For nylig fremviste Microsoft deres xCloud-tjeneste ved at lade en vært spille Forza Horizon 4 på en telefon. Samtidig afslørede de at vil sætte gang i en beta-periode for tjenesten senere på året, og mange spekulerer nu om hvorvidt streamingtjenester som denne vil erstatte den traditionelle konsol inden længe. Det mener Microsoft selv dog ikke.
I et interview med Eurogamer fortæller Microsofts streamingchef Kareem Choudhry, at xCloud ikke skal ses som en erstatning, men et supplement.
"It's not that extreme at all! I've been building consoles for 15 years - we're not getting out of the console business, we spoke about it in our xCloud videos. We love our consoles, we love that business, and we're super proud to have the most powerful console out on the market place today and that leadership position we hope to retain going foward. And I also believe your best premium experience is going to be dedicated hardware running under your TV in your living room. It's an 'and' conversation, not an 'or' conversation. Everyone loves to jump to the death of consoles, and I think it makes a great headline, but we don't think that way at all."
Tror du nu alligevel Microsoft sigter efter at holde op med at lave konsoller, for så at tilbyde xCloud til tablets, telefoner og direkte på fjernsynet?