630°

Microsoft now lets you stream PC games to an Xbox One and use a controller

A newly updated app, Wireless Display app, from Microsoft enables the support so you can play Steam games or other titles directly on an Xbox One. You can use a regular Xbox controller to control the remote PC, enabling game play or even the ability to use an Xbox for presentations.

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2549d ago Replies(13)
maybelovehate2549d ago

Not for gaming lol. But it might be cool to stream your desktop for other purposes. Although I am not quite sure what.

Kumakai2549d ago (Edited 2549d ago )

Yes. More games. Everybody places importance on games. This expands that concept by a whole other ecosystem. So the Xbox in theory has 2 game catalogs. Seems MS is more for the players lately.

gangsta_red2549d ago

Yeah, that's pretty cool for a person like me who doesn't game on PC but now can make a Steam account and play games from Steam on Xbox.

But in my opinion it would have been a lot better if there was a native Steam app to access your account and play games.

Baby steps right...

SegaGamer2549d ago (Edited 2549d ago )

Except that you need to own the pc which also needs to be on and poweful enough to run the games and have the games installed on that pc. It's your pc that is doing the work, you're just streaming your own pc to your Xbox One.

This has been around for a while now, it's called Steam Link, and you can download it on pretty much any Android device, you could also just use any old Laptop to stream your Steam library with home streaming.

starchild2549d ago

@ gangsta_red

I was going to write a blog post about this (I guess N4G doesn't offer that anymore?), but I really think Microsoft plans to bring PC and Xbox together even more. Before this generation of consoles launched I had commented about how I think Microsoft should merge PC and Xbox software. We've definitely gotten closer to that this generation with Microsoft putting all of their exclusives on PC and the play anywhere initiative.

What I think they should do, though, is to simply turn future Xbox consoles into streamlined gaming PCs. This would mean that the Xbox and PC platforms would fully merge into one single platform.

Doing this would bring a host of benefits to developers and to Xbox and PC platforms. Developers could create a single version of their games that would scale across different PCs and Xbox consoles. This would obviously result in less work for developers. It would also mean that games for PC/Xbox would have a much larger user base to sell to, which would make the platform more attractive to developers and likely result in a greater number of games being created for the platform.

It would also benefit both PC gamers and Xbox gamers because every PC game would be available to play on Xbox consoles and every Xbox game would be available to play on the PC. So Xbox gamers would get to enjoy a massive library of PC games that never showed up on Xbox consoles and PC gamers would no longer miss out on games like Red Dead Redemption 2.

It would also give gamers the option to buy an affordable Xbox console and then upgrade up to a more powerful PC later down the line and still carry their library of games with them.

Consoles are already so PC-like in their makeup. This would mainly just be Microsoft merging Xbox and PC at the software and tools level.

Some people may claim that a console that can run PC games would detract from the ease of use and straightforward nature consoles are known for. And that worry wouldn't be completely unwarranted. However, I think it's possible for Microsoft to streamline the UI and the whole experience in ways that would still be palatable to console gamers. And the benefits are huge and undeniable. If Microsoft could manage to nail that aspect and market it the right way it could be a positive and transformative shift for them and for gamers.

That's what I think they should do. Whether they actually go that far is anyone's guess. They certainly seem to be moving in that direction though. So we'll see to what degree any of this happens.

Ju2549d ago

"need a PC powerful enough"...sure, but a 2 year old quad i7 with a 1060GTX streams content just fine. At 1080p at least. Same as Steam link (on any Android TV).

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DaDrunkenJester2549d ago

I have my uses for it. For instance, my computer is in my room so when the wife needs to go to bed I can't continue to play my games. Now I can just stream it to my Xbox in the living room.

Of course you're still at the mercy of your internet speed, but both my Xbox and PC are hardwired in and the last time I streamed my Xbox to my PC it worked pretty well with only a few times where the resolution would drop due to a weird internet issue.

maybelovehate2549d ago

It is a lan connection, no internet involved.

DaDrunkenJester2549d ago

So does that mean we can Stream PSNow on PC and then stream our PC to Xbox so now we can play TLoU on Xbox?

Jin_Sakai2549d ago (Edited 2549d ago )

“So does that mean we can Stream PSNow on PC and then stream our PC to Xbox so now we can play TLoU on Xbox?”

If you want to play The Last of Us just get a PS4 and support Sony and the developer.

Kribwalker2549d ago

@Jin

but if the poster doesn’t want to spend the money on a ps4?

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NarutoFox2549d ago

Why would I wanna do this🤔🤔

Cobra9512549d ago

One scenario: Powerful desktop PC in your mancave; Big TV with connected Xbox in the living room. Add guests or family.

luckytrouble2549d ago (Edited 2549d ago )

The problem is that stuff like this only works well most of the time over a hardwired Ethernet connection. Wireless is super hit or miss every single time, but even hard wired is far from perfect. Just check out the Steam Link if you want an idea of how effective solutions like this actually are. As a hint, the Steam Link failed to really catch on for a reason, that reason being that with all caveats considered, it makes what is essentially streaming over your home network a vastly inferior choice to just playing on your PC.

jznrpg2549d ago

You can connect your powerful desktop to big TVs . You have been able to do that since forever

rainslacker2549d ago (Edited 2549d ago )

Couldn't you just buy a ethernet based HDMI extender for about $30 for the device, $10 for the network cable, then get a USB hub which can work over your ethernet for about $20-25 to play the game natively without having to get the console, or deal with network lag? Those two devices don't offer up the same lag that you get from streaming video over your internet, and requiring another app to access the stream. I've done it in the past, long before remote play for games was ever a thing. Used to play SimCity on the big screen, but eventually gave up because the text was too small and it wasn't that pleasant. But all PC's have an HDMI out now. So, basically about $50. Maybe more if you need to do it over wi-fi, which probably would introduce some lag, but likely not more than you'd get through the app.

In my scenario above, you use your original computer, just have to have it output the game through the HDMI. No fuss, no settings, no problem. Could even use Steam's big picture mode.

andibandit2548d ago

@rain

What about the controls?

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iplay1up22549d ago

I have a 65 inch 4K HDR TV, with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, that is why I want to stream through my X1X!

maybelovehate2549d ago

Windows 10 does not natively support Dolby vision and only a handful of games do but none of them would be capable of streaming in Dolby vision to your tv since the desktop emulation does not support it.

MisterLou2549d ago

So connect your PC to your 65 Inch 4k HDR TV, and play in glorious 4K instead of downsampled to 1080p or less.

crazyCoconuts2549d ago

It's a nice utility to have. Steamlink is a really cheap box that has been doing this for a long time for PC gamers. Based on the fact that it's being discontinued, I'd guess it hasn't been in really high demand. I use mine once in a while. but any PC with steam can already stream from any other PC with steam, and there are other ways to do this with a variety of devices so Xbox is just adding one more way to the list

jagermaster6192549d ago

You don't because you have playstation...

jznrpg2549d ago

Yeah plenty of games to play on PlayStation. This gives people a reason to turn on the Xbox so you feel better about it even though you neglect your much more expensive PC.

NXFather2549d ago

My primary reason would be for better pixel retention on Oled televisions.

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Donnie812549d ago

This could be useful if it’s somewhat high quality

Kumakai2549d ago

This is pretty badass to me.

SegaGamer2549d ago

Meh, it's basically just Steam Link with a different name. It's been around for a while now.

RevXM2549d ago

So what, steam link is discontinued.
And this feature is badass whether or not its been done before. Also the steam link only work with games on steam no?

I bought a 1s mainly as a 4k bluray player and occasionally games if this works well Ill be using it a lot.
Hopefully it will work with every game in the future, for now Ill be impressed if all games with native xbox controller support works and the stream over ethernet is a solid quality. M&K support later will be apreciated.

SegaGamer2549d ago

@RevXM
Steam Link the device is discontinued, the actual app is still going and after the recent update, it's better than it was before (at least for me anyway) And no, it's not just for Steam games, I can stream my whole desktop with Steam Link.

King_Noctis2549d ago

If Steam Link is discontinued how can people without one stream their games to their TV?

SegaGamer2549d ago

@King_Noctis

Laptop, tablet, phone, fire stick and others. Just connect one of these to the tv, download the app, or use Home Streaming on Laptop and you can stream Steam games, simple.

badz1492549d ago

@king_noctis

Buy a HDMI cable long enough for the tv and play natively without the extra input lag? No?

King_Noctis2549d ago

@segagamer&badz

Good solutions, but if someone already have an Xbox, I doubt they would do that when the solution is already infront of their face.

SegaGamer2548d ago

@King_Noctis.

It's more likely that people will have one of the devices I mentioned than an Xbox One.

+ Show (4) more repliesLast reply 2548d ago
SegaSaturn6692549d ago

I noticed that Xbox One can upscale Oblivion. Almost tempted to buy one...almost.

iplay1up22549d ago

It runs in 4K on X1X. As do a ton of older games. Hell , SSX, is in 4K on X1X. That is an amazing game!

jznrpg2549d ago (Edited 2549d ago )

Why not get it on PC and use the much better mods and such . It will have much better assets not just a resolution change

SegaSaturn6692549d ago

That's a fair point. I noticed it didn't have controller support, though. Even though it might not get a re-release, part of me just says it's gonna come eventually.

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50°

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