I have no idea over a number since PC aren’t a standard unit and I could imagine everyone posting on here as a very different PC set-up configuration never mind out in the wider public
And I know Xbox games come out on Steam and that was my point of how its Valve who do the best out of PC gamers not Xbox. Its Steam that most PC gamers use for their PC games not Xbox
There is nothing stopping SONY or Nintendo from putting all their games on the PC so they wish or look to use Steam too
The way some here talk is like PC is Xbox and its Xbox who benefits the most from PC game users when it’s not quite the case, other than the small rental fee developers had to pay to Windows.
Cloud gaming works better as a bonus add-on right now, considering the low bitrate and beta status.
A high quality cloud-only tier would likely be more expensive than Ultimate, since the user is basically renting the hardware on top of the games. Currently most users wouldn’t accept that.
Cloud gaming is the future. But it’ll be a while until it’s ready for the mainstream. (Although we might see a bit of a push when next gen consoles drop for €700 vs cloud gaming for €10 a month.)
Their is an app call BetterXcloud, it allows for much better image quality, you can force 1080P and unlimited bit rate, use FSR on your stream, adjust sharpness and it allows for device rumble where it might not be supported and allows you to adjust many other things that the official app does not allow. it works great for me and really ups the image quality, it also has been allowed by Xbox devs so it will not cause any issues with your account etc for using it.
Was nodding along until the (timed) exclusivity bit as a perk. Just no.
I’d vastly prefer to see Microsoft use its heft to push the industry towards cross-save, cross-play, cross-platform, etc. Show how it’s done. Show people how they can take their game across multiple screens without a hitch and play with others no matter what platform they’re on. Walled gardens be damned (seriously, fuck them).
Launch those huge XGS, Bethesda and ABK games everywhere, including Playstation and Nintendo on day one, with the tech underpinning them built to easily use their progression data anywhere. And continue letting people know that they can pick up where they left off on their phone or PC/laptop/tablet easily.
I believe cloud streaming and subscription services is still their north star, but it’s going to take a long time before it materializes the way they want. In the meantime, reach all the users they can today to keep the IP/franchises healthy and growing, while continuously nudging those players towards trying out mobile (i.e. the experience goes with you across any screen you want). If they can show momentum in users adopting that experience, then they stand to sell tech stack solutions to game devs and publishers to do the same thing. There is VASTLY more money in that than whatever they lose over that 30% cut in their console store.
The PC is another platform for Xbox games and part of the multi-platform ambition. I’m speaking to how it should be considered the largest Xbox platform.
PC is a Platform that Sony and Nintendo can use if they so wish. That’s to look over It’s a platform that from far XBox, PC gamers look to use Steam instead
Steam has about 132m users a month and the hardware survey suggests about 75% of those are near or above PS5/XSX specs in RAM / GPU / CPU (it’s likely a little less in GPU but taking the highest possible to do the sums).
So about 99m PCs / laptops that may be capable of it - so about the PS5 and Series console sales combined.
We can assume 95% of gamers will have Steam installed as it’s the only way to play too many games on PC, so I’d say it’s a reasonable guess.
Adding that all up suggests that over 90% of Windows licences in the world aren’t really capable / used for higher end gaming - which seems right given how many will be servers, corporate or used for school / office work.
So an impressive number that’s only going to grow - but one that will likely be outstripped by the PS5 if it does anywhere near as well as the PS4, but with Xbox’s other revenue streams (Xbox, Game Pass, titles sold on other console platforms etc) they’ve got enough of a base revenue anyway
I’m really considering getting a steamdeck lcd until this Xbox handheld comes out but I’m also waiting to see what this Lenovo legion go s is about at ces next month. Steamdeck seems good but the more power from a legion plus steam os could make it a go to for me.
For me the Steamdeck is too limited in that a lot of games outside the steam ecosystem require workarounds to launch (like World of Warcraft for example) or just don’t work at all (like Fortnite). While support is good for it in general, companies like Epic have said that they have no plans to ever support Linux, which means Valve will never gain full support.
The Legion Go is pretty nice having tried one in person, but I kind of wanna wait to see what Xbox announces to be sure I don’t waste money on something that might not support whatever it is they are cooking with their new ecosystem.
Yes but the question was specifically how many PCs in the world could play PS5-level games.
Even factoring in the Series S though, the numbers don’t really change as RAM setups between 8GB and 16GB are incredibly rare - to get the best speed most are installed as dual sticks and they’re not normally sold as anything other than 4/8/16/32 per stick.
And that’s the primary differential between the S and the other two, as CPU and GPU (although VRAM is more shared in consoles) are the same as the Series X pretty much.
Yes some PCs/laptops would still play the games at lower resolution etc, but I think a ballpark of 99 million to say 120 million PCs / laptops capable of playing current gen games isn’t unrealistic - and handhelds don’t affect those numbers too much (although all can play current gen) as even latest sales figures suggest it’s less than 10 or 20 million sold (the bombastic “30m a year will be sold by 2028, 20m sold in 2023” report that handheld fans point to includes the Switch and Portal - the handheld PC market is much smaller than coverage makes it appear)…
SONY and Nintendo can also sell millions on Steam if they want too. PC isn’t Xbox and far from Xbox being the designation of PC gamers its STEAM. So why some talk up the PC as if its Microsoft or Xbox that benefits the most, I don’t get it, sorry. Xbox been on the PC Day 1 for years now and apparently that’s not good enough with Xbox looking to port more of its game over to PlayStation despite the Xbox console and PC userbase
Maybe we need to look at development budgets and development time if hundreds and millions of systems isn’t good enough for Xbox revenue
I get the long development time for Fable with a new team and all that but the development time for Halo, EverWild, State of Decay 3 is getting a little silly with established teams same goes for Naughty Dog /SONY games taking years and years to make. I think it will be an issue for Nintendo too when their pipelines come up to 4K
There are lot of people out there with no interest in paying £70 per game or paying for subscription gaming service no matter how many screens you are on They’re happy enough to spend their time on Tik Tok for nothing
You miss the point that Microsoft is already on Steam and yet that isn’t good enough and it needs to look to console for more profits, on their rivals and not their own. That is to look over how Microsoft needs to give SONY and Steam a piece of their profits.
Its almost like some people talk up the PC to get one over SONY when the PC is a completely open platform and its Steam that is making the most money from gamers, not Xbox PC
It’s a little sad that Microsoft didn’t make a true rival for STEAM and allowed Vavle to clear up the PC gaming storefront space. Like dropping Windows for phones, a big mistake IMO
Well, the issue with Sony is that they, for the most part, do not do day-and-date releases on PC. As a result, they’ve had middling success on that platform, with HD2 being the exception. Many of their studios seem unable to handle the task of shipping a PC SKU and Console SKU simultaneously, which is a massive deal and not a trivial task.
Also, I don’t understand the logic of focusing on who is making the most money. It’s not a zero-sum game.
MS pulled out too early and allowed Android to become the dominant OS for mobile phones much less allowed Google to buy Android for peanuts in the grand scheme of things
I would imagine a lot of that is because SONY had a large console user base to look after and count on and don’t need to rely as much on the PC user like Xbox does.
Mind you I think the trouble for SONY, XBox and Ninetendo is many people aren’t at all interested in gaming and are far happier with their social media apps and smart phones for their entertainment
You can have Xbox or SONY on every screen in the world if people aren’t interested in your product, it will not matter. I think its a big issue for the video game industry going forward