The ageing Xbox One S will become a surprising key machine in the upcoming battle between Microsoft, Sony and Google.Gaming industry experts believe the console's technology could help Xbox to get a stranglehold over the game streaming market.Bosses at the firm are prepping to launch Project xCloud.It's shrouded in secrecy but is expected to be a Netflix-style web streaming game service where you play over the web.Hundreds of Xbox games will sit on servers utilising the Xbox One S machine design so people at home won't have to physically buy a console to play the game and will use their mobile phone browser as a window only into the cloud based system.It comes as Google quietly work away behind the scenes on its own cloud-based game streaming service, dubbed Yeti.Richard Leadbetter, of Digital Foundry, said that while the efficient by ageing Xbox One S technology already can't keep up with the power-hungry Xbox One X or PlayStation 4 Pro, this future use of its tech will give it a whole new lifecycle.
Leadbetter said: "Obviously though, the Xbox One S isn't going anywhere, and it's highly likely that the machine will take on a new role. "The X is there for the core gamer who values good performance and image quality worthy of their 4K screen, but Microsoft is planning on expanding its audience and it's here where the S plays a crucial role. The firm has already revealed that its cloud-based streaming system - dubbed Project xCloud - features server blades built around the S architecture. "Bearing in mind that mobile devices are the primary target for streaming, resolution deficiencies won't be an issue, while using S hardware instead of X represents huge power savings and far greater efficiency. "It's a more obvious fit for the task in hand."
Leadbetter then added: "So where does this leave Xbox One S users in the here and now? I think the trend we saw in 2018 will continue - the PlayStation 4 is the base platform for multi-platform development, and this does present consequences for the S in the most challenging titles.
"However, the reverse is true for Xbox One X, which seems to be going from strength to strength, delivering marketing wins for Microsoft time and time again."The 'console wars' for this generation are effectively over - those buying into an Xbox right now are unlikely to care too much about the areas in which the S falls short, and for those that do care, the X is difficult to resist. "The job of the S evolves, then - the lower build cost makes it the ideal vehicle for initiatives aimed at appealing to a new, very different audience - and the work being done here could have profound importance in shaping Microsoft's next-gen offering."
