Scout wrote:

They confirmed it can sit vertically or horizontally.

Fair do's.

poprock wrote:

If Project xCloud is as good as everyone says

It's not. Well... xCloud might well be a very good implementation of 'cloud gaming', it seems like it's had a better reception than Stadia, but at the end of the day you will always have issues with poor input latency compared to running a game locally, also video compression will reduce overall image quality. And then there's the issue of being totally locked into the 'games as a service' thing, down with that. If they pull the plug then you're shit out of luck.

I would strongly recommend that everyone have at least some basic standards for good gameplay and go for a physical machine and games that you can actually own. Cloud stuff can be a good addition to that, for when it's convenient or necessary due to travel or something. But it's no replacement, don't let anyone kid you.

GurtTractor wrote:

… Cloud stuff can be a good addition … But it's no replacement, don't let anyone kid you.

You make a lot of good points there, but all of the technical hurdles are temporary. If things go to plan, proper 5G coverage across the UK will remove all of those barriers. Latency, compression, etc  will be reduced to practically nil. So that just leaves the question of games as a service … and I’ll not be at all surprised if things go that way anyway over the course of this console generation.

I’m not saying I like the idea of shifting to cloud gaming but looking at things long term, I reckon it’s a goer.

poprock wrote:

Latency, compression, etc  will be reduced to practically nil.

Definitely not, physics will continue to be a thing. Even in the best case scenario cloud services will continue to be the shittest way to play a game.

People's standards are just so shit really, convenience and cheapness always win out. It's like the shift from CRTs to LCDs; low manufacture and shipping cost and convenient form factor won out against a better display for gaming, black levels, motion blur, refresh rate, etc.

Sometimes things like input latency affect the experience subtly, the extra 30-50ms might not be immediately obvious and you can probably play games well enough, but you might come to realise it just doesn't feel right compared to playing the same thing on a good local system. So many of the titles that have had lasting popularity in gaming history have been taut, responsive 60FPS experiences. Even when you didn't know anything of FPS or frame pacing there was something you subconsciously understood that made that gameplay feel damn good.

Anyone know how big it is? Dimensions could be key here.

I'm not actually opposed to that design, it's growing on me

MattyJ wrote:

Anyone know how big it is? Dimensions could be key here. I'm not actually opposed to that design, it's growing on me

It's basically 3 Gamecubes sat on top of each other.

Minus the handles cos it's not portable.

b0r1s wrote:

@Poprock I wouldn’t be so sure about those 5g claims for a while.

This is the sort of thing I’m working on countering. 5G isn’t just an upgrade for your mobile phone. It’s a totally different way of thinking about communication networks. It’s a much bigger deal than just your next kind of phone etc. It took a long time for me to be convinced, but I’m there now.

Phone networks are giving the wrong message by selling phones now and claiming they’re 5G or 5G ready. There’s no infrastructure yet, and won’t be until you’re another three handset generations down the line.

Scotland will be all set for rollout within two years, then it’s down to private enterprise investing and building the network. It’s going to happen within four or five years and it’ll change everything, gaming included.

You’re talking revolutions in almost every industry. Manufacturing, agriculture, healthcare, security, transport, etc. What we think now as communications and broadcast is only one little part of it.

On the consumer side, your home broadband will be finished. It’ll be replaced with a home 5G connection. No fibre or copper to your home any more. The 5G replacement will be faster, lower latency, and more reliable. You’ll end up cloud gaming over wireless anyway, even on your main TV.

More like 3 times the height of the controller juidging by that picture, which is probably a bit less.

That's not a black background. That's the external power supply!

MattyJ wrote:

Someone had a thought on reddit which I'm going to steal: What if it's this tower because the components are stacked inside? That way MS could release updates to hardware like new graphics cars that a user could swap out themselves. Just plug and play.

Outrageous idea.

PC? Can't see it taking off.

Spot the lad who just imported the dimensions of an Xbox One into 3DS Max

g.man wrote:

That's not a black background. That's the external power supply!

Ha ha

On the one hand, it’s coming faster than people think. As in, we’ll all be cloud gaming in five years time.

On the other hand, it’s coming slower than people think. Because 5G phones and Google Stadia are being marketed to you right now, years before they’ll do anything useful.

Paul the sparky wrote:

MattyJ wrote:

Anyone know how big it is? Dimensions could be key here. I'm not actually opposed to that design, it's growing on me

Looks about the size of a waste paper bin.

For shits and giggles and because I'm at home, I just lined up 2 bone controllers and a 360 pad. If thats the size, it's pretty small. I dont find the design appealing but the size of it wont be a problem.