14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft Xbox boss Phil Spencer confirms that more and more games will start using the cloud features offered by the company on the Xbox One and that fans are going to see the value in the actual technology over time.
The Xbox One launched last year in quite a few countries, but the period leading to its release was filled with controversies and generally a lack of clarity from Microsoft about the console's features.
One of the biggest hazy areas was the cloud mechanics that could help the console unlock extra power and offer more benefits to users. Many fans didn't understand just how that happened and Microsoft was dealing with far bigger problems instead of explaining it to them.
Cloud features will be used more and more, Spencer says
Now, Microsoft's Phil Spencer, the new Xbox leader, admits that the company could've done a better job explaining the cloud features but that, through games like the recent Titanfall, users will soon figure out just how important the cloud mechanics are and start demanding for them just like with dedicated servers or multiplayer.
Spencer has talked with The Inner Circle podcast, via DualShockers, and confirms that about 40% of games this holiday season will use the cloud in some way or form.
"People don’t think of [dedicated servers and people playing multiplayer] as cloud because everybody does it, and I get that, but I think I looked at a stat the other day, and I bet it’s going to be 34 to 40% of the games live this holidays are going to be using the cloud technology that we put out in some way," he says.
Specific examples include already released titles, like Titanfall, but also upcoming ones, such as the new Crackdown or Halo 5: Guardians.
"When you look at something like crackdown, you’re picking up something that’s trying to jump a leap ahead and do some things that people haven’t done before. Titanfall did some of this with the AI stuff that they did. Halo 5 is going to be something that’s obviously making use of the technology."
Cloud tech is already popular with developers
Spencer also confirms that more and more developers, both from inside the Microsoft team and from the third-party sphere, are interested in using cloud features, so the corporation is going to start promoting it in a better way with regular gamers.
"Definitely from first party and third party we’re seeing more and more people look at the technology that we’re putting out there and use it. Maybe we should think about how to talk about it with consumers better."
The Xbox One is set to receive a fresh marketing campaign in the following weeks, ahead of the release of major exclusives like Sunset Overdrive or Halo: The Master Chief Collection.