My Strategy For Xbox - Xbox Games Playable on Surface Pro 4

We already know that, with the coming of Windows 10, you will be able to stream games from the Xbox One to another device. I would recommend taking this one step further. When the Surface Pro 4 releases (presumably this summer with Windows 10), there should
be a sku that contains within it the hardware sufficient to run Xbox One games (combined with some rather complicated software emulation). The Surface Pro 4 would not have a blu ray player, obviously, but would be able to access the Xbox marketplace and download
digital games to play on the Surface Pro 4. Adopting this strategy could have several impacts:

(1) It could create a new market for the Surface Pro 4--the gamer--increasing sales and brand recognition of the Surface Pro 4.

(2) It could increase the sale of Xbox One digital games. Since Microsoft receives a cut of every Xbox One game sold (and a bigger cut of every Xbox One game sold on the marketplace), this would create additional revenue for Microsoft.

(3) It could increase the Xbox brand, because it would expose Xbox to a new market that would not necessary buy a gaming console.

(4) It could increase the sale of Xbox One consoles (notwithstanding the fact that a player would not need one to play an Xbox One game), on the theory that people playing an Xbox One game on a Surface Pro 4 may want to take that same experience to a bigger
screen.

:)

 

MineSweeper: Can't Sign-In

I'm also having this problem on Surface pro 4 for Mahjong and Sudoku. Just downloaded and tried minesweeper and it's doing it there too. I actually have no problems playing these games on my old Surface pro 1 (with windows 10 installed on it too). The only
game that works on surface pro 4 is Microsoft Solitaire Collection.

 

Some questions before purchase

Well, I own a first Generation Surface Pro and a Xbox One and Xbox One X at home.

First of all, be aware that the Surface Pro "only" has the processor internal Intel Graphics, that are unsuitable for very "modern" games. However, you mention "casual" games and Assassins Creed, which is comparably old and from the Xbox 360 era (unless
you mean the modern Assassins Creeds like Origin and the likes).

My old first generation Surface Pro is perfectly capable of playing casual games, and older 3D games like Portal 2 and various other "classic" Steam games.

It really depends on the graphical complexity of the game. While you can't expect to be able to run Forza Horizon 4 on your Surface Pro, 3D games from the Xbox 360 time era (i.e. up to about 2010-ish) should more or less work on your Surface. When it comes
to casual games or Strategy games which are less graphics intensive your Surface should work as well. Your mileage may vary however, depending on how high you'll turn up the graphical settings.

As for the Xbox One S: The Xbox One has a custom SoC (System on a Chip) that combines graphics hardware and main CPU, similar to the Intel i5 processor of your Surface, with the difference, that it's an AMD processor, and a much more powerful graphics hardware
comparable to a dedicated graphics card in a desktop PC or the Surface Book's power base.

Therefore the Xbox One S is still capable of running more modern games like the just released Forza Horizon 4 for example, while your Intel graphics chip in the Surface wouldn't. But you would be able to stream these games from the Xbox One to your Surface
no problem, as the Xbox would do the heavy lifting of the 3D graphics, and then sending a compressed video stream to your Surface, where the Surface simply has to decompress a 2D Video stream instead of complex real time 3D graphics.

 

Dont surface tablets cost more than an Xbox One? Besides including XB1 Hardware in a Surface tablet effectively kills the surface tablet because it would cost to much. Overall a terrible idea.

 

I think the most you could expect would be a remote play type feature ( PS3/PS4 to Vita) but when that's been brought up here before there wasn't any love for that feature to a handheld device.

 

It is not a terrible idea at all.

Of course a Surface Pro 4 would cost more. The idea isn't to find a cheaper way to play Xbox One games. Its about incorporating the ability to play Xbox One games into a device that someone would already own for other purposes. This would simply be an
add-on benefit to the device--not the device's primary purpose.

And my plan would certainly not "kill" the surface tablet because it would cost too much. As I said in my post, this would be a sku of the product, meaning that the capability would not be in all Surface Pro tablets, just a higher level sku of the product.
By way of analogy, Ford makes a wide range of cars. I can buy a Ford for $15,000, or I can buy a Ford for $100,000. The fact that there are more expensive Fords does not kill the market for the lower priced Ford. Further, the cost to include hardware sufficient
to run Xbox One games would not increase the cost of this higher-level sku more than $100-$150 in my estimation. The higher level Surface Pro 4 skus will already come with memory and a CPU more than sufficient to run Xbox One games. Further, while I don't
know for certain, it is possible that the GPU built into upcoming higher-level Broadwell chip sets that will be included in the Surface Pro 4 in any event is already more powerful than the GPU in the Xbox One (while the GPU in the Xbox One is separate and
not part of the chip set, it is many years old and technology has come a long way). While there would be no reason to include ESRAM in a Surface Pro 4, it is almost certain that the Surface Pro 3 would include 8 to 16gb of the new LPDDR3, which may be sufficient
fast to emulate the small chunk of ESRAM in the Xbox One. In any event, adding ESRAM into the Surface Pro 4 would be relatively cheap at this point.

 

Its what MS want an all in one machine, unfortunately its not what the consumer wants.

 

I think you may be extrapolating from events that may not be analogous. There is no doubt that the customer does not want a gaming console that contains material trade offs in the ability to play high caliber games in order to incorporate non-gaming features.
We obviously saw that with the Xbox One. However, if you look at devices such as the iPhone, you see than an all-in-one device can be extremely popular. In fact, the current iteration of the Surface line, the Surface Pro 3, has been selling extremely well
based on the idea that it is both a tablet and a full PC.

What I believe is good about my idea is that it does absolutely nothing to undermine the current marketing that the Xbox One as a gaming console first and anything else is secondary. That is what the customers want and, thus, that is how the marketing will
be driven. My idea does not try to bring non-gaming features to the Xbox One, but to the contrary, brings additional gaming capacities to other products.

 

The problem is that the Surface is simply a tablet (an expensive one). From a gaming perspective it doesn't replace a desktop or laptop so it's appeal is limited considering most people that are playing the games that the Surface will support are playing
them on devices that are less expensive or do it better.

The Surface won't have the hardware to support the AAA console releases and even if it did how do you play them. Wireless/wired controller? If you're going that route you might as well buy a laptop that'll give you more options.

 

I wasnt on about the XO being an all in one device, it sounds like you want the surface pro to do everything. I think the Surface pro should focus on being a laptop with games as 'apps' and the XO should stick to gaming.