Microsoft Prepares Cloud Gaming Service for Japan Launch
upstart writes:
Microsoft prepares cloud gaming service for Japan launch:
TOKYO -- Microsoft is accelerating its push into cloud-based games with plans to bring next-generation gaming to Japan later this year, a sign that competition is heating up among long-established game makers and tech giants.
The U.S. company announced on Thursday that it will roll out cloud gaming in four countries, including Japan and Australia, through its Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, a subscription service that allows gamers to download more than 100 games to their Xboxes or PCs, or play cloud-based games.
The service has been available in the U.S. and Europe since last year, and some test runs have taken place in Japan. Microsoft plans to work on the development of data centers in Japan as it gets ready to launch the full-scale service by the end of 2021.
[...] In Japan, Sony Group helped pioneer the sector, introducing a cloud gaming service in 2014. The entertainment conglomerate, which has tied up with Microsoft in the cloud gaming market, offers a subscription service called PlayStation Now from which users can stream games to their consoles or PCs. The service now has 3.2 million subscribers, up 78% from a year earlier.
[...] In another move toward creating a "Netflix for gaming business," Microsoft revealed that it is developing a dedicated device for cloud-based games that can be connected to a TV or display, as it bids to "reach gamers on any TV or monitor without the need for a console at all."
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