What you need to know
- Microsoft competes in the gaming space with Nintendo and Sony.
- Xbox head Phil Spencer says that he views the cloud providers as competition.
- Amazon and Google are investing in the gaming space.
- Microsoft wants to be the one to reach billions of gamers going forward through Project xCloud.
It's not secret that Microsoft competes with Nintendo and Sony in the gaming space. However, the company doesn't view the two as competition. Microsoft is obviously worth over a trillion dollars, and Nintendo and Sony don't come close, but it's more about the future of gaming.
Cloud gaming seems like it's taking off because companies like Google, NVIDIA, Microsoft, Shadow, and others, offer their own subscription services. Amazon is reportedly working on its own platform that it'll reveal closer to the next-generation console launches.
Xbox head Phil Spencer sees Amazon and Google as competition because they have the established cloud infrastructure to provide gaming to billions of individuals. He said the following in an interview with Protocol. You can read an excerpt from the interview below compiled by The Verge.
When you talk about Nintendo and Sony, we have a ton of respect for them, but we see Amazon and Google as the main competitors going forward. That's not to disrespect Nintendo and Sony, but the traditional gaming companies are somewhat out of position. I guess they could try to recreate Azure, but we've invested tens of billions of dollars in cloud over the years... I don't want to be in a fight over format wars with those guys while Amazon and Google are focusing on how to get gaming to seven billion people around the world. Ultimately, that's the goal.
It's understandable that Microsoft will want to look ahead and establish themselves early. However, only time will tell who comes out on top.
Three-month subscription
Xbox Game Pass gives you access to over 200 games for one monthly fee. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate also adds Xbox Live Gold to the package so you can play online with your friends.
