Microsoft Is Playing Halo 4 On Windows Phones

[Deshin]

I literally just answered that very same thing a post before you. I don't care about streaming. I don't care about the cloud. I don't care about SteamOS either. I live in a rural area, so my internet gets taxed enough as it is.

Edit: Would you prefer me to say 'Oh, sure, you'll stream it to us, but you won't actually give it to us? It's pretty much the same thing as what I originally said, given this is Microsoft and they're well-known for treating PC gamers like yesterday's news.

You must've posted right before I did then because I didn't see your post at all. Ok sure when you put it like that it does sound bad but I'm looking at it this way: We're able to keep past libraries of console video games alive and accessible on more than just the default devices they came on. Right now if I wanted to play Timesplitters I'd have to bust my old PS2 out. What if I don't have a PS2 anymore? What if it's broken? What if my disc is scratched and ebay doesn't have any? It's certainly not an ideal service but it's a step in the right direction imo if they manage to apply this on a very broad spectrum. Of course there're always emulators and roms to keep libraries alive that way; this is just the "legal" way of doing it and also offloading all the processing power offsite (ie: ACTUALLY using cloud computing as opposed to all their other claptrap they've said so far) if you have a node not capable of handling the emulation.

I hate to repeat what a different poster already said, but I don't care much about streaming either and consider it to be a step back in regards to singleplayer games not to mention highly detrimental to modding(how are you supposed to mod something to your hearts content if you can't even access it? Also to be specific, I'm speaking of corporate controlled streaming here, not whatever the Average Joe can use on their own machinery since that's still under their control(as in streaming from their own pc)). Plus the other thing was specifically aimed at the concept of having an fps on a phone, streaming or otherwise, given you'd have to deal with the touchscreen or drag around a controller plus an adapter.

1. Console games can't be modded anyway and I imagine this service is only going to apply to console games.
2. They put a FPS on a phone because it's Microsoft. They needed a game to demo and what else would they use apart from the latest Halo game? It's less "we felt this was the best use of the technology" and more "ohmahgurd its halo!!1one1"

There's no such thing as a bad movement in technology. Streaming is the current "in" thing to do right now so whatever anyone brings the table is going to be good for the medium as a whole. Sure maybe I'm just being optimistic, and maybe Microsoft will sod this up royally, but I still think this may be a good thing at the end of the day. Even if I don't want to partake of it personally I know many people will find good use out of it.

 

[TheIceQueen]

I literally just answered that very same thing a post before you. I don't care about streaming. I don't care about the cloud. I don't care about SteamOS either. I live in a rural area, so my internet gets taxed enough as it is.

Edit: Would you prefer me to say 'Oh, sure, you'll stream it to us, but you won't actually give it to us? It's pretty much the same thing as what I originally said, given this is Microsoft and they're well-known for treating PC gamers like yesterday's news.

You must've posted right before I did then because I didn't see your post at all. Ok sure when you put it like that it does sound bad but I'm looking at it this way: We're able to keep past libraries of console video games alive and accessible on more than just the default devices they came on. Right now if I wanted to play Timesplitters I'd have to bust my old PS2 out. What if I don't have a PS2 anymore? What if it's broken? What if my disc is scratched and ebay doesn't have any? It's certainly not an ideal service but it's a step in the right direction imo if they manage to apply this on a very broad spectrum. Of course there're always emulators and roms to keep libraries alive that way; this is just the "legal" way of doing it and also offloading all the processing power offsite (ie: ACTUALLY using cloud computing as opposed to all their other claptrap they've said so far) if you have a node not capable of handling the emulation.

Now, I'm only going to speak for me. If my PS2 was broken (which I don't have because I've got a PS3 Fatty), I'd get a new one. They're cheap and plentiful, with millions still in circulation and millions ever going to be in circulation due to the popularity of the console. After all, they only just stopped making them this January.

If my disc was scratched up, I can take it to a game shop and get it buffed up for $5. I've already done this multiple times and it's made some of my scratched games that were unplayable good as new again.

If you want the cloud, that's good for you. I'm not going to stop you or your wants and I generally encourage technology to keep moving. It's great that 'the cloud' is being developed as maybe one day it'll actually be useful for me, but right now and for the next some odd years, it's not going to be useful for me at all and I just want to play my games.

 

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

Why not simply port halo 4 to pc ffs? Gotta be easier than steaming and all the shenanigans to get it working.

I'm genuinely sad that MS gave up on PC gaming. I honestly believe that the entire industry would be vastly different of they hadn't.

 

[Eldritch Warlord]

No name for it yet? Well if anyone at MS is reading may I suggest "Microsoft River"?

Why not simply port halo 4 to pc ffs? Gotta be easier than steaming and all the shenanigans to get it working.

I'm genuinely sad that MS gave up on PC gaming. I honestly believe that the entire industry would be vastly different of they hadn't.

You miss the point of this. It's not to find a way to play Halo 4 on a phone, it's a way to stream a game over the Internet with relatively low latency. Halo 4 just makes a convenient demonstration piece. The article says MS hinted at this tech being used for backward compatibility.

Furthermore, it seems to me that lately MS is having something of a resurgence of support for PC gaming. They may not be especially interested in putting Halo on Windows but next year's Titanfall and Project Spark will be. Is two out of three not enough?

 

[008Zulu_v1legacy]

Either way I consider this a good thing, if not for anything else than competition. It means a bigger push to actually make something worthwhile at cheaper prices.

I am to wonder how the cities and nations of the world with slow internet and restrictive data caps would be able to manage such a service.

 

[Arnoxthe1]

I think you folks missed the point. It was a tech demo, not a "We're bringing Halo 4 to phones" demo. Meaning they have the tech and can stream games to mobile devices AND (if you read the fucking article) low-end PC's with minimal latency. Future of gaming? Maybe not, but it may be a relief for people who can't afford a high-end PC and still want to play games. Of course, reading comprehension is tossed out the window because its an article about Microsoft...

So much this. I would like to see some Halo games on the PC too but that' ship's ******* sailed. Get a 360 if you want to play them or go home and stop complaining. 360's are getting cheaper and cheaper these days too so there's almost no reason not to get one if you want to play Halo.

 

[Strazdas]

How long would a phone's battery last with the wifi radio on and constantly streaming a game like Halo 4? Two hours, maybe? Would be simpler to just play the game on the console, or, make a PC port to take advantage of the higher performance they are capable of.

It's all well and good both Steam and Microsoft making streaming devices, but the battery life of phones and tablets means that serious gamers (CoD, Halo, GTA, etc multiplayers which seem to be the core of Microsoft's latest gaming push) won't adopt it.

TO be honest the batteries are already crap. i watch couple movies, maybe do some gaming and it already doesnt last me a week. i would kill for having a twice as capable battery even if it would be twice as large. stupid people pushing for thin phones, when what they should be pushing is for big ass batteries.

 

[TiberiusEsuriens]

Either way I consider this a good thing, if not for anything else than competition. It means a bigger push to actually make something worthwhile at cheaper prices.

I am to wonder how the cities and nations of the world with slow internet and restrictive data caps would be able to manage such a service.

The simplest answer is "They can't."

However, again in order to compete they may start pushing download speed/data compression, requiring less data to be passed at a time so weaker networks can manage. If one provider can get the stream service to a restrictive area it will drive all others to improve their services as well.

 

[clippen05]

I think you folks missed the point. It was a tech demo, not a "We're bringing Halo 4 to phones" demo. Meaning they have the tech and can stream games to mobile devices AND (if you read the fucking article) low-end PC's with minimal latency. Future of gaming? Maybe not, but it may be a relief for people who can't afford a high-end PC and still want to play games. Of course, reading comprehension is tossed out the window because its an article about Microsoft...

So much this. I would like to see some Halo games on the PC too but that' ship's ******* sailed. Get a 360 if you want to play them or go home and stop complaining. 360's are getting cheaper and cheaper these days too so there's almost no reason not to get one if you want to play Halo.

Not everyone has enough disposable income to buy a system for just 1 game/ 1 game series. Who cares how cheap they've become, $100 is still a lot of money. Tired of people telling PC gamers to stop complaining, we (almost) NEVER get ports from console exclusives yet the reverse ALWAYS happens. Sure, life's not fair, and I accept that, but it is still annoying.

 

[Arnoxthe1]

Not everyone has enough disposable income to buy a system for just 1 game/ 1 game series. Who cares how cheap they've become, $100 is still a lot of money. Tired of people telling PC gamers to stop complaining, we (almost) NEVER get ports from console exclusives yet the reverse ALWAYS happens. Sure, life's not fair, and I accept that, but it is still annoying.

While you may not get certain console games, you also have a better platform to play them on. Furthermore, if you can spend $300 or more on a custom PC, you can spend a little bit of money to get a cheap console if you really wanted to. And besides, with the 360, you can play all Halo games. Even if you took out Backwards Compatibility (which Microsoft made sure that Halo: CE and Halo 2 would work with it just fine above all other games), you will still have Halo 3, Halo: ODST, Halo: Reach, and Halo 4. So with Halo, it's not just one game.