Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Anyone who's tried it can you say what's the latency like? Also, can you output iPad/iPhone to your TV for full screen?
 
Surface is in competition with MacBook. What does the market share look like between those competing products? Apple not caring about gaming is irrelevant. One would think MS would jump at the chance to extend their xCloud service to Mac considering it is browser based and they have already made it work with Safari. But they have not and seems logical to say it isn’t in Microsoft’s interest to add value to their competitors device in the laptop market.
The Surface line of devices has never been, nor likely to ever be competition for MacBooks. The only arena where Surface compete with MacBooks is the marketing arena. Surface devices have never sold in any significant volume. Probably never will either. That's not a knock, it's just reality. Besides, Surface also has nothing to do with Gaming. You seem to be trying make equivalences from gaming to the overall computer market. They don't work.

Imo, Mac market share is too small for MS to chase when they already have a strategy that's rumored to see them trying to get an xCloud streaming dongle out to the public and an xCloud app on all smart tv's. iOS is what they care about right now. If things change for the Mac, pretty sure they'll adjust accordingly.
 
Can you play if you don’t own an Xbox? I’m trying to sign up but get this error;

Sorry, we can’t complete your purchase right now. Try again in a while.​

You don't need an Xbox. xCloud is browser based for iOS and PC. It's app based for Android. Console not needed. You can also use Sony controllers. MS don't care. They want that sub.
 
The fact that this even works on the iPhone at all via the web just goes to show how onerous Apple’s terms are. This could’ve been a native app (and seamless for users) and both companies could’ve profited. Now Microsoft has done all the backend work (including payment processing) and Apple doesn’t get a cut.

Good point. This could have been native like the kindle app. Also free to download.
 
Hate to be that guy but... "New users can get a three month free trial for $1."??

The deal of the century is to buy up Xbox Live Gold from Brazil, 1 year = $33, you can stock up 3 years on your account, and then you pay $1 to convert it all into Xbox Live Ultimate GamePass. I have ultimate for the next 3 years for $2.60/month.

As an Xbox user, Xbox GamePass is legit incredible. So awesome how great it works in a browser. I skipped a few generations of Xbox, so legit awesome to play AAA titles, and catch up for legit pennies.
 
It’s not free. Apple charges developers a yearly fee. The App Store is already full of free apps, and Apple is ok with that. I don’t pay Apple for Netflix or Disney+, or my Amazon purchases, but those apps are still on my phone and Apple is happy to have them in the App Store.
Game streaming apps are really no different than video streaming apps, as that’s basically all they’re doing. The only difference is the video being streamed is very interactive. :)
These companies have their own platforms and don’t require Apple APIs to function. If there was no difference there would be no point. Disney and Netflix aren’t trying to undermine the platform development by luring developers to use them instead of directly using the platform Apple is supporting. They are also not charging 3rd parties to put content that would be on Apple’s platform and wanting to pay Apple nothing in return. So, the difference is huge.

Netflix users signup on Netflix, Disney people do the same. The only reason Microsoft wants to be on the App Store is either access to APIs or Apple App Store customers. Most are not Xboxers and could care less about Microsoft gaming. If so, they would have no need to be on the store anyway and Apple would have no issue with an App the only accessed Microsoft’s platform. They wanted to setup shop in the App Store and market their competitor. That is hot garbage! Like target setting up a pop up Outside the entrance of Walmart and then telling Walmart customers to go to target instead.
 
  • Like
Reactions: hans1972
Good point. This could have been native like the kindle app. Also free to download.
The kindle App is not a platform selling apps from unvetted developers seeking to undermine the App Store from within it and kill the revenue source that pays for its development in the first place. You have a loser company that failed miserably at mobile multiple times trying to copy Apple now attempting to force their way into Apple’s store. Pathetic.
 
  • Disagree
Reactions: kcslc
The Surface line of devices has never been, nor likely to ever be competition for MacBooks. The only arena where Surface compete with MacBooks is the marketing arena. Surface devices have never sold in any significant volume. Probably never will either. That's not a knock, it's just reality. Besides, Surface also has nothing to do with Gaming. You seem to be trying make equivalences from gaming to the overall computer market. They don't work.

Gaming has always been a part of the overall computer market. Surface will play an xCloud game just as well as any other device. You don't think MS sees potential to stick 3 month or more voucher inside every Surface box? Why wouldn't they? They can market the Surface as a gaming device without needing a beefy PC.

Imo, Mac market share is too small for MS to chase when they already have a strategy that's rumored to see them trying to get an xCloud streaming dongle out to the public and an xCloud app on all smart tv's. iOS is what they care about right now. If things change for the Mac, pretty sure they'll adjust accordingly.

If MS eventually extends xCloud to Mac then I'll simply be wrong. I'll have no problem admitting that. But I can't imagine it would be very difficult to launch iOS Safari based xCloud alongside Mac Safari simultaneously.
 
so that when someone is deciding between an iphone and an android, they choose iphoen because it has the cool games on it.
That’s 5% of the population and the cool games are already on iphone. The ones that aren’t don’t matter. These initiative are non Apple users trying to undermine our platform and make it Android. We have already seen what happens when 3rd parties control our platform. They hold us hostage like Microsoft and Google has done in the past. Let them stay on Safari. They cannot be trusted.
 
These companies have their own platforms and don’t require Apple APIs to function. If there was no difference there would be no point. Disney and Netflix aren’t trying to undermine the platform development by luring developers to use them instead of directly using the platform Apple is supporting. They are also not charging 3rd parties to put content that would be on Apple’s platform and wanting to pay Apple nothing in return. So, the difference is huge.

Netflix users signup on Netflix, Disney people do the same. The only reason Microsoft wants to be on the App Store is either access to APIs or Apple App Store customers. Most are not Xboxers and could care less about Microsoft gaming. If so, they would have no need to be on the store anyway and Apple would have no issue with an App the only accessed Microsoft’s platform. They wanted to setup shop in the App Store and market their competitor. That is hot garbage! Like target setting up a pop up Outside the entrance of Walmart and then telling Walmart customers to go to target instead.
What are you even talking about? There is no “store” here. There is no “shop to set up”.

You cannot purchase a thing via the cloud gaming app. All of the games that are listed there are available to all subscribers. Period. They are not separate purchases. You signed in with your MS (Xbox) account email and that was it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Madmic23
Because anyone stating that Apple is a monopoly and prevents access outside of the AppStore is well, a liar. AKA EPIC.
Microsoft just did exactly what EPIC is complaining they CAN NOT DO.

So thank you Microsoft for making it work, and Apple for telling them they could do so in the first place!
I don’t think this was Microsoft’s intention since they have been piling on, but it does make that point quite well.
 
That’s 5% of the population and the cool games are already on iphone. The ones that aren’t don’t matter. These initiative are non Apple users trying to undermine our platform and make it Android. We have already seen what happens when 3rd parties control our platform. They hold us hostage like Microsoft and Google has done in the past. Let them stay on Safari. They cannot be trusted.
You’ve lost the plot friend. What are all these “cool games” that are on iPhone?

Microsoft and Google hold you hostage? LOL. I’ve officially heard every excuse to defend Apple - the same company that says they don’t want to bring tech to other platforms so they can lock-in their users.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: topdrawer
Apple have already said that they are happy to have streaming games on the App store….they just need to be submitted individually.

Despite what you read from the haters, it’s not about competition at all. Apple want individual app review, App Store discovery and parental controls to work properly. It’s all about user experience. If one game runs foul of Apple’s review, the entire streaming service would have to be pulled. If they are submitted individually, only that game would have to be pulled. If the service was a single app, parental controls would have to apply to every streaming game vs each individual game.
Okay fanboy. Imagine this with video streaming. Get out of their ass
 
Here’s my question…XBox remote play works well enough on my iPad and also includes the ability to play EA games that I have downloaded. What is the benefit to using the Cloud Gaming Service through the browser? Seems more limtied and more at risk to suffer from latency.

Brian
Allows you to play games without having to install them on your Xbox first.
 
Gaming has always been a part of the overall computer market. Surface will play an xCloud game just as well as any other device. You don't think MS sees potential to stick 3 month or more voucher inside every Surface box? Why wouldn't they? They can market the Surface as a gaming device without needing a beefy PC.



If MS eventually extends xCloud to Mac then I'll simply be wrong. I'll have no problem admitting that. But I can't imagine it would be very difficult to launch iOS Safari based xCloud alongside Mac Safari simultaneously.
MS already has a gaming device without needing a beefy PC. It's called Xbox. It's super effective and super inexpensive comparatively speaking.

I wasn't questioning whether or not gaming was part of the overall computer market. I was criticizing your use of general computer market "logic" as the basis of your gaming argument. It doesn't work.

I honestly believe Macs will get official xCloud support. It just may come after more pressing projects like xCloud app for all smart tvs. I think it's a simple matter of devoting resources to areas that provide the potential for faster and larger ROI. That ain't Macs.
 
  • Like
Reactions: GregoriusM
These companies have their own platforms and don’t require Apple APIs to function. If there was no difference there would be no point. Disney and Netflix aren’t trying to undermine the platform development by luring developers to use them instead of directly using the platform Apple is supporting. They are also not charging 3rd parties to put content that would be on Apple’s platform and wanting to pay Apple nothing in return. So, the difference is huge.

Netflix users signup on Netflix, Disney people do the same. The only reason Microsoft wants to be on the App Store is either access to APIs or Apple App Store customers. Most are not Xboxers and could care less about Microsoft gaming. If so, they would have no need to be on the store anyway and Apple would have no issue with an App the only accessed Microsoft’s platform. They wanted to setup shop in the App Store and market their competitor. That is hot garbage! Like target setting up a pop up Outside the entrance of Walmart and then telling Walmart customers to go to target instead.
I guess you’ve never used the PlayStation app on the iPhone. Sony can directly market games to me there, and I can purchase them and download them to my PlayStation. Apple doesn’t get a cut of this, and they shouldn’t. It has nothing to do with them or the iOS platform.

The Xbox app is different. You’re paying to access what is offered in the streaming catalogue. You’re not buying individual games. It’s like Netflix.

By your logic, when the iTunes Store was the big way for Apple to sell music, they should have been giving Microsoft a 30% cut for anything sold on a Windows PC.

I don’t understand why anyone is cheering for Apple to be anti competitive when it comes to streaming games. I have’t seen any compelling reason to block apps like this. Should Apple block Spotify because they are a streaming music platform? No. The App Store should be home to the best apps, period. If someone makes a better gaming app than Apple, so be it.

Personally, I don’t see Xbox game streaming or Stadia to be Apple Arcade competitors. They are more expensive and offer very different types of gaming.

Apple should just let them in the store and compete on price and the types of games people want to play, not force companies to come up with web app work arounds.
 
  • Like
Reactions: matthijst and kcslc
MS already has a gaming device without needing a beefy PC. It's called Xbox. It's super effective and super inexpensive comparatively speaking.

I wasn't questioning whether or not gaming was part of the overall computer market. I was criticizing your use of general computer market "logic" as the basis of your gaming argument. It doesn't work.

I honestly believe Macs will get official xCloud support. It just may come after more pressing projects like xCloud app for all smart tvs. I think it's a simple matter of devoting resources to areas that provide the potential for faster and larger ROI. That ain't Macs.

xCloud isn't for those who have Xbox. It is for those who don't. You can have Surface and gaming too. At least, that is the direction I think Microsoft is going.
 
xCloud isn't for those who have Xbox. It is for those who don't. You can have Surface and gaming too. At least, that is the direction I think Microsoft is going.
With xCloud being a perk of Xbox GamePass Ultimate, not a separate subscription, I think that would be a hard sell at this point. And there are plenty of games on GamePass that aren’t yet on xCloud.

Until the libraries mirror each other, I can only see this as an added benefit for those that want to game on the go, whether it’s with Android / iOS / Windows.

Once they get apps on TVs, as has been announced, then I think you’re absolutely right. But I’d also expect that the libraries will be the same for GamePass / Cloud Gaming.

Or maybe MS will go even further and allow you to play games from the cloud that you might have purchased (a’la whatever that nvidia service is…GeForce Now?).
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: TopherMan12
It’s not free. Apple charges developers a yearly fee. The App Store is already full of free apps, and Apple is ok with that. I don’t pay Apple for Netflix or Disney+, or my Amazon purchases, but those apps are still on my phone and Apple is happy to have them in the App Store.
Game streaming apps are really no different than video streaming apps, as that’s basically all they’re doing. The only difference is the video being streamed is very interactive. :)

Game Streaming apps are VERY different from Video streaming apps:

1. Content - the games follow a very different age restriction,
2. content - the budget for each content varies heavily, Distribution is VERY different:
There are still many contributors to the making of movies or TV shows, the former VERY different. Fire up your favourite movie and count how many 'ads' for companies that show up BEFORE the opening credits or the movie begins.
3. Overall many games have unique titles vs movies, I'm sure there are differences in licensing here.
4. Licensing terms is very different.
There is a lot more going on beneath the drapes here.


To you the end user may seem like the same thing, so many re-iterate what they've read elsewhere verbatim.
 
  • Haha
Reactions: matthijst
I think this ridiculous from Apple. They allow Netflix and Prime which have adult content and also compete with Apple's services but this isn't OK?

Of all the nonsense anti-competitive stuff from the likes of Epic, this feels like an unfair and anti-competitive move on Apple's part.
 
The kindle App is not a platform selling apps from unvetted developers seeking to undermine the App Store from within it and kill the revenue source that pays for its development in the first place. You have a loser company that failed miserably at mobile multiple times trying to copy Apple now attempting to force their way into Apple’s store. Pathetic.

How exactly is MS forcing itself into Apple’s store by offering a web app?
 
NOT SURE WHY they rejected it either. I give them a pass for now because cloud game streaming hasn't taken off yet. I give them some benefit of the doubt because it is relatively new.

The main reason I can think of for the rejection is they don't want someone to replace gaming on the app store given all the money they make from gaming. AT least they don't want someone like MS to use the app store to do this while collecting the money outside of the app store to avoid paying Apple their share.

I also feel like Apple is not setup to offer in-game transactions on cloud gaming services. IAPs are a money maker for Apple. I feel like MS probably doesn't want to share this IAP money with Apple either.

There is also a concern with cloud games being programs in the cloud and having more potential to do nefarious things and perhaps they also require more access to the phone than streaming a video would.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.