Xbox’s boss thinks people aren’t ready for Stadia and xCloud

Xbox boss Phil Spencer has made a subtle dig at Google Stadia, arguing it will be years before a game streaming service takes the place of consoles

He told the BBC, at XO19 in London, that Google Stadia and even Xbox’s own answer to game streaming, ‘Project xCloud’, are years from being the best way to play games.

“Project xCloud right now is out [in its testing phase]. We’re getting feedback from thousands and thousands of players,” he said. “My view is we’re all in the testing phase. We’re early in this technology and we view it will take many years before this technology becomes mainstream.”

Spencer remains confident that, ultimately, the industry will move towards streaming, but said that internet inconsistencies currently limit the scope of platforms like Stadia.

“I think you’ve seen in other forms of media how streaming has given people the ability to stay connected to their music and their videos wherever they go and the same thing, we believe, will happen with gaming over time.”

We’re hugely interested to see how players react to Stadia’s release tomorrow. Will things run smoothly and how far will the gaming experience be dictated by having a top notch internet provider?

Google clearly see some limitations to the new device. The launch roster doesn’t include many games and last minute additions to said roster look rather like panic additions.

Related: PS4 vs Xbox One

When we got a chance to have a hands on with Stadia we found that there were some dips in graphical performance due to internet connectivity, but no real lag. However, this was in a closely monitored, Google manufactured space. How will the console fare in the wild, in people’s homes, with variable internet speeds? It remains to be seen.

We’ll be offering our final verdict of Google Stadia in the very near future , with the gaming platform’s full launch set for tomorrow. Keep an eye on the site for more updates.