CNET
My impressions of Microsoft xCloud after one week of use
After a week with the Project xCloud beta, Jeff Bakalar has first impressions on Microsoft’s game-streaming service and thoughts on how it compares to Google’s Stadia. You can buy Xbox Game Pass Ultimate here… Microsoft: *CNET may get a commission from this offer.
kiiingsimba
August 27, 2020 at 4:42 pm
I side loaded the beta app to my Nvidia shield tv and its been working great. def some pixel issues but I expected that. very little input lag and no extra steps to get full Nvidia shield game controller to work. the only downside is that the mobile library is very limited but full 100+ games support for mobile on sep 15th
Anthony R
August 27, 2020 at 4:45 pm
Signed up for stadia after watching this video then found out it’s not supported on my brand new iPhone 11. I would have spent a lot of money on stadia but had to cancel instead. I wanted to play games on my phone
Jitendra Singh
August 27, 2020 at 11:10 pm
Stop getting iphones if you are a real gamer. Apple is killing the game space
Joshua James
August 27, 2020 at 4:48 pm
All those games will be replaced on September 15th to what is in the actual library for game pass on console.
TheDecree93
August 27, 2020 at 4:50 pm
Good review
DRACO93x12
August 27, 2020 at 4:51 pm
All this is coming from a Devil’s Fan so idk…. J/K. Maybe 5G will be the latency drop that these cloud gaming services will need to take off.
Kevin Dunlap
August 27, 2020 at 4:53 pm
Been playing Stadia since it launched and have next to no issues with it other than the library size which is growing. I normally play wireless and it has pixelation on rare occasions for me.
the black med1
August 27, 2020 at 4:53 pm
I’m playing Xcloud for 2 days it is garbage for lte and for 7 people in the house wifi
TheCrazyOutdoors
August 27, 2020 at 5:24 pm
Bru on my internet halo plays seamlessly. And stadia is to much money.
Frank Simser
August 27, 2020 at 6:05 pm
As Microsoft engineers have pointed out several times, the input latency described is in the Bluetooth stack, not the IP traffic (which actually has an added latency in the single digit milliseconds). Using the Kishi or a controller connected directly to the phone with a USB C cable will alter your experience massively.
Nemo Kaz
August 27, 2020 at 10:24 pm
Thanks for pointing this out. Kishi turns xcloud into a legitimately playable experience on par with playing locally imo. I have played halo 2, 3, ODST, 4, and working g my way thru 5 with the kishi and it’s a totally Viable way to experience these games. I even play pvp in halo 5 and don’t feel I’m at a disadvantage due to kishis zero latency.
Frank Simser
August 27, 2020 at 10:57 pm
Nemo Kaz I have the kishi in my bag to play when I’m out of the house and a 1’ USB C cable and the PowerA clip to connect to my Elite Series 2 when I’m at home but not in front of the big screen. I’ve been incredibly impressed by the quality of the service. The experience that convinced me this was viable was Halo 5 arena on an LTE connection (we have 5G in the city but it’s all still LTE out here in the suburbs). The visual quality and third party game availability on Stadia still have me spending a bunch of my time (and money) there, but if Microsoft can increase visual fidelity as they transition to Series X blades, get some big third party titles on gamepass, and nail down console streaming I see myself investing almost entirely in the Xbox ecosystem in this next generation.
ZeroTurn
August 27, 2020 at 6:41 pm
I tried on my Fire TV Cube…. then again it’s not designed to run on that equipment.
Daniele De Caprio
August 27, 2020 at 6:44 pm
My experience is completely opposite… Lag decent on xcloud and stadia unplayable. I feel it will vary massively based on location/ internet connection
Michael Ñaupari
August 27, 2020 at 6:56 pm
sponsor by PS5 where real games are!!
Cross
August 27, 2020 at 6:58 pm
Doesn’t even have 1 gig up and 1 gig down….lol
20prj
August 27, 2020 at 7:09 pm
Use razer kishi there is no latency in button input.
Cancer Called Human Species
August 27, 2020 at 7:53 pm
Chat has left the Apple
Dominic Bradley
August 27, 2020 at 10:00 pm
The Razer Kishi makes xCloud a very smooth experience.
piet hein
August 27, 2020 at 11:10 pm
Coincidentally I played through all of Ori and the will of the wisps on my phone in the beta. I did use a wired Xbox 360 controller, so that might have helped with the latency.
Christian Haffner
August 27, 2020 at 11:55 pm
I’ve been beta testing xCloud and the input latency was off the charts. I shouldn’t have to buy a special controller to lower (not eliminate) input lag. Tech is not there yet.
BOURNE15ive
August 28, 2020 at 6:28 pm
Just because your individual experience was bad doesn’t mean the tech Isn’t there.
Read all the comments around you of people who have also been beta testers and they are all saying the opposite.
You clearly have zero idea as to why input lag happens or the concept of it to be sitting there believing the input lag is the fault of the service.
In all concepts of data and communication based travel, a wired solution is always going do better than wireless.
This is extends to music,
(Wireless Vs Headphone Jack)
Internet (Ethernet Cable vs WiFi router)
and many other forms.
I’ve tested it and it’s brilliant. No issues just like majority of others.
Christian Haffner
August 28, 2020 at 7:50 pm
@BOURNE15ive I have plenty of concept of how input lag works. You can’t tell me to look at all the positive experiences and its just me…there are just as many saying it doesn’t work well. Smh. Also I was trying to keep it short…there is game latency, packet loss issues, server lag …etc etc. Btw I have a fiber network with no other issues on other platforms. I had it running, mirroring my xbox…the controller would move the xbox instantly then half a sec later the phone screen would move.
Maybe for games where input delay isn’t as big of deal, it works fine. For FPS…like I said…it isn’t there yet.
Tony Jenn
August 28, 2020 at 11:30 pm
@Christian Haffner many people have pointed out to possible cause of the latency
Jaha Soto
August 28, 2020 at 12:22 am
Ping is more important to the experience than overal speed
Howard Osborn
August 28, 2020 at 12:31 am
Are there’s a list of the game that are coming out
Nino Santiago
August 28, 2020 at 12:34 am
The fonts are too small for most of the games and I’m using a 6.5” phone 🙁
Carlos De Los Santos
August 28, 2020 at 12:53 am
I need that hat!!!!!
Brandon Taylor
August 28, 2020 at 1:12 am
WHy don’t people talk about/ compare against GeForce Now instead of just vs Stadia. GeForce Now has been doing this for longer and I never (ok, rarely) suffer noticeable lag when playing even on just a decent internet connection.
Gaetano
August 28, 2020 at 4:20 am
I’m a leafs fan but wow, nice hat!
Ricky B
August 28, 2020 at 5:47 am
Would love to see a follow up with a wired game pad or controller.
B Nav
August 28, 2020 at 5:58 am
Stadia works great on my MacBook Pro!
Rytham Nepal
August 28, 2020 at 8:09 am
Its real test will be with series x servers loading from a ssd
Nekminute
August 28, 2020 at 10:46 am
as long as there is latency i wont buy into these services
christian crow
August 28, 2020 at 11:52 am
Xcloud must run on old 2.5 hdd
P X S
August 28, 2020 at 11:57 am
Just a heads up, Streets Of Rage 4 is awesome.
Keith Fitzmaurice
August 28, 2020 at 11:58 am
I am using my Pixel C table for X-cloud for the last few months and only time I get any lag is when connected to 2.4 GHz WiFi networks. I travel a lot for work and this is a game changer for me
gaurav sharma
August 28, 2020 at 1:25 pm
Ahead of its time, will fail unless they adapt, and provide smaller games but better than mobile games..
Jace Brashier
August 28, 2020 at 2:22 pm
Please put it on the switch
OSPerry
August 28, 2020 at 2:47 pm
I played PSN for the first time this Spring to experience Sony’s Spider-man. It was near perfect. No lag, looked great. I wish it had been 1080 instead of 720. My daughter played Project Xcloud and played Just Cause and said it as nearly indistinguishable from the console experience. No lag just a smaller screen.
Vin
August 28, 2020 at 4:27 pm
This dude should have his own channel. I’d subscribe.
Ivan paul
August 28, 2020 at 8:20 pm
Bluetooth latency lmao loser
Brian Reyes
August 28, 2020 at 9:36 pm
This must be the actual gamepass beta I’ve been in xcloud since announcement and there’s more than 39 or whatever many titles you’ve mentioned if u use Razer Kishi or wire a Xbox controller is flawless no lag whatsoever I have a video coming soon to my new channel I can come back here and shameless plug
Niko Love
August 28, 2020 at 10:23 pm
🔥🔥🔥
Anna - Let's Get Acquainted
August 28, 2020 at 10:51 pm
1:28 dreamy
Illusive Badger
August 29, 2020 at 12:44 am
welcome to the new era where you don’t own your video games anymore
Esper Control
August 29, 2020 at 3:42 am
If xcloud doesn’t work then what else will for Microsoft?
ki11ersg 24
August 29, 2020 at 8:59 am
Yeah using a razor kishi helps out but also make sure your connection is good
Monarch
August 29, 2020 at 10:00 am
Consoles cost only 300-400$ with exclusive games & 7-8yra life span. I dont think they can be replaced. Ever easily
T L
August 29, 2020 at 12:17 pm
I’m someone who was an Alpha and Beta tester for xCloud so thought I’d put my input into this. WiFi for me (350/35 ‘low latency gamer broadband’) I experienced a silimar experience to these guys in the video. FPS was a struggle but playable on certain titles.
Moving to using 4g however I could play D2, halo ect very well with Genuinly minimal lag. Still slight lag at times, but I could easily sit for an hour on an fps playing pvp and do fairly well. It’s not perfect, but we need to remember this is early days.
My advice, try using 4g (I’m UK based if that makes any difference, not sure on other country 4g) – xCloud has become my go to on trips out the house for fps games.
The future of using computers / consoles will no doubt be cloud based, and we need to start somewhere. XCloud has been a great experience so far on 4g for me.
Daniel Cook
August 29, 2020 at 1:49 pm
I find Stadia has less lag and overall works better
John T
August 30, 2020 at 2:48 pm
Same
Nishith Joshi
August 29, 2020 at 3:35 pm
STADIA has reached the level where it is almost indistinguishable from native gaming. Xcloud will take more time.
BenzGuy
August 29, 2020 at 10:45 pm
same experience
Marcel Hoskins
August 29, 2020 at 4:32 pm
*My experience*
I think xcloud is a good idea but not as good as Stadia! I’ve had STADIA since March 2020 and there’s no lag for me unlike xcloud. Plus xcloud app interface isn’t interesting to me
Josue Serrano
August 29, 2020 at 8:35 pm
mcfly book detected!
Tyler MacBride
August 30, 2020 at 12:49 am
My kishi kills tha latency and even when I play wireless it’s works flawless for me so that’s where the experience differs. Sorry you dont have a stable experience. It’s awesome when you do.
Talnaus
August 30, 2020 at 1:36 am
What phone did you use to test xcloud?
Carlos Rodriguez
August 30, 2020 at 4:56 am
so what about xbox x???
BXPOLANCONY
August 30, 2020 at 5:20 am
Get the Razer kishi controller no lag plus red magic 5g
Logical Error In Your Life
August 30, 2020 at 7:50 am
Why don’t people mention that you have to buy games in stadia.
Dancing Panda
August 30, 2020 at 11:27 am
I love Stadia!!!
Kenneth Lee
August 30, 2020 at 12:58 pm
Kishi is the key
lilmario0
August 30, 2020 at 1:39 pm
“I only get 200 down and 35 up” … I guess I shouldn’t even bother looking at this with my 60 up looool
GreedGaming 03
August 30, 2020 at 2:20 pm
Halo 5 worked decently for me i feel like with xcloud ita gonna matter were you are in the world
Tyriq White
August 30, 2020 at 4:22 pm
Looking back at how technology has improved in just the last decade, I am so exited to see how far we can get with tech in this decade. It’s going to be fun watching how much internet, 5g and portable hardware(tablets and phones specifically) become powerful. To me this is exciting to see. CHEERS TO ANOTHER DECADE OF TECHNOLOGY🥃.
Julio B
August 30, 2020 at 8:08 pm
Stadia def works better than Xcloud
TriggerSpark
August 30, 2020 at 8:13 pm
And his internet is not he best speeds lol
Nitish Upreti
August 30, 2020 at 8:51 pm
It appears that guy has not fully grasped the difference between Throughput and Latency.
tito llanos
August 30, 2020 at 8:54 pm
I used to have a Wii U and I would love playing COD on it, my brother would play second player on the tv in the living room and I was laying in my room on the game pad. Now if u suck at FPS 🤔
T.A.G
August 30, 2020 at 9:13 pm
Jeff’s always living his best life
Joe Smith
August 30, 2020 at 9:38 pm
If they could master controller+FPS mobile game I would buy it in a heartbeat. But like you said. At the moment it’s unplayable
sladesurfer
August 30, 2020 at 10:05 pm
nvidia shield is soo much better
Mark Dell
August 30, 2020 at 10:22 pm
Love the shirt
steve k
August 30, 2020 at 10:22 pm
Using a USB C wired controller helps with any controller lag.
felton smith
August 31, 2020 at 12:40 am
I noticed it allowed one to download the games, or at least a few of them. Did you try this and did it eliminate the lag?
liquid3600
August 31, 2020 at 12:59 am
I’ve tried the EA streaming service in its beta. I was excited to try some Titanfall 2 but mere moments into the tutorial mission I was in barf city. The swimmy latency seemed like a joke to me. I did try a little bit of Destiny 2 on Stadia when they were doing a free access promotion earlier this year and it DID seem miles ahead of what I saw from EA, but like Jeff said here it was still night and day compared to playing the version I owned on Steam. I see these services as a fun novelty for people to play games while they’re on mobile platforms, but they’re still years (maybe decades?) off from being a viable alternative to playing on local hardware