- Jul 24, 2018
Microsoft is Building Low Cost, Streaming Only Xbox
In June 2018, at the Electronic Entertainment Expo, it was reported that Microsoft was building a cloud gaming system. A recent report suggested the system is Scarlett Cloud and that is only a part of Microsoft's upgraded version of Xbox.
As per a post on Thurrott.com, Xbox will be launched in two different types. The first one will be the typical gaming console where each game will have to be processed locally, like in other gaming systems right now. However, the other one will be a low powered system which is capable of streaming games from the cloud, most probably the Microsoft's Azure cloud.
Microsoft's new streaming system will still retain some of its processing power. This is part to counter latency traditionally associated with streaming games. Only part of the game will run locally, rest will be streamed on the cloud.
The streaming Xbox will be sold at a much cheaper price as compared to traditional Xbox. Microsoft has always sold Xbox systems with a very slim profit margin.
Online game streaming has been done by a few other companies in the past as well. 'Onlive' was one of the companies at the very start, however, it was successful and running only for a short period of time. It is important to note that it made sales amounting to $4.8 million in 2012.
As you may be aware, Sony offers an extensive games library for its PS2, PS3, and PS4 users. Another player in the market, Nvidia got into the streaming game very recently, in 2018.
Microsoft is the only company that actually has global cloud computing, unlike Sony and Nintendo. If Microsoft's streaming game is a success as anticipated, it may change the landscape and force competitors to reevaluate almost everything.
Read more at techcrunch.com