Microsoft's Xbox app for Windows 10
If you want to be a serious player in the PC gaming arena, you need to have the funds to back the hardware requirements. Sure, you can play on outdated hardware and get 20 frames per second. Sure, you can save a few bucks and purchase discounted hardware to meet the minimum system requirements. But deep down inside, PC gamers simply don't want to cut corners. They want the best imagery the current gaming engines can provide, just like their fellow console owners.
So, where are we going with this? Good question. Looking back over the last decade, it appeared that Microsoft really didn't care for the PC gamer. The company's primary focus, it seems, has been on the Xbox console owner. The thing is, Microsoft knows PC gamers feel this way, which is why we're hearing so much about the upcoming Windows 10 serving as a gaming platform. The company wants to right the wrongs, and is doing so with one small step forward: the Xbox app for Windows 10.
The Xbox app is broken down into ten components: the gamer's profile, Home, My Games, Messages, Activity alerts, Achievements, Game DVR, Store, Connect, and Settings. The menu to access these components is provided on the left and can be expanded by clicking on a small button with three lines at the top of the app. The Xbox app also provides a main window where users get all of their information and a list of friends, followers, and recent players lined up on the right. Honestly, the layout reminds me of Facebook.
For starters, the user's Profile page includes information such as recent activity, achievements, game clips that are shared with friends, and an option to see what everyone else on your friends list is doing; users can also follow any game they want from any game hub. For instance, click on a friend and you'll see his/her last game played, achievements that were unlocked, and more. To show support, you can "like" a post by clicking on a heart icon, share the post in a message or your activity feed, leave a comment, and make a report if the post is inappropriate.
Again, I'm reminded of Facebook. Essentially, Microsoft has created a game-focused social network that only Windows 10 and Xbox console owners can access. The Home page seems to back up that idea, showing the activity feed front and center along with a list of games the player recently launched, a list of Featured Games such as Halo: Spartan Strike that is linked to the Windows Store, and so on. There's even a space at the top of the activity feed for updating the gamer's status, just like Facebook.
Moving on, the "My games" section lists all games installed locally on the Windows 10 PC as well as games installed from Windows Store. Essentially, gamers really don't need to keep shortcuts on the desktop as they can load up the Xbox app, locate their game (Steam, EA Origin, etc.) and press Play. There's really nothing special going on here; this section is merely a launcher and at this time really doesn't play into the Xbox achievements and sharing aspect of the Xbox app, unless the game was purchased in Windows Store, that is.
That said, let's skip down to the meat of the Xbox app: the Game DVR. Here you can record videos and take screenshots of games played on Windows 10. As of this article, the function isn't working as expected. I tried to share three games to my Xbox buddies: Diablo III: Reaper of Souls, BioShock Infinite, and my current obsession, Wolfenstein: The New Order. I know for a fact that all three are offered on Xbox One, so these games should be easy to share, right?
For starters, typing Win + G on the keyboard will bring up a bar overlay. This bar doesn't sit on the screen for very long and provides quick access to functions like recording a video and taking screenshots. The problem is that for some reason the Xbox app functions don't always work. For Diablo III: Reaper of Souls, the only way the overlay would work was if the game was set in Fullscreen/Windowed mode. The same was true for BioShock Infinite. Note that for both games, I disabled Steam's overlay just in case there would be a conflict. Unfortunately, I couldn't get the Xbox overlay to work at all in Wolfenstein: The New Order.
What's also unfortunate is that I can't share my Diablo III and BioShock Infinite screens to my friends. According to the Xbox app, these two games "can't be shared because we don't recognize the game." The app confirms that clips and screenshots from games can indeed be shared on Xbox Live and that I should try a newer game. I didn't find a newer game, but I did manage to get a Halo: Spartan Assault screenshot to share to all of my Xbox buddies.
That said, because Wolfenstein: The New Order could be considered a "newer" game, I decided to cheat. I re-enabled the Steam overlay and grabbed a screenshot. I located the image locally and then copied it over to the folder where Game DVR stores all the images and clips. I renamed the image, gave it a PNG extension, and went back into the Xbox app. Did the screen show up in the app? No.
So, what's the deal? According to Microsoft's Brandon LeBlanc, "you can upload your local game clips and screenshots for Windows Store games to your shared collection on Xbox Live… You can capture game clips and screenshots for non–Windows Store games and access them via Game DVR."
There you go. Mystery solved: You can share games if they're purchased from Windows Store. Perhaps one day Microsoft will expand this feature to all PC games that are installed on a Windows 10 PC and have identical copies in the Xbox One library such as Diablo III and BioShock Infinite.
As for connecting the Xbox app to the Xbox One console, it's rather easy—just make sure that you're on the same access point. In other words, if you have a network extender installed, make sure both the Windows 10 PC and the console are connected to that device or connected to the network router.
Once connected to the console, the app provides controls including an on-screen game controller, a remote control for watching TV, and a volume button. As for the streaming options, users have a choice of testing the Xbox One connection, disconnecting, connecting automatically, turning off the console, and forgetting the console.
Unfortunately, I couldn't get the streaming aspect to work. "To continue, sign in on your console using this account," the Xbox app kept telling me even though I signed in to the Xbox One and the Windows 10 Xbox app using the same gamertag. A call to Microsoft revealed that an update to the Xbox One will be released around July 29 when Windows 10 is officially released. Right now, the only streaming going on seems to be within the company's private beta.
Moving on, the next components on the Xbox app list should be self-explanatory. In the Messages section you'll see all messages sent back and forth to those on the Friends list. "Activity alerts" show the most recent activity on the account such as adding a friend or playing a game, and the Achievements section shows your achievement progress on all compatible games. The Store link simply pulls up the Games section in Windows Store.
Finally, we have the Settings section, which is broken down into three sub-sections: General, Game DVR, and Game Streaming, the latter of which allows the user to encode video at High, Medium, and Low resolutions. Under General, gamers can switch on or off a number of features such as the Live Tile, notifications stating that your favorite friends have jumped online, when friends begin a Twitch streaming session, and when a new message is received. There's also a Privacy section that takes you to Xbox.com.
The Game DVR has a number of settings starting with Keyboard shortcuts. There are five that can be used to record: Open Game bar, Record that, Start/stop recording, Take screenshot, and Show/hide recording timer. All five of these have a default setting that includes the Windows key but the app allows the user to change these if needed.
In addition to the keyboard settings, players have an option to allow the Game DVR to record in the background while he/she is playing a game. A maximum recording time can also be set, although by default a clip can last an hour (the maximum is two hours and the minimum is 30 minutes). Finally, users can set the location where clips are stored, how the video is encoded (standard or high), and whether audio will be recorded. If the user chooses capture audio, the quality settings can range from 96Kb/s to 192Kb/s.
As mentioned earlier, the new Xbox app feels like a social network for gamers. What we'd like to see is Facebook integration so that gamers can post their screenshots and clips on the popular social network. But right now, it seems that Microsoft is (understandably) focused on bridging the gap between its Xbox and Windows PC communities. Hopefully, that bridge will grow to the point where we see Twitter and Facebook support.
All in all, Microsoft is taking a huge step forward in recognizing the wallets of serious PC gamers with not only the Xbox app, but the Windows 10 platform itself, which will play exclusive host to DirectX 12. Will these two solutions be enough to recapture the eyes and hearts of the dedicated PC gamer community, or will these players continue to stick with Windows 7 and Windows 8.1? Only time will tell.
With this report, keep in mind that we tested the Xbox app and Windows 10 Build 10240 before the actual launch that takes place later this week. We'll take the Xbox streaming bit for a hands-on ride once the launch dust settles and both Windows 10 and Xbox One are ready to play nice with each other.
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