Digital Foundry's new analysis focuses on cloud gaming, and in particular on the service that both Sony and Microsoft respectively offer through PS Plus e Xbox Game Pass. Who will come out on top in this new confrontation?
Tech experts ran a series of tests on multiple cloud stocks and the results were quite interesting. The summary, from their tests, is that PS Plus offers better image quality and performance while xCloud provides better latency values. In terms of how to access these games, DF found a quality comparable to that obtained on the PS5 (latency aside) regarding the Sony service, while the quality of the cloud gaming proposed by Microsoft targets Xbox Series S performance goals. This results in a lower resolution, which is combined with a reduced bitrate compared to the Sony service.
“Not only is the video stream of lower quality on Xbox's cloud gaming service, but users are being served Xbox Series S versions of every game I tested, despite Microsoft's confirmation that xCloud datacenters rely on hardware of the Series
This decision is probably due to reduce the load on Microsoft servers and avoid online queuesbut unfortunately this means that games don't play as well as on PS5 via cloud streaming offered by PlayStation Plus. Games like A Plague Tale: Requiem and Resident Evil 2 they ran about 20 FPS less on Xbox during the test, which is certainly not ideal.
On the other hand, it must be said that in games like Back 4 Blood the latency was evidently reduced on the Microsoft service, so for some types of games the experience offered by Microsoft might be preferable. It should also be remembered that Xbox Cloud Gaming allows you to play on more platforms than PS Plus, being also usable from mobile devices. Overall, however, Digital Foundry elects the Sony service as the best proposal for cloud gaming.