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Xbox UI coming to Windows 10. Could we have Xbox PC Consoles?

12Dannu123

Member
I know, what I'm saying is those Steam features would still be built in to the underlying Win32 Steam application and games.

The Steam UWP app would simply be a front end, which lets you load a shortcut to a Win32 application installed on your PC and load the underlying Win32 Steam bootstrapper as well.

Nope, if you want to access S Mode, Polaris and in the near future Xbox UI on Windows 10, it'll need UWP and Microsoft Store policy doesn't allow shortcuts to other programs/games since that'll open up malware.
 
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Xmengrey

Member
So this Xbox UI is it really coming to PC along with the Xbox OS with it's API and everything.
So for example would we be able to play Kingdom Hearts 3(an Xbox One/PS4 game) on our PCs through the XBox UI
Also when is this Xbox OS coming to PC
 
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Jagz

Member
Nope, if you want to access S Mode, Polaris and in the near future Xbox UI on Windows 10, it'll need UWP and Microsoft Store policy doesn't allow shortcuts to other programs/games since that'll open up malware.

Right, but the idea I'm presenting is an OS that still has the ability to run Win32 apps, but the top end is all built on UWP. As for malware, that wouldn't apply to games you download through Steam, so Microsoft could make an exception there for Steam.
 

12Dannu123

Member
Right, but the idea I'm presenting is an OS that still has the ability to run Win32 apps, but the top end is all built on UWP. As for malware, that wouldn't apply to games you download through Steam, so Microsoft could make an exception there for Steam.

Microsoft will never do that. Microsoft can only get the Steam app itself as an exception, however you can't do that for all Steam games.

The closet thing to what you're saying is S Mode, which has native Win32 and not virtualised Centennial Win32. But even then I don't think Microsoft will allow Win32 apps to appear on the Xbox UI.
 

Jagz

Member
Well, that's the point of my comments; I'm stating what I think Microsoft should do and exceptions they should make, not whether they are going to or not.

A TV-friendly version of Windows, that's compatible with all Windows software and completely navigable with a gamepad, would benefit products like HTPC's, Intel's upcoming gaming NUC's and Steam Machines.
 

bufkus

Member
As long as this UI doesn't replace actual windows 10 functionality, I don't see the big deal. If anything, this is the first step in merging the ecosystems so whatever replaces the Xbox is in reality a Windows 10 machine that can run Steam, Office, etc.
 

bluestar15

Neo Member
Personally I enjoy being able to play my games on the couch. The idea of mouse and keyboard for consoles will completely defeat the purpose of having a console in my opinion.
 

The_Mike

I cry about SonyGaf from my chair in Redmond, WA
The important question is - if we will be able to playXbox One licenses on PC, would they support keyboard and mouse?
 

Jagz

Member
Personally I enjoy being able to play my games on the couch. The idea of mouse and keyboard for consoles will completely defeat the purpose of having a console in my opinion.
Most PC games nowadays, aside from RTS and a few other genres, support gamepad almost by default, so you would still be playing them with a gamepad on the couch, etc.

The important question is - if we will be able to playXbox One licenses on PC, would they support keyboard and mouse?
Keyboard and mouse control is already supported in a number of XBOX Play Anywhere titles that are currently available, so that's already a reality.
 

BionicRoo

Member
Talking of Xbox hardware, this new controller for people with disabilities looks amazing: https://news.microsoft.com/en-gb/20...by-uk-charities-and-gamers-with-disabilities/

AdaptiveControllerInline1.jpg
 

Xmengrey

Member
Ok let me break this down

The Xbox One OS is coming to Windows 10 PCs

It will be able to

1. Be a Gaming UI for controllers
2. Be able to play all Xbox One games on PCs natively

So practically it will be an Xbox One on PC right? If this is true this will be huge
 

bitbydeath

Member
Ok let me break this down

The Xbox One OS is coming to Windows 10 PCs

It will be able to

1. Be a Gaming UI for controllers
2. Be able to play all Xbox One games on PCs natively

So practically it will be an Xbox One on PC right? If this is true this will be huge

E3 will likely confirm what is going on in this space.
Not long now.
 

Xmengrey

Member
E3 will likely confirm what is going on in this space.
Not long now.
Oh man I hope it's this E3 and I really hope this expanded Xbox Play Anywhere is sometime this year though I heard it was 2019 but 123Dan123 could have just meant the whole Xbox PC thing.

If it's 2018 oh boy I would love to play the Xbox One X Enhanced version of Kingdom Hearts 3 on my PC
 

KAOS

Member
I don't understand the endgame. Are console gamers still footing the bill with Xbox live and if so what are the benifits for console gamers? Cause if you can just play anything from xbox consoles on pc without paying for live & it's services like playing online they are just basically killing Xbox Live! I'm all for the Xbox being able to play pc drm free games on consoles as long it benifits the Xbox Live customer.
 

onlyoneno1

Member
Current Xbox games will work on Xbox hardware, however OEM Consoles will only support UWP since that is based the PC side of things.
I believe that is already happening as MS has said on many occasions that all future xbox machines will run every game the xbox one does.
 

VAL0R

Banned
I don't understand the endgame. Are console gamers still footing the bill with Xbox live and if so what are the benifits for console gamers? Cause if you can just play anything from xbox consoles on pc without paying for live & it's services like playing online they are just basically killing Xbox Live! I'm all for the Xbox being able to play pc drm free games on consoles as long it benifits the Xbox Live customer.

XBOX Game Pass will include XBL and will be mandatory for XBOX online services?
 

Hari Seldon

Member
No one on PC will pay for Xbox live. This service seems useless unless you are already paying for it, which means you already own an Xbox. I must be missing the point here.
 

xStoyax

Banned
No because that's a pre UWP game. While It can be done via Streaming, but it won't be native unless it's converted into UWP.

In the article you linked the last paragraph says "The result of these important changes (which are coming since we know that the console is based on the x86 architecture) will take us to a world where Xbox One X can receive additional devices such as mouse and keyboard without the need for dedicated applications, since basically console will have a Windows 10 very similar to that of our computers, which will be responsible for installing the corresponding drivers, and on the other hand, will dramatically expand the Xbox Play Anywhere program, removing the current limitations and allowing 100% of the console catalog to be available for computers."

If current Xbox consoles can play older 360 games, why couldn't PCs? And any idea why the author believes it means 100% of the catalog is coming to PC?
 

Xmengrey

Member
In the article you linked the last paragraph says "The result of these important changes (which are coming since we know that the console is based on the x86 architecture) will take us to a world where Xbox One X can receive additional devices such as mouse and keyboard without the need for dedicated applications, since basically console will have a Windows 10 very similar to that of our computers, which will be responsible for installing the corresponding drivers, and on the other hand, will dramatically expand the Xbox Play Anywhere program, removing the current limitations and allowing 100% of the console catalog to be available for computers."

If current Xbox consoles can play older 360 games, why couldn't PCs? And any idea why the author believes it means 100% of the catalog is coming to PC?


I think those games should be playable on PC as well they are converted to the UWP Xbox format

Unlike the emulation of original Xbox games on the Xbox 360, the Xbox One does not require game modification, since it emulates an exact replica of its predecessor's environment – both hardware and software operating systems.[16][17] The downloaded game is a repackaged version of the original that identifies itself as an Xbox One title to the console.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_backward_compatible_games_for_Xbox_One


"Yes."

Straight to the point. Exciting! But also: we wanted more. Thankfully, after letting that affirmative hang in the air for a few moments, Spencer elaborated.
"I want people to be able to play games!" he said. "[Emulation] is hard. [Xbox] 360 specifically is a PowerPC chip, emulated to x86, which is difficult. It's a little bit easier when you have a fixed spec, when you think about Xbox, Xbox One S, and Xbox One X. And you think of the variable specs of the PC space, so you're taking a fixed-spec PowerPC emulator and then moving it over to run on PC, so there's a lot of work there.

https://www.pcgamer.com/phil-spence...s-compatibility-and-xbox-play-anywhere-to-pc/
 
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Spukc

always chasing the next thrill
Just put windows 10 on my x
So i can f around with emulators.

Thank you
 

cryptoadam

Banned
I think the big deal will be if Gamepass works on PC. If they can have gamepass work 100% on PC, and your PC boots up into the XBOX UI then that will be the game changer.

And honestly I think that is the future MS is going for. I think they would prefer to get out of the hardware space (its a huge sunk cost) and get into the service space. Thats also why they probably mentioned streaming at E3.

Ideal future for XBOX is you subscribe to gamepass and can stream it to a low power chromecast/firestick style device, or buy a powerful windows PC and download your games for 8K 120 FPS glorious gaming.
 

joe_zazen

Member
I don't understand the endgame. Are console gamers still footing the bill with Xbox live and if so what are the benifits for console gamers? Cause if you can just play anything from xbox consoles on pc without paying for live & it's services like playing online they are just basically killing Xbox Live! I'm all for the Xbox being able to play pc drm free games on consoles as long it benifits the Xbox Live customer.

Turn windows store into the defacto software store for windows like Android and iOS have their dominate stores. It will have to be done with carrots and not sticks & getting rid of xbox live fees is a nice carrot. The 30% from getting folks seeing the windows store as the only safe place to buy software that will work on all hardware will more than makeup for any losses.

Win32 is being deprecated and uwp is not going to be open and wild like before. I think it will be a few years yet though before things like emulators, piracy, and steam disappear though the process is definately under way.
 

joe_zazen

Member
I think the big deal will be if Gamepass works on PC. If they can have gamepass work 100% on PC, and your PC boots up into the XBOX UI then that will be the game changer.

And honestly I think that is the future MS is going for. I think they would prefer to get out of the hardware space (its a huge sunk cost) and get into the service space. Thats also why they probably mentioned streaming at E3.

Ideal future for XBOX is you subscribe to gamepass and can stream it to a low power chromecast/firestick style device, or buy a powerful windows PC and download your games for 8K 120 FPS glorious gaming.

There is some interesting work being down on predicting player inputs. It might get to the point where the game knows what you are going to do before you do, which means lag disappears. Of course, it might cause some existential anxiety for those who believe in free will.
 

Skyn3t

Banned
I'd rather stick with the console form factor (love my Xbox One X), but building a custom PC with the ability to boot straight to Xbox UI sounds like a dream come true for powerusers. Damn, would build such a machine just to experience constant 60 fps gameplay.
 

Xmengrey

Member
I hope this comes earlier rather than later

I mean Windows Core OS being this
Able to play all the Xbox One titles on my Windows 10 PC
I hope this comes out sooner rather than later like March 2019 so I can play KH3 on my Windows 10 PC and wait until Square actually makes a Steam version for it.
 

AlanAwake

Member
Win32 is being deprecated and uwp is not going to be open and wild like before. I think it will be a few years yet though before things like emulators, piracy, and steam disappear though the process is definately under way.

This is nonsense. Both gamers and business are rejecting UWP because of it's closed nature. No one wants to use the Windows Store unless they really have to. Win32 isn't going away and Steam is NOT gonna disappear. In fact Steam is getting millions of new users each month.
 

Xmengrey

Member
xCloud, Xbox UI on PC that apparently can play the entire Xbox One library at least according to one article, and then consoles so the entire Xbox ecosystem will be everywhere.
 

dirthead

Banned
Turn windows store into the defacto software store for windows like Android and iOS have their dominate stores. It will have to be done with carrots and not sticks & getting rid of xbox live fees is a nice carrot. The 30% from getting folks seeing the windows store as the only safe place to buy software that will work on all hardware will more than makeup for any losses.

Win32 is being deprecated and uwp is not going to be open and wild like before. I think it will be a few years yet though before things like emulators, piracy, and steam disappear though the process is definately under way.

Oh please. That isn't a carrot. PC gamers already EXPECT to not have monthly fees. Further, UWP is built ON win32. How can win32 be deprecated when it's still the backbone of all software in Windows?

It's more accurate to say that Microsoft would prefer for people to make UWP dog shit so that they can get their % cut on the store instead of Valve.

Really, all it's going to take for Microsoft to lose everything is to piss people off a bit too much or do something a bit too stupid. If they really were to try to kill win32, that's basically the end of Windows. At that point, you might as well switch to Linux since you're getting fucked on compatibility anyway. I think Microsoft is smart enough to recognize this, but who knows?
 

Gamezone

Gold Member
Any news on this since the article was posted?

Even if they did this, they still haven`t pushed third party to their store. I can`t imagine they would be doing this only to support their first party games.
 

Shifty

Member
Any news on this since the article was posted?
No, because the most exciting sentence in the OP (and the one everyone appears to have latched onto) is anecdotal speculation extrapolated from the following throw-away line:

Windows Central said:
Windows CShell – With the same kernel, a flexible core, and unified app platform, the last piece is the shell – or UI – that itself adapts to the screen. Taking the idea of Continuum to the OS level, CShell lets devices adjust their UIs for different tasks and experiences. A foldable mobile device would be able to scale between a phone-based UI and a tablet-based UI, and even extend into a desktop mode via Continuum, for example. Or, a Windows 10 PC could take on the Xbox UI when in gaming mode.

Emphasis on 'could', not 'will'. Until Microsoft announces that this stuff is a thing, it's not a thing.
 
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Alexios

Cores, shaders and BIOS oh my!
Emphasis on 'could', not 'will'. Until Microsoft announces that this stuff is a thing, it's not a thing.
Oh goodie, the title scared me, I thought we're in for another big update that will break as much shit as it wants to add or fix, a whole new interface would be a pretty big undertaking and likely bring issues.
 
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Pagusas

Elden Member
How is this any different than Big Picture mode already in Steam? And the current Xbox UI is fricken horrible, why would anyone want that?
 

Fuz

Banned
I'm really afraid they just want to get to a closed, very controlled game ecosystem on Windows. Wich would be terrible for us consumers.
 

Shifty

Member
Oh goodie, the title scared me, I thought we're in for another big update that will break as much shit as it wants to add or fix, a whole new interface would be a pretty big undertaking and likely bring issues.
Honestly I'm surprised the idea got as much play as it did. Everyone too busy going "ZOMG WOW" to actually verify that the claims being made are accurate.

I'm really afraid they just want to get to a closed, very controlled game ecosystem on Windows. Wich would be terrible for us consumers.
Same as every other publisher. I feel like UWP and the windows store were their big chance, but they bungled them hard enough that we got a continued reprieve from the attempts at establishing a walled garden.

MS absolutely has the infrastructure to pull off such a thing, but hearts and minds are the real hurdle.
 
I want this to happen badly but I don't think it will any time soon. It took them most of the console generation to implement KB/M on the Xbone. If I can replace a the big old Xbone under my TV with an empty space I'd be happy.

The Xbox OS on PC is as easy to use as Steam. You can launch games from it, it already incorporates what you're doing on steam. The problem is the store isn't built into it, you get directed to a mess of an online store. While they have started fixing it, it's still not a user friendly site compared to a well planned website.
 

Gamezone

Gold Member
I want this to happen badly but I don't think it will any time soon. It took them most of the console generation to implement KB/M on the Xbone. If I can replace a the big old Xbone under my TV with an empty space I'd be happy.

The Xbox OS on PC is as easy to use as Steam. You can launch games from it, it already incorporates what you're doing on steam. The problem is the store isn't built into it, you get directed to a mess of an online store. While they have started fixing it, it's still not a user friendly site compared to a well planned website.

It might still happen. Game Pass for PC is coming.
 

AgentP

Thinks mods influence posters politics. Promoted to QAnon Editor.
So a shitty XB UI slapped on top of a shitty Win 10 UI for gaming? I'll pass.
 

Xmengrey

Member
It might still happen. Game Pass for PC is coming.
Maybe that's what the GameCore is the Xbox Scarlett composer in Windows Core OS that the Xbox Scarlett will use.

So maybe this Game Core will allow for Xbox One titles and Xbox Scarlett titles to be played on Windows 10
When though we don't know I hope it's soon though like sometime in 2019


Just from this article

The consoles are also reported to support ‘Game Core', which is a part of Microsoft's platform-agnostic ‘Windows Core OS'. Game Core should help make the next generation of consoles backwards compatible with supported Xbox games of all previous generations, and will also pave the future of having the same games playable on Windows as well as Xbox consoles going forward. Of course, all this is just speculation at this point, and we'll have to wait and watch how much of this actually comes to fruition

https://gadgets.ndtv.com/games/news...odenamed-anaconda-and-lockhart-report-1965075

Hopefully this means you can all Xbox One titles maybe minus the kinect ones on your PC like Kingdom Hearts III, Halo 4, and Rare Replay, and Panzer Dragoon Orta
 
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frogger

Member
Imagine a console that can play xbox games and boot windows (steam), how are they going to prevent piracy?
 

dirthead

Banned
Personally I enjoy being able to play my games on the couch. The idea of mouse and keyboard for consoles will completely defeat the purpose of having a console in my opinion.

Choices defeats the purpose of having a console? It's not like you can't choose which inputs to use on a PC, so why couldn't you choose which inputs to use on a console?
 

Fahdis

Member
oh boy I would love to play the Xbox One X Enhanced version of Kingdom Hearts 3 on my PC

Not to curb your enthusiasm but that's not how PC's work. It will literally just be a storefront game; that is IF KH3 comes to Steam, for example, it will probably be optimized for PC (then the Xbox Version becomes inferior unless that has specific options for PC then go Ham).

Personally I enjoy being able to play my games on the couch. The idea of mouse and keyboard for consoles will completely defeat the purpose of having a console in my opinion.

Steam has native controller support as an example for both Xbox and Playstation controllers. PC gives you options and doesn't take away.
 
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