Facebook Steps Into Cloud Gaming -- and Another Feud With Apple

Facebook will soon be the latest tech giant to enter the world of cloud gaming. Their approach is different than what Microsoft or Google has built, but Facebook highlights a shared central challenge: dealing with Apple. From a report: Facebook is not building a console gaming competitor to compete with Stadia or xCloud; instead, the focus is wholly on mobile games. Why cloud stream mobile games that your device is already capable of running locally? Facebook is aiming to get users into games more quickly and put less friction between a user seeing an advertisement for a game and actually playing it themselves. Users can quickly tap into the title without downloading anything, and if they eventually opt to download the title from a mobile app store, they'll be able to pick up where they left off. Facebook's service will launch on the desktop web and Android, but not iOS due to what Facebook frames as usability restrictions outlined in Apple's App Store terms and conditions.

[...] For a user downloading a lengthy single-player console epic, the short pitstop is an inconvenience, but long-time Facebook gaming exec Jason Rubin says that the stipulations are a non-starter for what Facebook's platform envisions, a way to start playing mobile games immediately without downloading anything. "It's a sequence of hurdles that altogether make a bad consumer experience," Rubin tells TechCrunch.

Giants in the playground.

[jellomizer]

Normally Competition means the customer win. With Facebook and Apple going against each other, it will be us customers who take the biggest losses.

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[MargrithPivaa]

Hi...I was a really bad..girl. Punish me with your dick in my mouth!! >> bit.do/fKzMV

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[MrL0G1C]

Fingers crossed this will be a fight to the death and both companies will die, with luck some stray bullets will hit Alphabet and take them down with them.

Appleâ(TM)s Become Microsoft

[xgerrit]

When Apple was "beleaguered", they had to fight for customers by actually improving the customer experience over what Microsoft offered. I loved that Apple. Today's Apple is clearly about locking in customers and squeezing as much money out of them as possible. Every story like this is just further confirmation that they've become the company they spent years fighting against.

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[RazorSharp]

Yeah, Apple is so evil for implementing security. Facebook has explicitly stated that their problem with Apple is that they don't allow spyware. I don't get how Apple has become the enemy for implementing strong security/privacy features that benefit their customers while Microsoft and Google bake spyware into their OSes. I get why companies like Facebook have a backward view of who their "customers" are, but why do so many /.ers get upset that Apple prioritizes their actual customers over garbage developer

Re: Appleâ(TM)s Become Microsoft

[xgerrit]

Yeah, Apple is so evil for implementing security. Facebook has explicitly stated that their problem with Apple is that they don't allow spyware.

Stadia and xCloud are not spyware, but Apple blocked them? What makes Apple evil is that they're blocking gaming services that their customers want so they can artificially prop up Apple Arcade. If I spent $1,200 on my iPhone, I don't think it's crazy that I should get to pick the gaming service I want to use on it. But of course Apple Arcade would have no shot in t

And bypass Apple vetting?

[agent_blue]

For better or worse, a feature that many consumers desire, is Apple's vetting on software on the app store. It appears Facebook wants to bypass Apple's vetting procedures. Apple will then have to rely of Facebook to properly vet the game code for malware and other content restrictions, I think this is what the sticking point is going to be.

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[postbigbang]

Another battle of the Titans. Will consumers win? Will Facebook slug it out for shares of Apple revenue? Will Google object? Will Microsoft try again to look like "The Good Guy"? Only the DOJ knows, and can't do anything about it.

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[the_B0fh]

and Facebook giving up the 30% to Google, and 70% to the game makers, all Facebook wants to do is to create a wonderful gaming platform for you, out of the goodness of their hearts. No payment necessary. No, for real...

Re: And bypass Apple vetting?

[drinkypoo]

No, they only have to trust them to do content filtering. The app is not running on the customer's device.

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[tlhIngan]

For better or worse, a feature that many consumers desire, is Apple's vetting on software on the app store. It appears Facebook wants to bypass Apple's vetting procedures. Apple will then have to rely of Facebook to properly vet the game code for malware and other content restrictions, I think this is what the sticking point is going to be.

Basically, yes. Apple requires streaming gaming services submit the games they're offering for approval.

Of course, the easiest way is to bypass it all and just implement

Re: And bypass Apple vetting?

[xgerrit]

For better or worse, a feature that many consumers desire, is Apple's vetting on software on the app store. It appears Facebook wants to bypass Apple's vetting procedures. Apple will then have to rely of Facebook to properly vet the game code for malware and other content restrictions, I think this is what the sticking point is going to be.

Apple doesn't vet code on the web running in Safari, but insists it needs to vet code running in a Safari WebView running inside an app. (Even though the codeâ(TM)s

You mean remove all privacy and controls, right?

[mccalli]

'Can click to start playing immediately' - no, there is a reason all the controls around app purchasing, in-app purchasing, per-application privacy restrictions and parental controls exist.

No friction sounds great until you think about what it really means. Wait for the first "my kid spent £500 on Sparkly Gems for FaceBookDataMiner" headline to hit.

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[Luckyo]

That's not going to be a problem in a post-Hunter Biden laptop world. Silicon Valley giants now know for certain that they can make any news story, no matter how explosive just go away.

Doesn't matter what you think about the story itself, the election cycle, the candidate you support. You should be horrified about the fact that Silicon Valley giants proved in principle that they can shut down a story if they choose to do so. Because now that they're no longer guessing if they can do it, but know... You can

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[RazorSharp]

It must be tough being so oppressed. Poor you.

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[Luckyo]

I'm not American, and in my country, if political clan got caught being as corrupt as Biden family, their political career would have ended.

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[Luckyo]

That's what I mean. Not only are you utterly immune to reality if it doesn't conform to your political beliefs, you immediately jump to assume that anyone daring to point out the flaws in your ideological bubble must be on the other side of the political isle and actually start making hilarious jabs based on that assumption. And of course mention Russia conspiracy, because that's the favourite conspiracy theory for your political side to go to when reality just doesn't quite conform to your expectations. It

Re: You mean remove all privacy and controls, righ

[xgerrit]

'Can click to start playing immediately' - no, there is a reason all the controls around app purchasing, in-app purchasing, per-application privacy restrictions and parental controls exist.

This is obviously not the problem with either xCloud or Stadia though. Those are both subscription services that aren't based on micro-transactions. Apple's problem is really with any gaming service that could slow the growth of Apple Arcade. As iPhone sales slow, the only way they can keep ARPU up is to get customers to

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[vux984]

"Losing access to Facebook itself is not the end of the world, however if you used Facebook to log into other websites,..."

You learn the hard way that outsourcing your identity provider to a company that recognizes you as an advertising target instead of a valued paying customer, and that offers virtually no end-user service or support to advertising targets, was a bad move??

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[sew3521]

Thankfully I generally did not use Facebook as my login method. As a huge fan of LastPass I try to always create a unique account. Unfortunately there are some services, like Oculus, that require a Facebook account. Luckily for me the majority of my photos were backed up. There were some old mobile photos that I did not have backed up that I miss, one of them is of my now deceased grandma sitting on the birthday saddle thing they bring out at Texas Roadhouse. I also used Facebook as my main way of reaching

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[UnknownSoldier]

And nothing of value was lost. /s

You don't "need" anything FarceBook provides.

Life existed before FecesBook. It will continue long after this shit stain is gone.

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[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

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[nospam007]

"The idea to use game streaming as demos for games is a great and innovative idea. I doubt that Facebook came up with it all on their own "

It's called an 'ad', look it up.

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[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion