Nintendo and Sony Aren’t Xbox’s Cloud Gaming Rivals

Xbox boss Phil Spencer has dismissed Nintendo and Sony’s technical prowess when it comes to the future of cloud gaming. Instead, Spencer says that Amazon and Google are currently the main threats to Xbox. 

The comments come following an interview with Protocol regarding big tech companies entering the gaming sector. Spencer said, 

“When you talk about Nintendo and Sony, we have a ton of respect for them, but we see Amazon and Google as the main competitors going forward. That’s not to disrespect Nintendo and Sony, but the traditional gaming companies are somewhat out of position. I guess they could try to re-create Azure, but we’ve invested tens of billions of dollars in cloud over the years.” 

It’s an interesting comment for Spencer to make considering the fairly recent announcement that Xbox and Sony had formed a partnership on video game streaming. Sony will likely be making use of Microsoft Azure as a result of the partnership. The two companies are also teaming up to produce more environmentally-friendly consoles. Nintendo has also stated that they “see a future where cloud and streaming technologies will develop more and more as a means of delivering games to consumers” and that they “must keep up with such changes in the environment.” 

New Competitors

Google’s own answer to cloud gaming, the Stadia, hasn’t exactly been well-received since its 2019 debut. Fans and critics alike have criticized Stadia for lack of announcements and a less than an impressive library of games.  

Amazon currently has no dedicated gaming service outside streaming platform Twitch.  

While cloud gaming has been gaining traction in the last couple of years, it seems we’re still far away from a future where it becomes the main form of gaming. Both Xbox and Sony are set to release a new generation of consoles later this holiday season. 

Spencer has been hesitant in the past to throw his fellow competitors under the bus, saying last year that the console war mentality did not align with his own beliefs. He re-iterates this further in his interview with Protocol, saying, “I don’t want to be in a fight over format wars with those guys while Amazon and Google are focusing on how to get gaming to 7 billion people around the world. Ultimately, that’s the goal.”