Not to be left in the dust, Microsoft is reportedly in the process of developing its very own cloud gaming service that would allow it to stream games over the Internet to various devices.
The Verge reports the service was demonstrated internally at Microsoft this week using Halo 4. The Xbox 360 FPS was shown running on a PC and a Windows Phone (connected to an Xbox 360 controller), and was said to be running "smoothly" on both. Latency on a Lumia 520 -- a low-end Windows Phone 8 device from recent Microsoft acquisition Nokia -- is a mere 45ms, according to sources.
The purpose of the service, which is currently only a prototype and without an official name, would be to stream games to Windows devices. It could also be used to provide the backwards compatibility on Xbox One that Microsoft recently talked about potentially offering.
Microsoft has already very publicly made the case for the Xbox One's cloud-powered capabilities, with games like Titanfall and Forza 5 making use of the Azure cloud service. Before now, though, Microsoft had primarily positioned the gaming application of Azure as a means of augmenting games, rather than being the means through which they are delivered.
Since acquiring Gaikai*last year, Sony has made it clear the service will be integrated with PlayStation 4 in order to allow, among other things, games to be tried without any downloads and backwards compatibility -- the latter of which Sony says is coming next year.
What sort of uses for a Microsoft cloud gaming service would you like to see? Streaming Xbox 360 games on Xbox One? Xbox One games that can be played on your phone or PC? Let us know in the comments, and stay tuned to IGN for the latest as we learn more about the in-development service.
Chris Pereira is a freelance writer who is very impatient and, as a result, is heavily in favor of streaming demos. Check out what he's saying on Twitter and follow him on IGN.
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The Verge reports the service was demonstrated internally at Microsoft this week using Halo 4. The Xbox 360 FPS was shown running on a PC and a Windows Phone (connected to an Xbox 360 controller), and was said to be running "smoothly" on both. Latency on a Lumia 520 -- a low-end Windows Phone 8 device from recent Microsoft acquisition Nokia -- is a mere 45ms, according to sources.
The purpose of the service, which is currently only a prototype and without an official name, would be to stream games to Windows devices. It could also be used to provide the backwards compatibility on Xbox One that Microsoft recently talked about potentially offering.
Microsoft has already very publicly made the case for the Xbox One's cloud-powered capabilities, with games like Titanfall and Forza 5 making use of the Azure cloud service. Before now, though, Microsoft had primarily positioned the gaming application of Azure as a means of augmenting games, rather than being the means through which they are delivered.
Since acquiring Gaikai*last year, Sony has made it clear the service will be integrated with PlayStation 4 in order to allow, among other things, games to be tried without any downloads and backwards compatibility -- the latter of which Sony says is coming next year.
What sort of uses for a Microsoft cloud gaming service would you like to see? Streaming Xbox 360 games on Xbox One? Xbox One games that can be played on your phone or PC? Let us know in the comments, and stay tuned to IGN for the latest as we learn more about the in-development service.
Chris Pereira is a freelance writer who is very impatient and, as a result, is heavily in favor of streaming demos. Check out what he's saying on Twitter and follow him on IGN.
More...
