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[EverydayBeast]

The scream thing is very interesting, I saw xbox going to streaming devices like fire stick years ago, people are use to streaming devices like roku, google, apple tv, fire stick etc. I think gaming going to streaming devices will do it a lot of favors, the part that is problematic is the quality.

 

[Jesb]

Wouldn’t it have been more mainstream for them just to have xcloud on all smart tvs in their respective app stores instead of needing to go buy a stick.

 

[PatientGamer]

Been the strategy for this entire gen. Why are you pretending this is new

Clearly fake mock shock.

How many previously Xbox exclusives (pre-AKB merger) are now available on all consoles again?

Didn't they do a presser a few months back saying that it was initially just set to be 4 games and now it's looking like it'll be their entire library?

Doesn't seem like it's been their strategy for this entire gen; they only switched gears in 2023/2024 when they realised they can't win through hardware, so they have to try with software.

 

[kapshin]

I have a PS4 controller and a 4K Firestick. Controller connects and works fine, but if the controller turns off or I go back to XCloud I have to resync the controller manually each time. Is this common or know how to fix that? If not if I buy an Xbox controller will it work properly? I don't mind buying one but don't want to if it will operate the same.

 

[Shane89]

but fear the lag

 

[Crayon]

I've been tossing and turning at night because I have no xbox.

 

[consoul]

Wouldn’t it have been more mainstream for them just to have xcloud on all smart tvs in their respective app stores instead of needing to go buy a stick.

This is a bit of a head scratcher for me too.
Maybe there are issues achieving the right controller connectivity/latency without standardized hardware. Maybe Amazon's AWS infrastructure and marketing clout made this an easy first step.

 

[BadBurger]

If they release this for the Apple TV 4K I'd definitely use it.

 

[semiconscious]

xbox pro?...

 

[Guerilla Munch]

my piece of shit Amacuck Firedick can't even fucking run Paramount Plus half the time, but I'm sure it's a joy to play Baldurs Gate 3 on it

 

[Jimmy_liv]

How many previously Xbox exclusives (pre-AKB merger) are now available on all consoles again?

Didn't they do a presser a few months back saying that it was initially just set to be 4 games and now it's looking like it'll be their entire library?

Doesn't seem like it's been their strategy for this entire gen; they only switched gears in 2023/2024 when they realised they can't win through hardware, so they have to try with software.

Go back to your original post and if you can't see what's wrong with what you wrote then I'm not going to try and teach you like some 4 year old school girl.

 

[OmegaSupreme]

This will move dozens of new gamepass subs. Dozens!

 

[MacReady13]

It just seems to me like microshaft are throwing game pass on anything they can. Eventually they’re hoping something will stick and go well and once it does, they fuck off consoles for good. What an amazing fall from grace. The 360 was my fav console of all time (pre Kinect) and to see them fail so spectacularly after Kinect to today is unreal. So sad and pathetic how badly they dropped the ball.

 

[Fess]

It just seems to me like microshaft are throwing game pass on anything they can.

That’s the end game plan, yes, was said by a MS suit awhile ago.

"Not announcing anything broadly here, but our mission is to bring our first-party experiences [and] our subscription services to every screen that can play games. That means smart TVs, that means mobile devices, that means what we would have thought of as competitors in the past like PlayStation and Nintendo."

To me it seems like people aren’t paying attention to what’s happening.

Gamepass is their platform now. They’ll push the service to every device they can just like Netflix and the likes do with TV services. On Playstation and Switch too if allowed. If games can’t run locally they’ll run them on cloud. Eventually they’ll have Gamepass exclusives but they’re still playing nice.

 

[KungFucius]

Wouldn’t it have been more mainstream for them just to have xcloud on all smart tvs in their respective app stores instead of needing to go buy a stick.

? What the hell kind of comment is this? Seriously. How the fuck do you think things work? Apps don't just get pushed to all platforms with a magic button.

First, the device needs to have HW capable of running the app. Second there needs to be an agreement in place with the platform holder. They put the app on Samsung TVs but it only runs on 2020 and newer TVs. This is their second platform and FireTV is actually a TV platform, it runs on sticks, some Amazon branded TVs and on some flavors of Hisense TVs as well as some others and sticks and soundbars.

If the app proves to be successful, it will show up on other platforms. It might start showing up on other platforms regardless.

 

[Ozriel]

It just seems to me like microshaft are throwing game pass on anything they can. Eventually they’re hoping something will stick and go well and once it does, they fuck off consoles for good. What an amazing fall from grace. The 360 was my fav console of all time (pre Kinect) and to see them fail so spectacularly after Kinect to today is unreal. So sad and pathetic how badly they dropped the ball.

It’s an option provided. Same with how you’ve been able to play their games on PC since 2017.

Putting XCloud on Fire Sticks isn’t a ‘fall from grace’ in any way. They have very real issues and problems that aren’t tied to cloud streaming.

It makes a ton of sense to make GP widely available.

Wouldn’t it have been more mainstream for them just to have xcloud on all smart tvs in their respective app stores instead of needing to go buy a stick.

The Fire Stick approach makes much more sense.

 

[Fess]

The Fire Stick approach makes much more sense.

Apple TV, that would be something.

 

[Schmick]

Yeah I hear good things about GeForce Now. So if its been good for at least a couple of years, ask yourself, why haven't all PC players abandoned their hardware and just streaming all their games? I would have thought some of my points hold true. And I'd imagine many want to configure their games beyond what the stream can provide.

But hey ask the question of PC gamers with a topic. Why arent they all selling their 4090's and streaming. Or if on old PC's, why arent they just streaming. I'd be interested to know.

I'm rocking a 2070 in my PC and I am a GN Ultimate subscriber and right now I'm favouring GFN for playing games.

With GNU, I have access to a 4080RTX with 20gb VRAM. I can set graphical settings to ultra on everything I play. And achieve 60+ FPS.

A 4080RTX alone is £1000. So paying GeForce Now Ultimate for 5 years will equate to just the GPU. And actually I don't think it's unreasonable to say that on average many gamers upgrade their PC around the 5 year mark. I don't think I am paying over the odds as a GFN subscriber compared to if I were to buy the hardware.

I barely experience any latency woth GFN and when I do I question whether it is latency or just your standard game stutter and it only last seconds but this happens rarely.

I've never had to wait for a slot to play as a Ultimate subscriber although I know it is a thing with the free tier and possibly the middle tier.

With Ultimate you get 8 hours game time a day which I've never used up. Free tier I think it's a hour.

Yes, game library is limited (although the library isn't exactly small). I have access to select Gamepass games, and select games from my Epic Store, Steam and Xbox libraries.

Also mods are possible on GFN although of course not as flexible compared to mods on local hardware. For example Cities Skylines 2 has a in-game mod library you can easily add those mods from that. Same with DLC in games like FS2020.

I subscribe to GFN, GPU (xCloud) and PS Extra, those combined give me access to massive array of games via cloud gaming and all those platforms (for me anyway) work exceptionally well. I don't own a PS because of PS Extra and I haven't bothered replacing my Xbox One.

 

[King Dazzar]

I'm rocking a 2070 in my PC and I am a GN Ultimate subscriber and right now I'm favouring GFN for playing games.

With GNU, I have access to a 4080RTX with 20gb VRAM. I can set graphical settings to ultra on everything I play. And achieve 60+ FPS.

A 4080RTX alone is £1000. So paying GeForce Now Ultimate for 5 years will equate to just the GPU. And actually I don't think it's unreasonable to say that on average many gamers upgrade their PC around the 5 year mark. I don't think I am paying over the odds as a GFN subscriber compared to if I were to buy the hardware.

I barely experience any latency woth GFN and when I do I question whether it is latency or just your standard game stutter and it only last seconds but this happens rarely.

I've never had to wait for a slot to play as a Ultimate subscriber although I know it is a thing with the free tier and possibly the middle tier.

With Ultimate you get 8 hours game time a day which I've never used up. Free tier I think it's a hour.

Yes, game library is limited (although the library isn't exactly small). I have access to select Gamepass games, and select games from my Epic Store, Steam and Xbox libraries.

Also mods are possible on GFN although of course not as flexible compared to mods on local hardware. For example Cities Skylines 2 has a in-game mod library you can easily add those mods from that. Same with DLC in games like FS2020.

I subscribe to GFN, GPU (xCloud) and PS Extra, those combined give me access to massive array of games via cloud gaming and all those platforms (for me anyway) work exceptionally well. I don't own a PS because of PS Extra and I haven't bothered replacing my Xbox One.

Thanks for sharing your experience. Unfortunately my xcloud experience was no where near as good as yours and far from exceptional. Happy you're enjoying streaming your games and the rental/sub model. Not for me, but that's fine.

 

[Ozriel]

Apple TV, that would be something.

The ball is in Apple’s court for that.

Thanks for sharing your experience. Unfortunately my xcloud experience was no where near as good as yours and far from exceptional. Happy you're enjoying streaming your games and the rental/sub model. Not for me, but that's fine.

GeForce Now isn't a rental model. You stream the games in your library.

 

[King Dazzar]

GeForce Now isn't a rental model. You stream the games in your library.

 

[MacReady13]

It’s an option provided. Same with how you’ve been able to play their games on PC since 2017.

Putting XCloud on Fire Sticks isn’t a ‘fall from grace’ in any way. They have very real issues and problems that aren’t tied to cloud streaming.

It makes a ton of sense to make GP widely available.

Let's make 1 thing VERY clear- there is 1 reason and 1 reason ALONE that microsoft created game pass day 1 AND is trying to spread it as thinly as possible, and that is because they lost the console race to Playstation. They would NEVER have lost the console race if they had just focused on what they did during the peak days of the 360 pre kinect (buying up 3rd party exclusives and having great versions of Halo/Gears as exclusives) instead of just focusing on fucking Kinect as a boxed in product on the xbone and losing focus on GAMES. It was a simple task and that is what microsoft completely dropped the ball on. Badly.

 

[Skelterz]

My tv has the app built in to be fair you don’t even need a stick you just need to hate yourself and an Xbox controller.

 

[Ozriel]

Let's make 1 thing VERY clear- there is 1 reason and 1 reason ALONE that microsoft created game pass day 1 AND is trying to spread it as thinly as possible, and that is because they lost the console race to Playstation. They would NEVER have lost the console race if they had just focused on what they did during the peak days of the 360 pre kinect (buying up 3rd party exclusives and having great versions of Halo/Gears as exclusives) instead of just focusing on fucking Kinect as a boxed in product on the xbone and losing focus on GAMES. It was a simple task and that is what microsoft completely dropped the ball on. Badly.

Im not sure what this has to do with anything. No point crying about spilt milk. Whining about the 360 and Kinect in 2024 is pointless.

Yes, they’ve lost the console war to Sony. Yeah, their pivot to GamePass is in part due to their desire to come up with an alternative business model. But there’s nothing here that is new. They’ve had the app on phones for ages. On some Samsung and LG TVs too. They planned their own ‘Keystone’ Streaming stick and only canceled it a couple of years ago. Putting the app on Fire TV sticks does the same thing as their Keystone plans, just without them having to sell their own hardware.

You seem to still be stuck in 2013. Strange.

 

[foamdino]

On prime day.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

On prime day.

If I'm Microsoft I'd do the following things

• Create a tiered GamePass that has first party AAA games and remove those games from the basic GamePass
• Port the following games to PS5/Switch/Mobile where appropriate
  • Halo MCC
  • Gears of War games
  • Sea of Thieves
• I'd make a deal with Sony/Bungie to do a multiplatform Halo game with 343i acting as a support studio
• Make CoD biannual
• Really try and build up Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon into transmedia properties
• Put out an Xbox Streaming device and bundle it with Xbox controller
• Make deals with as many TV manufacturers and streaming device manufacturers to carry the Xbox App

I called this out last year, but I think they realized they probably missed their window on a streaming device and elected to work with Amazon. It'll be interesting to see if they work with Roku as well. If they put out a streaming device, they'd probably have to sell it at a loss and it would be difficult to get market penetration regardless. Much easier to piggyback.

But look at the price... It's a non-starter. The original "list pricing' is 120, but even 80 is too much for this. I don't know anyone who really needs to buy streaming sticks anymore.

For this to be successful you really need to sell it for 50 max. Amazon and Microsoft can make their money on the subscription end and they know it.

 

[Gamer_By_Proxy]

On prime day.

 

[Daniel_Mallorca1985]

On prime day.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

Let's make 1 thing VERY clear- there is 1 reason and 1 reason ALONE that microsoft created game pass day 1 AND is trying to spread it as thinly as possible, and that is because they lost the console race to Playstation. They would NEVER have lost the console race if they had just focused on what they did during the peak days of the 360 pre kinect (buying up 3rd party exclusives and having great versions of Halo/Gears as exclusives) instead of just focusing on fucking Kinect as a boxed in product on the xbone and losing focus on GAMES. It was a simple task and that is what microsoft completely dropped the ball on. Badly.

The 360 had serious advantages that couldn't be replicated.

• Year head start
• Cheaper price
• Easier to develop for, i.e many games performed better on 360
• Xbox Live was far ahead of PSN at the time
• Bungie
• Epic Games
• RROD inflated Xbox hardware numbers, but came at a cost of brand damage and additional warranty coverage

By the end of the 360, Sony had already surpassed it, really as early as 2009.

In 2009, Sony released Uncharted 2, in 2010 it released God of War 3, Uncharted 3 in 2011, in 2013 they released the last of us. The tide turned. Microsoft at no point had invested in first-party games at this point. So what you perceived as a strength (the buying of exclusives) came at the expense of internal investment. Meanwhile, Sony was building Naughty Dog, Santa Monica, Guerilla Games, and Sucker Punch.

The idea that Microsoft with their "new" studios that were established at the end of the X1 generation or beginning of XBS generation were somehow going to catch up to Sony's studios with their decades of investments just wasn't realistic, especially with the decline in console sales.

 

[adamsapple]

Say whatever you want, this is a hell of a deal. A pretty good discount on both the controller and just an amazon fire stick for those who want it.

 

[Eiknarf]

Does this mean they won the console war?

 

[Kamina]

 

[Daniel_Mallorca1985]

Say whatever you want, this is a hell of a deal. A pretty good discount on both the controller and just an amazon fire stick for those who want it.

 

[VinnyMac]

It actually works surprisingly well. Lag is minium been playing g atomic heart with no problems

 

[kazuyamishima]

“Every eye is an eye”, Fred Hollows, 1992

“Every screen is an Xbox”, Phil Spencer, 2024

 

[fudgybrownie]

On prime day.

Looking at the reviews this was originally just the controller and now they are adding the other stuff to it. Lots of people gonna end up with useless amazon fire tv sticks when they decide to buy a few new xbox controllers.

 

[Ozriel]

But look at the price... It's a non-starter. The original "list pricing' is 120, but even 80 is too much for this. I don't know anyone who really needs to buy streaming sticks anymore.

For this to be successful you really need to sell it for 50 max. Amazon and Microsoft can make their money on the subscription end and they know it.

I don’t think you understand that there’s already a very large portion of the market that already owns a Fire TV stick, or that these sticks sell a metric ton of units on sale, Prime Day, Holidays etc. for many existing owners, the only incremental cost is a Bluetooth controller. Even an old PS4 controller will work.

The ‘original list’ pricing is padded. Fire Stick 4K is regularly on sale for $24 for Prime members. You can snag a Series controller for much cheaper than MSRP, fairly often.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

I don’t think you understand that there’s already a very large portion of the market that already owns a Fire TV stick, or that these sticks sell a metric ton of units on sale, Prime Day, Holidays etc. for many existing owners, the only incremental cost is a Bluetooth controller. Even an old PS4 controller will work.

The ‘original list’ pricing is padded. Fire Stick 4K is regularly on sale for $24 for Prime members. You can snag a Series controller for much cheaper than MSRP, fairly often.

What does the price of this sale have to do with the existing market?

Also, you have no idea how many units these sell because Amazon doesn't really talk about that.

There is little to no reason to buy these moving forward. Every tv comes with an OS that's on par with or better than a fire tv stick these days.

 

[EverydayBeast]

 

[Skifi28]

Does this mean they won the console war?

The console war might over, but as it's been foretold, world war 3 will be fought with sticks.

 

[DavidGzz]

Yeah, MS needs to get on Nvidia's level and this would be a good deal.

 

[Puscifer]

I mean tbh a controller is already 70 bucks that's actually a good deal regardless.

 

[solidus12]

This is a new low, even for him

 

[TrebleShot]

trtied this over the weekend, was utter shit lol.
looked like shit, felt like shit and worst of all the BT on the stick is so weak good luck trying to sit anywhere but a few feet away.

 

[Ozriel]

What does the price of this sale have to do with the existing market?

Also, you have no idea how many units these sell because Amazon doesn't really talk about that.

There is little to no reason to buy these moving forward. Every tv comes with an OS that's on par with or better than a fire tv stick these days.

And yet Amazon sold 50 million fire devices (smart TVs and Fire sticks/Cube) between Jan 2022 and March 2023.

Amazon Fire TV Device Sales Top 200 Million

Amazon's Fire TV streaming devices and smart TVs have now surpassed 200 million units sold to date, according to the company.

variety.com

 

[Topher]

This is a new low, even for him

 

[Mibu no ookami]

And yet Amazon sold 50 million fire devices (smart TVs and Fire sticks/Cube) between Jan 2022 and March 2023.

Amazon Fire TV Device Sales Top 200 Million

Amazon's Fire TV streaming devices and smart TVs have now surpassed 200 million units sold to date, according to the company.

variety.com

You should have paused as soon as you saw smart TVs were lumped into that.

 

[Ozriel]

This is a new low, even for him

This is a really fucking stupid thing for him to say.

 

[Ozriel]

You should have paused as soon as you saw smart TVs were lumped into that.

Smart TVs running Amazon’s Fire TV OS.
Just how many of those do you think Amazon sells? in a market dominated by Samsung (Tizen), LG (WebOS), Sony (Android TV) and the flood of Roku TVs?

Amazon’s announcement that the Fire TV stick was one of the best selling products on their storefront in Holiday 2023 should have given you pause.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

Smart TVs running Amazon’s Fire TV OS.
Just how many of those do you think Amazon sells? in a market dominated by Samsung (Tizen), LG (WebOS), Sony (Android TV) and the flood of Roku TVs?

Amazon’s announcement that the Fire TV stick was one of the best selling products on their storefront in Holiday 2023 should have given you pause.

Amazon sells quite a few I'm sure. They put out 300 and 400 dollar 4KTVs that people think are a good deal.

I'm not saying that the fire stick doesn't sell, I said there is little reason to buy these moving forward.

Every tv on the market comes with fire tv, android tv, webos, and tizen as you mentioned.

The people buying fire sticks are most likely upgrading older fire sticks and I'm sure its a popular stocking stuffer. That being said combined with the tv sales, this doesn't suggest all that high sales annually, especially when you consider the price points.