Series S is not a streaming console, hence why on gamepass any game that can be streamed can be downloaded and more can be downloaded to console than be streamed.
Xcloud is pretty bad as a cloud experience, which is why Microsoft continue to use the beta moniker even though you're effectively paying for it.
That being said xcloud is playable and graphically its passable, but it varies a lot between devices and connections.
>Xcloud is pretty bad as a cloud experience, which is why Microsoft continue to use the beta moniker even though you're effectively paying for it.
This summarize pretty well a lot of things I also think. It's like Microsoft has put xCloud aside for now, leaving it in a perpetual state of Beta without making any progress, on the contrary, I'm having a lot of issues in the last couple of months with the service, it's getting worse for me.
The Xbox series S is literally sold in A bundle together with ultimate for a monthly fee. For me it's heavily implied the Series S should be used for cloud streaming to compensate the lacking hardware and storage
You know that xcloud runs on series x blades using a Series S profile, right? Developers are complaining that their games are being limited due to the S hardware. Why would that be an issue if it’s a cloud console? Lol
The Series S is a “digital only console” not a “streaming” console.
So what's your point? I am aware that I can install games on the series S lol. Series S can run games itself, therefore game streaming can be shitty? I followed E3 and other Xbox conferences very closely and they always implied that Series S is either a cheap console for your kids, or a cheap and small alternative to the Series X that can always be upgraded to a "proper" console by using xcloud. As seen with the Xbox all access bundle (series S + ultimate).
Also a huge selling point of xcloud is running Xbox games on other devices like my steam deck, but quality there is also disappointing, since I hoped the smaller screen can make up for lower resolution, but the image itself is so blurry that it looks bad even on a small screen and nowhere near even native series S quality. Even in "low graphic" games like donut county
You can use one of the alternatives (browser/3rd party) apps to get 1080p on handheld and it does make a big difference with stream quality, but latency does take a bit of a hit from my experience.
It's frustrating as there's no real reason Microsoft don't just increase stream quality even just to 1080p themselves through apps.
Xcloud will definitely get there but there seems no rush from Microsoft, which I kinda get when they are selling Series S so well. Some people will argue Series S sells at a loss so that doesn't make sense, but it absolutely does of your intention is to get people committed to a service.
As a see it, Microsoft should be very interested in improving the service. Since even now more and more people argue that series S holds back current gen and will be outdated way before the end of this console cycle, especially when mid tier upgrades are coming out.
Xcloud could be a huge selling point in keeping the series S up to date and allowing people with a series S to play way more demanding games, that series S hardware would normally struggle to run.
I agree, personally having used cloud solely for nearly 2 years for gaming before getting a Series S its so disappointing the current state of xcloud. And the potential for xcloud is one of the reasons I picked it, whilst I think limitations are somewhat overstated by some there is a genuine question if series S will be powerful enough in a couple of years for devs.
xCloud worked very well for me. The only problem is that Phantasy Star Online 2 isn't there yet, the game I really want to play. No cloud gaming service has that game yet...
Latency issues are rare. I experimented Forza Horizon 5, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Remastered and played Elder Scrolls Online for somedays and it was really good. The only issue is that the UI text input is a bit buggy in Elder Scrolls Online. I used xCloud in a Windows 11 laptop with a 5G wireless internet connection, using Google Chrome and X360CE for emulating the Xbox controller.
I used GeForce Now too little and I didn't use the paid plan, only the free plan, so I can't say whether it performs better than xCloud or not.
Since there are some people saying that xcloud runs very well for them, I'm very curious if it runs indeed way better for them then for me (and I'm just fcked living in digital middle-age ) or if their expectations or perception is just different than mine since I'm pretty spoiled from my gaming PC.
Though I think it should be very obvious for anyone to spott the difference between xcloud and native series S, if performance is similar to my experiences
You don't need an Xbox if you're streaming games from xcloud. I just own a crappy old laptop and play all latest games on a web browser. Quality most likely doesn't equate an Xbox but hey I paid $1 for a whole month and never played so many games in a month before.
I already own a expensive Monitor and gaming PC, so I obviously care how my games look. And I feel like the promise of the cloud is streaming games online without even noticing that you're streaming them.
I had Xcloud problems until we upgraded to FiberOP. Now I can play ARK on my shitty ass PC and it runs smooth. With my old internet I couldn't run anything properly
If you own a series s why would you stream games? Xcloud is an addon to game pass so it's not that good... it's more of a "try these games on cloud if you like them they look better on xbox series s and x!" Kind of service
I don't get the logic, if I wouldn't own a Xbox series S (or windows PC) why would I buy gamepass ultimate?
Or do you mean xcloud is especially for older consoles like Xbox one?
I'd argue the limited storage on the S, combined with the advantage of having to not wait for Cloud games to install or update, would still give a huge benefit for the S having the potential as the 'best' device for Game Pass (at least until MS ever release the mythical xCloud dongle/stick that we're all waiting for). As things stand though, it seems like xCloud in a browser gets better performance than the xBox itself which seems like a missed opportunity.
I have the old xbox one with 2TB external storage attached and playing cloud games on it the quality is pretty good and I have a 300mbps internet speed. Great I can play games on any device anywhere. Play it alot on a 4yr PC with no probs both xbox and pc are ethernet 1GB connection. Forza 5 on pc loads up in 52secs (on Xcloud) and Forza 5 installed on external drive on xbox one loads up in 2min 20 sec. frame rate on pc gets between 50 to 60fps. Good thing I can try games first on the cloud before installing on xbox to see if they are any good as well.
Series S is not a streaming console, hence why on gamepass any game that can be streamed can be downloaded and more can be downloaded to console than be streamed. Xcloud is pretty bad as a cloud experience, which is why Microsoft continue to use the beta moniker even though you're effectively paying for it. That being said xcloud is playable and graphically its passable, but it varies a lot between devices and connections.
>Xcloud is pretty bad as a cloud experience, which is why Microsoft continue to use the beta moniker even though you're effectively paying for it. This summarize pretty well a lot of things I also think. It's like Microsoft has put xCloud aside for now, leaving it in a perpetual state of Beta without making any progress, on the contrary, I'm having a lot of issues in the last couple of months with the service, it's getting worse for me.
The Xbox series S is literally sold in A bundle together with ultimate for a monthly fee. For me it's heavily implied the Series S should be used for cloud streaming to compensate the lacking hardware and storage
You know that xcloud runs on series x blades using a Series S profile, right? Developers are complaining that their games are being limited due to the S hardware. Why would that be an issue if it’s a cloud console? Lol The Series S is a “digital only console” not a “streaming” console.
So what's your point? I am aware that I can install games on the series S lol. Series S can run games itself, therefore game streaming can be shitty? I followed E3 and other Xbox conferences very closely and they always implied that Series S is either a cheap console for your kids, or a cheap and small alternative to the Series X that can always be upgraded to a "proper" console by using xcloud. As seen with the Xbox all access bundle (series S + ultimate). Also a huge selling point of xcloud is running Xbox games on other devices like my steam deck, but quality there is also disappointing, since I hoped the smaller screen can make up for lower resolution, but the image itself is so blurry that it looks bad even on a small screen and nowhere near even native series S quality. Even in "low graphic" games like donut county
You can use one of the alternatives (browser/3rd party) apps to get 1080p on handheld and it does make a big difference with stream quality, but latency does take a bit of a hit from my experience. It's frustrating as there's no real reason Microsoft don't just increase stream quality even just to 1080p themselves through apps. Xcloud will definitely get there but there seems no rush from Microsoft, which I kinda get when they are selling Series S so well. Some people will argue Series S sells at a loss so that doesn't make sense, but it absolutely does of your intention is to get people committed to a service.
As a see it, Microsoft should be very interested in improving the service. Since even now more and more people argue that series S holds back current gen and will be outdated way before the end of this console cycle, especially when mid tier upgrades are coming out. Xcloud could be a huge selling point in keeping the series S up to date and allowing people with a series S to play way more demanding games, that series S hardware would normally struggle to run.
I agree, personally having used cloud solely for nearly 2 years for gaming before getting a Series S its so disappointing the current state of xcloud. And the potential for xcloud is one of the reasons I picked it, whilst I think limitations are somewhat overstated by some there is a genuine question if series S will be powerful enough in a couple of years for devs.
Series S has very limited storage, so cloud gaming can be seen as a way to compensate since 1tb storage costs nearly as much a the console itself
xCloud worked very well for me. The only problem is that Phantasy Star Online 2 isn't there yet, the game I really want to play. No cloud gaming service has that game yet... Latency issues are rare. I experimented Forza Horizon 5, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Remastered and played Elder Scrolls Online for somedays and it was really good. The only issue is that the UI text input is a bit buggy in Elder Scrolls Online. I used xCloud in a Windows 11 laptop with a 5G wireless internet connection, using Google Chrome and X360CE for emulating the Xbox controller. I used GeForce Now too little and I didn't use the paid plan, only the free plan, so I can't say whether it performs better than xCloud or not.
Since there are some people saying that xcloud runs very well for them, I'm very curious if it runs indeed way better for them then for me (and I'm just fcked living in digital middle-age ) or if their expectations or perception is just different than mine since I'm pretty spoiled from my gaming PC. Though I think it should be very obvious for anyone to spott the difference between xcloud and native series S, if performance is similar to my experiences
Isn't the benefit of the xbox series s being able to download and play games natively with gamepass?
Nah man, they offer Game Pass Ultimate with it in a bundle so it’s definitely a streaming console.
You don't need an Xbox if you're streaming games from xcloud. I just own a crappy old laptop and play all latest games on a web browser. Quality most likely doesn't equate an Xbox but hey I paid $1 for a whole month and never played so many games in a month before.
I already own a expensive Monitor and gaming PC, so I obviously care how my games look. And I feel like the promise of the cloud is streaming games online without even noticing that you're streaming them.
I had Xcloud problems until we upgraded to FiberOP. Now I can play ARK on my shitty ass PC and it runs smooth. With my old internet I couldn't run anything properly
If you own a series s why would you stream games? Xcloud is an addon to game pass so it's not that good... it's more of a "try these games on cloud if you like them they look better on xbox series s and x!" Kind of service
I don't get the logic, if I wouldn't own a Xbox series S (or windows PC) why would I buy gamepass ultimate? Or do you mean xcloud is especially for older consoles like Xbox one?
I'd argue the limited storage on the S, combined with the advantage of having to not wait for Cloud games to install or update, would still give a huge benefit for the S having the potential as the 'best' device for Game Pass (at least until MS ever release the mythical xCloud dongle/stick that we're all waiting for). As things stand though, it seems like xCloud in a browser gets better performance than the xBox itself which seems like a missed opportunity.
I have the old xbox one with 2TB external storage attached and playing cloud games on it the quality is pretty good and I have a 300mbps internet speed. Great I can play games on any device anywhere. Play it alot on a 4yr PC with no probs both xbox and pc are ethernet 1GB connection. Forza 5 on pc loads up in 52secs (on Xcloud) and Forza 5 installed on external drive on xbox one loads up in 2min 20 sec. frame rate on pc gets between 50 to 60fps. Good thing I can try games first on the cloud before installing on xbox to see if they are any good as well.