pockets. Especially when historically they've come up short against Nintendo and Sony repeatedly over the past 20 years.

 

[JustP_Gaming]

You know the main reason Netflix dominates over other similar services?

It has shows that more people want to see.

Microsoft fix your GAMES issue. The problem isn't a lack of cloud servers, not enough subscription services, etc. It's the lack of reasons to sign up with anything Xbox related. Those reasons are games.

You fix that, and I'll happily play my Xbox as much as I play my Switch and PlayStation like I used to during the early 360 years.

Are you even in the same timeline as everyone else what do you think MS is doing? Is MS sitting around twiddling their thumbs? Fix their games?? This is getting ridiculous now.

 

[stickkidsam]

If Xbox SeX turns out to just be a service machine then I guess I'll be saying farewell to Microsoft. Bummer.

 

[12Dannu123]

In the end its all about brand and IP.

The product is the draw, not the service itself. Neither Amazon nor Google have any real experience making games, they are just really good sellers of them.

That MS wants to put themselves in that company should speak volumes about how committed they are to games and gaming. It's basically just another digital revenue stream to them.

It strikes me as being tremendously arrogant of them to presume that they can push every other platform to the wayside just because they have the deepest pockets. Especially when historically they've come up short against Nintendo and Sony repeatedly over the past 20 years.

No they don't have experiences in making games nor do they need to. Amazon.com, Twitch Google Search and Youtube are HUGE touchpoint and is very attractive for game developers to create their games for their platform. Microsoft also has plenty of consumer services to promote their games in.

That's something Sony and Nintendo will never ever have. They have nothing outside of consoles and hardware,

 

[Vawn]

Are you even in the same timeline as everyone else what do you think MS is doing? Is MS sitting around twiddling their thumbs? Fix their games?? This is getting ridiculous now.

Is there a timeline where Xbox didn't go an entire generation with almost no worthwhile exclusives?

 

[kingbean]

That's like saying "you didn't win"

I don't even console war but this feels kinda petty.

 

[thelastword]

Phil has basically announced Series X's defeat this early in the game...…..They know they cant compete with Sony, they are actually telling you that quite plainly......


If a Dead Stadia is MS's competitor and Amazon? in gaming? Phil does not even know what to do, does he?......I expect to hear Phil leaving MS pretty soon. Certainly you can't fail with two consoles after hyping and talking a game for so long.

 

[JustP_Gaming]

Is there a timeline where Xbox didn't go an entire generation with almost no worthwhile exclusives?

You act as if they aren't taking actions to fix these issues. I know a lot of you are fanboys to the highest level but this level of ignorance is truely insane.

 

[Rightisright]

This billions of gamers wanting to play hardcore games On their tiny mobiles like assassin creed or gears of war don’t exist . They want candy crush . Mindless easy to play games for free .

These who think that people will use the internet to watch movies, listen to music are kidding themselves. People use the internet to look at funny cat videos and look at porn. Nothing will change the experience of going down to your blockbuster video store to hire your movies.

 

[Clear]

You act as if they aren't taking actions to fix these issues. I know a lot of you are fanboys to the highest level but this level of ignorance is truely insane.

Taking steps to address a problem is not the same as remedying it.

I'm not convinced by any of MS studio acquisitions, nor their strategy going forwards as I've seen it presented.

To me, it looks like Xbox is just getting pulled along in the wake of MS broader ambitions as a provider of cloud compute. As stated they have spent billions on Azure infrastructure, presumably with the aim to profit handsomely a s the dominant provider of such services. The thing is, they don't need Xbox for that.

 

[Samanosuke Akechi]

>Phil says Xbox monthly active users are at an all-time high
>Phil says Google and Amazon users are our target demographics

#NeverForget

Even the executives believed it was a real crowd lol

 

[DanielsM]

No they don't have experiences in making games nor do they need to. Amazon.com, Twitch Google Search and Youtube are HUGE touchpoint and is very attractive for game developers to create their games for their platform. Microsoft also has plenty of consumer services to promote their games in.

That's something Sony and Nintendo will never ever have. They have nothing outside of consoles and hardware,

Not sure what this means or its relevancy, I suggest you review Sonys financials. Apparently games and consoles is enough.

 

[Vawn]

You act as if they aren't taking actions to fix these issues. I know a lot of you are fanboys to the highest level but this level of ignorance is truely insane.

By having a subscription model that very clearly emphasizes quantity over quality?

By buying some AA and indie studios to pad out this quantity over quality business model?

By taking the few successful exclusives they do have and porting them to a more popular console?

To focus on game streaming and asking to be compared with Google Stadia and not PlayStation or Nintendo?

How exactly are they remedying the issue exactly?

 

[Three]

Honest question, do you guys think 5G will have any impact on how this will or won't work?

I have a 5G contract and phone. No.

 

[Chairman Tickles]

Well if it's about raw revenue and size of whaling market then surely Mobile gaming is where all the big boys are at as it comprises more of gaming than all other gaming combined. Microsoft is being arbitrary.

I have a 5G contract and phone. No.

I watched people streaming 4k video on a moving Shanghai subway train. I think there are levels to 5G such as speeds and coverage reliability. Needs moar infrastructure in the west.