Google Stadia v Project xCloud – We Know Who Wins

If my cell phone was a microphone, I’d drop it. Unfortunately, I sort of need it. Even my controller has value, so I dare not break it either. There’s a reason behind the silly talk, and that’s the fact that Project xCloud Preview is here alongside Google Stadia, and it’s crushing everything Google’s planned. If you considered ordering the Stadia, my initial recommendation is don’t. We’ve had hands on with the Stadia and it’s only gotten worse since.

Is Stadia DOA?

There’s not much good press around and it’s because of both, what the Google Stadia offers and doesn’t. While at launch there are a little over 30 titles to choose from, it does require purchases beyond the Stadia’s Chromecast. Like PlayStation and Xbox, the Stadia does give its Premier and Founders free copies of Destiny 2 and Samurai Showdown. Anything else requires a purchase, and that honestly make sense. There’s not a console out there that offers free games, however, Sony and Microsoft do offer free titles every month to soften their subscription. Will Stadia do the same? With a small library available, it doesn’t seem possible for now.

As for functionality, the Google Stadia is a bit inconsistent. When I first played DOOM Eternal back at PAX West, the screen was blurry at times like a YouTube video trying to buffer back to 720p or 1080p. Beyond latency issues, gameplay was fair, with little framerate issues. Launch however has been horrendous with early adopters mentioning games freezing, insane lag and reported to hog your Wi-Fi as much as 100mb per minute. I’m sure most of you are capped at around 1TB a month with Xfinity and it’s simply not worth it.

Google is also being a little selfish (at launch), limiting their online Stadia services to their own brand. While I’m sure this is just a setback, it’s an unjust one. You’re stuck with either Pixel phones or Google laptops, nothing more. And to top it all off, Google Stadia isn’t in test phase, we’re looking at the real deal. And for $129.99, the Stadia doesn’t live up to the hype.

And Then There was Project xCloud

Currently in Preview status, the xCloud streaming service is leap and bounds over what Stadia has planned and for the most part failed. The Xbox Game Streaming app available on “All Mobile Apps” allows players to jump in on the action, if you’re using a capable streaming device. You also must be apart of the Xbox Preview Program to be considered as the official roll out is slated for 2020.

On the app you can switch from Console Streaming which will fetch a mirror image of what’s available on your Xbox One while xCloud allows you to play over 50 games (most from Game Pass) from the Xbox Cloud. We’ve tried both and the convenience is astonishing! Players are going to get a kick out of what Project xCloud has to offer.

I played WWE 2K20 first on xCloud. Yes, it wasn’t the best game in the selection, but it was for good reason. The reversal and pinning system in WWE 2K20 are crucial to winning, and even a millisecond will hurt you. Happily, it was a great experience and the graphics were phenomenal. I later played Gears 5, World War Z and Tekken 7 on xCloud. They all played very well. My only issue was with Tekken 7 as I suffered small framerate issues during the vs screen and loading cutscenes. Gameplay was spot on with zero lag.

Seek Wi-Fi Wherever You Go

While you can play using your mobile data, it needs to be a consistent one to full enjoy Stadia or xCloud. When I didn’t have full bars, it was like trying to watch something play with AOL and the absolute worse speeds available. This question will 5G better support situations such as this or are we looking at how good as it gets. Either way, Xbox have plenty of time to catch up as xCloud isn’t a public feature yet, something Stadia should’ve researched a bit more.

In the end, Project xCloud is without question the better direction for playing on the go and getting the very best experience possible. We still hope Google Stadia gets better over time, but the climb has been pretty rough.