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Phil Spencer: Game Streaming Becoming Mainstream Is

SystemSystem Member UncommonPosts: 12,599
edited August 2019 in News & Features Discussion

imagePhil Spencer: Game Streaming Becoming Mainstream Is

Speaking with GameSpot (via VG247), Xbox head Phil Spencer gave his thoughts on game streaming becoming mainstream.

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Comments

  • skakrukskakruk Member UncommonPosts: 46
    edited August 2019
    10 years away, and I'll still be on dial-up.
    Scotdragonlee66
  • AlbatroesAlbatroes Member LegendaryPosts: 7,671
    This will be as successful as VR
  • AeanderAeander Member LegendaryPosts: 7,820
    Inevitable, but only after Comcast, Time Warner, AT&T, etc. all go under.
    infomatz
  • WhiteLanternWhiteLantern Member RarePosts: 3,306

    Aeander said:

    Inevitable, but only after Comcast, Time Warner, AT&T, etc. all go under.



    So....not inevitable.

    I want a mmorpg where people have gone through misery, have gone through school stuff and actually have had sex even. -sagil

  • TheDarkrayneTheDarkrayne Member EpicPosts: 5,297
    I hope it never becomes the preferred method for gaming. One of my fears is that Steam or other platforms disappear one day and I can't go back and play some classics in the future.

    Right now, if that happened it wouldn't be the end of the world because there's other ways get most of the games if you you have no other option but if most games become exclusive to streaming then that option will probably go away.

    Live service and online only games have this problem too. Something like Diablo 3, on PC, will be completely gone if Blizzard ever take it off Battlenet.
    Asm0deusrojoArcueidgastovski1infomatz
    I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it.
  • CelciusCelcius Member RarePosts: 1,865
    edited August 2019

    Aeander said:

    Inevitable, but only after Comcast, Time Warner, AT&T, etc. all go under.



    Not until they adapt anyways, which will be a loong time. We are talking like 5-10 years easily. Data caps have to be raised to insanely high levels or removed entirely. The only way they will do this is if their streaming services start requiring this level of data. So basically, when like...8k is standard for streaming video. (Which means 4k needs to become standard)

    OP: I do agree with Phil here. Right now streaming games is a bit more of a gimmick; even VR isn't as bad in that way. Also, Google Stadia = Dead on...well, it is dead now. They don't even have to launch it.
  • vegetableoilvegetableoil Member RarePosts: 768
    in 20 years? I think AI will play the game and stream it, while we just watch. It's already taking most job anyway. I mean in japan they create ai robot that claims to be a god while preaching.
    Palebane
  • GutlardGutlard Member RarePosts: 1,019
    Yeah, until we figure out IP's and data caps and high speed availability and all that stuff I don't see it working.

    Streaming one HD game would eat up all my data for the month in a few hours or less....no bueno.

    Gut Out!
    Palebaneinfomatz

    What, me worry?

  • IselinIselin Member LegendaryPosts: 18,719
    I think it's kind of funny that while the industry goes gaga over multiplayer games as a service, all this work is going into creating a different kind of service where those multiplayer games struggle due to the low latency required to play those types of games adequately.

    Who will win? :)
    "Social media gives legions of idiots the right to speak when they once only spoke at a bar after a glass of wine, without harming the community ... but now they have the same right to speak as a Nobel Prize winner. It's the invasion of the idiots”

    ― Umberto Eco

    “Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?” 
    ― CD PROJEKT RED

  • nyxiumnyxium Member UncommonPosts: 1,345
    If Stadia divebombs it could be the biggest Fail that Google will never forget.
  • vegetableoilvegetableoil Member RarePosts: 768
    Iselin said:
    I think it's kind of funny that while the industry goes gaga over multiplayer games as a service, all this work is going into creating a different kind of service where those multiplayer games struggle due to the low latency required to play those types of games adequately.

    Who will win? :)

    I was looking at stadia, the plans is for customer to pay monthly fees, then pay full price for the game, but looking at the current trend I won't be surprised they have microtransaction inside the game, with limited bandwidth I don't even think the model makes sense.

  • IselinIselin Member LegendaryPosts: 18,719
    nyxium said:
    If Stadia divebombs it could be the biggest Fail that Google will never forget.
    Glassholes out there would beg to differ... and will vid you while they're at it :)

    Google is big enough that they can try all kinds of crazy shit, fail at it, and keep right on trucking.
    [Deleted User]infomatz
    "Social media gives legions of idiots the right to speak when they once only spoke at a bar after a glass of wine, without harming the community ... but now they have the same right to speak as a Nobel Prize winner. It's the invasion of the idiots”

    ― Umberto Eco

    “Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?” 
    ― CD PROJEKT RED

  • AeanderAeander Member LegendaryPosts: 7,820
    nyxium said:
    If Stadia divebombs it could be the biggest Fail that Google will never forget.
    WHEN Stadia divebombs, Google will forget it within a year.
    CelciusrojoArcueidTacticalZombeh
  • boris20boris20 Member RarePosts: 404
    It will happen, but being held back by internet speeds currently. Let 5G get settled into the majority of the U.S. and along with it faster speeds to peoples homes. It will slowly take over just like Redbox took down Blockbuster, and Netflix/streaming is taking down Redbox. 

  • ScotScot Member LegendaryPosts: 22,824
    I can't see what advantages game streaming has? What's the big deal?
  • vegetableoilvegetableoil Member RarePosts: 768
    boris20 said:
    It will happen, but being held back by internet speeds currently. Let 5G get settled into the majority of the U.S. and along with it faster speeds to peoples homes. It will slowly take over just like Redbox took down Blockbuster, and Netflix/streaming is taking down Redbox. 

    There are no 5G in the states period, they do not have the tech. AT&T 5G is a fake, it's actually 4GLTE. the fastest estimated completion of R&D for 5G in the states is 2025, unless they use China's 5G from Huawei, which is not going to happen.

  • unkkutunkkut Member UncommonPosts: 36
    @scot Depends on the user.
  • IselinIselin Member LegendaryPosts: 18,719
    edited August 2019
    Scot said:
    I can't see what advantages game streaming has? What's the big deal?
    For you and me and most serious gamers it isn't a big deal at all. For casuals or new gamers it's instant access to start playing with no need to DL or install anything.
    Scot
    "Social media gives legions of idiots the right to speak when they once only spoke at a bar after a glass of wine, without harming the community ... but now they have the same right to speak as a Nobel Prize winner. It's the invasion of the idiots”

    ― Umberto Eco

    “Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?” 
    ― CD PROJEKT RED

  • AlverantAlverant Member RarePosts: 1,319
    Those 10-year predictions rarely/never pan out because there's always some unforeseen hurdle that keeps it from happening. Or in this case, a seen hurdle of people wanting to own their games instead of paying full price for a license that can vanish at any moment.
    Palebane
  • UtinniUtinni Member EpicPosts: 2,209
    This guy has a vested interest in it not happening. 
    WhiteLantern
  • SlyLoKSlyLoK Member RarePosts: 2,698
    Microsoft knows this which is why they are trying to push broadband into rural areas that do not have it. The more people that have the required connection the more people that may want to try it.
  • rojoArcueidrojoArcueid Member EpicPosts: 10,722
    edited August 2019
    Torval said:
    It sounds like Mr. Spencer is setting realistic expectations for the tech. This is what the VR guys should have done.

    Ten years isn't that long. Look at how much VR gaming has improved in the last 3 years and where it's going. It took a few years to stack up some AAA titles and now it's picking up steam.
    I'm actually surprised VR is still going. Sony killed the PS Vita because it only sold 15+ million units world wide. If i'm not mistaken PSVR is still leading in global sales and it's sold less than 5 million units (as of march 2019). I see Sony's decision makers as massive hypocrites for that reason alone.




  • CelciusCelcius Member RarePosts: 1,865
    Alverant said:
    Those 10-year predictions rarely/never pan out because there's always some unforeseen hurdle that keeps it from happening. Or in this case, a seen hurdle of people wanting to own their games instead of paying full price for a license that can vanish at any moment.
    Tbf, most games already work this way. Every game on Steam is just a license. You don't own the game. I think it is much more about just being able to reliably play your games years from now rather then game ownership; as much as people whine about game ownership...if game ownership was such a big deal to people digital would not be overtaking physical sales like it is.
  • QuizzicalQuizzical Member LegendaryPosts: 25,347
    Scot said:
    I can't see what advantages game streaming has? What's the big deal?
    It is a perfect form of uncrackable DRM.  That you don't think of that as an advantage doesn't mean that there aren't others who do.

    It completely solves the technical side of incompatibility problems.  Play any game on any device running any OS, at least if the game streaming service can get a legal license to run the game.  Which means that it doesn't actually solve most real-world incompatibility problems.

    Decide that you want to play a game and start playing it within seconds, without having to wait for a lengthy download.  Of course, you'll burn through more bandwidth in the first hour than that lengthy download would have taken, but this really is a killer feature for those who like to play a game for two minutes and then quit.

    Play demanding games without needing a high-powered gaming computer.  It will cost you a lot more in the long run than just buying a gaming computer, but it may appeal to the sort of people who patronize payday loans or rent-to-own furniture shops and run large credit card balances for years, as it lets you get more what you want with less money up front, even if it will cost you a lot more down the road.  It could also work well for people who play games very little.

    Of course, there are also drawbacks.  For starters, it's a thin client and will work like a thin client.  If you've had the misfortune of being forced to use a thin client at some point in your life, that means exactly what you think it does.  If not, that means that it will work badly.

    Another problem is that flops are cheap, but bandwidth is expensive.  Playing a game by streaming it is intrinsically much more expensive than running it locally.  There are a variety of revenue models that could be used, but costs of doing business are always passed on to the customer one way or another.

    A third problem is that licensing is likely to be a problem.  Google can't just arbitrarily decide to offer every PC, Xbox, PlayStation, NES, and Genesis game ever made, even if it could technically be made to work.  Expect to have to pay a lot of money to a streaming service to go this route even though it doesn't offer most of the games that you actually want to play.

    Both the "works badly" and "is expensive" problems will become less bad with time, as they make it work better for cheaper.  But running games locally will get a lot better, too, and there's always going to be a considerable gap on both counts between game streaming and running it locally, unless it becomes so widespread as for game rendering farms that you can connect to to be as ubiquitous as cell towers are today.
    acidbloodPalebaneScotSpottyGekko
  • QuizzicalQuizzical Member LegendaryPosts: 25,347
    I think that part of the rush to game streaming is that if it does catch on, there's likely to be an enormous first mover advantage.  Suppose that a decade from now, you play a lot of games via game streaming.  There's one particular service that you use, and you've bought quite a few games on it.  Another game streaming service comes along that is better in every way, except that the games you've already bought won't transfer.  To switch to the other service, you'd have to re-purchase a bunch of games and start over, as you'd lose your saved games, your characters, your accounts, or whatever.  Do you switch?

    Companies realize that if game streaming catches on, this will happen to a huge degree.  They want to be the first game streaming service that you stick with because it's where your game library is, not the one that can't get you to switch even by offering a better service for less money.

    I think that there's also a considerable effect of corporate types who aren't gamers being used to thin clients in a corporate environment and not realizing that games are much harder to stream well.  Thin clients can be made to work fine for high up executives who don't actually do anything demanding on a computer, so why shouldn't they work fine for everyone else?
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