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takyon [soylentnews.org] writes:

Microsoft: Google Stadia Has the Infrastructure but Lacks the Content; Cloud Won't Match Local Experience [wccftech.com]

2019 will be the year that sees some of the biggest tech companies in the world diving into the cloud streaming business for games. Google announced [wccftech.com] its Stadia platform at the Game Developers Conference 2019 for a launch scheduled later this year, Microsoft confirmed [wccftech.com] plans to publicly test Project xCloud in the coming months and even Amazon is rumored [wccftech.com] to be readying its own cloud-based streaming service.

With competition often comes strife, and in an interview with the Telegraph [telegraph.co.uk] (locked behind the publication's paywall), Microsoft's Chief Marketing Officer for Xbox Mike Nichols didn't pull any punches when he discussed the weaknesses of the upcoming cloud-based streaming platform.

While he admitted that Google has the infrastructure (7,500 edge node locations) to pull it off, Nichols pointed out that unlike Microsoft they don't have strong ties to game developers and publishers to deliver the content that fans expect.

[...] Microsoft CFO Mike Nichols also went on to reiterate that regardless of the availability Project xCloud, the 'local' experience users can get on an Xbox console or Windows PC will remain superior to the cloud in terms of quality.

Previously: Google and Microsoft Eyeing Streaming Game Services [soylentnews.org]
Google Announces "Stadia" Streaming Game Service [soylentnews.org]

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