Is cloud gaming a good idea? Check out the 3A gaming experience brought by Migu Quick Games before you make your own judgment!

In the past 2020, "cloud gaming" has become one of the hottest concepts in the gaming industry. With infinitely reduced hardware costs, the convenience of seamless switching between multiple screens, and all-round subversion from game production to publishing and distribution, cloud gaming seems to have won the favor of all technology giants overnight.

However, no matter how low the hardware threshold is, it still exists. In the golden experience area of ​​games - the living room, to experience cloud games on a large screen, decoding hardware and game input devices, that is, controllers, are still unavoidable. For example, Google has launched the Chromecast TV stick and Stadia controller for its own cloud gaming platform.

With all domestic operators and Internet giants involved in cloud gaming, the TV cloud gaming terminal market is no longer a blank. Gaming peripheral manufacturer GXNOVA has jointly launched a home entertainment terminal with China Mobile Migu Quick Game. At a cost of less than 500 yuan, any screen in the home can be turned into a high-configuration gaming terminal.

So can this Migu Quick Play home entertainment terminal provide a highly playable cloud gaming experience, what is its appeal to traditional game console players, and can it lay a good foundation for the popularization of cloud gaming? I recently got this device, and I will answer these questions one by one.

"Stop talking nonsense and look at things first"

First of all, I ordered this device on January 6th, but because I was in Shijiazhuang during the New Year's Day holiday, I was trapped at home due to the sudden outbreak of the epidemic. With all express delivery cut off, it took more than half a month to receive the express delivery, so the review came a little late.

In addition, without professional equipment, taking photos is more "makeshift", so let's just say "Long live Sister Li"~

Let’s take a look at the packaging first. As a fan and in-depth user of various TV boxes, to be honest, I am still scared by the big box of Migu Quick Play Home Entertainment Terminal.

After unboxing, I found that not only is the machine itself quite big, but as a console mainly for cloud gaming, it also comes with a GXNOVA elite luxury handle. Accessories such as cables and adapters are also laid out in the package. It seems that the manufacturer has no plans to reduce the size of the packaging, but the cable ensures the luxury and visual impact of the machine when it is unboxed. The packaging is indeed thoughtful.

The package includes the console, a GXNOVA controller, an HDMI cable, a Micro-USB cable for charging the controller, a power adapter, an instruction manual, and a monthly super membership card exclusive to the entertainment terminal.

The appearance of the terminal body is completely different from the low-key design of ordinary TV boxes. It adopts a design style similar to aliens. The hexagonal appearance is matched with the RGB breathing light on the top, which is very "e-sports". There is a screen on the front that can display basic information such as network and time. The side uses a punk-style heat dissipation grille.

Considering that Google's Chromecast and a number of Raspberry Pi cloud gaming sticks often overheat, the choice of Migu Quick Game Cloud Gaming Terminal is probably the right answer.

As a game console, the Migu Quick Game Cloud Game Terminal has much more interfaces on the back than ordinary TV boxes. From left to right, they are: USB, power port, handle pairing button, HDMI, SPDIF audio port, network cable port, AV cable port, power button, another USB port, and TF card slot.

It can be seen that this terminal takes into account the needs of users at all levels. It has both the SPDIF interface used by high-end Sony and Philips audio systems, and the AV line interface required by old TVs.

In terms of configuration, the Migu Quick Game Cloud Game Terminal is equipped with a quad-core Cortex A53 64-bit architecture CPU, a Mali-T720 GPU, and a 2GB+16GB memory combination, which can only be said to be average. However, considering that the cloud game itself does not take up space in the body, the machine also supports USB and TF expansion, and it will not be stretched for daily use.

For cloud gaming, encoding and decoding capabilities are crucial. Migu Quick Game Cloud Gaming Terminal supports H.265 4K 60fps and H.264 4K 30fps decoding, which is more than enough. In other words, the decoding capability is still beyond the service scope of the platform for the time being. Even with future technological iterations, this hardware can keep up through software upgrades.

In terms of network standards, support for 5G WiFi ensures the bandwidth requirements for cloud gaming. I have tested many smart TVs and set-top boxes before. Obviously, their performance can handle cloud gaming, but because of 2.4G WiFi, the screen is stuck and becomes a slide show.

The GXNOVA controller that comes with the game console deserves a thumbs up. First of all, it feels great to hold, and of course it is also a reference to a well-known competitor in the industry. After all, there is a good example. The button feel and rebound feedback are sensitive and not dragging, and the shoulder button has a moderate key travel.

In terms of button layout, this controller is highly consistent with the Xbox controller, even the button color matching is retained. The default setting of the controller in cloud games is based on the Xbox controller, and even the button prompts can be perfectly matched when playing games. In addition, TV cloud games do not have the operation dimension of mobile phone touch screens. The GXNOVA controller also has four back buttons and two front buttons for more system-level operations, such as confirmation, return, volume +-, etc.

Many USB and Bluetooth controllers on the market are missing many buttons for PC games, such as L3, R3, Select, etc. A complete set of buttons is the basis for playing games.

It is also worth mentioning that the GXNOVA controller is also equipped with light and vibration modules, but unfortunately, for some reason, no games that support vibration have been found yet. Although the controller vibration is turned on in the game, the controller is "always very quiet" and only uses vibration to remind me when the controller is turned on. This function is actually always on.

The controller also supports Android, iOS, Windows and other platforms, so it is unlikely to be covered in dust after you buy it home. However, there is a clip on the top of the controller for the mobile phone holder, but there is no holder provided. If you want to use it to play mobile games comfortably, you still need to spend money to buy some small accessories.

4MB, 40ms, gaming has never been so accessible

When you boot up and enter the system, there are no startup ads on the Migu Quick Play home entertainment terminal, which is very good. Now is an era where manufacturers will be praised if they don't force ads on you.

In terms of interface, the Migu Quick Play home entertainment terminal adopts a cloud gaming OS based on Android 9.0. The innovative "cross interaction" UI design is very intuitive - vertically select categories and horizontally select content.

Migu Quick Play can be used as a TV box and the home entertainment terminal can also easily handle the task. It integrates videos from multiple platforms such as Tencent, iQiyi, Mango TV, Youku, etc., and also simultaneously updates exciting events such as NBA, CNA, Champions League, Bundesliga, etc.

Of course, it also supports screen projection from mobile phones. After installing LeTV Cast through the app store, it supports almost all mainstream screen projection protocols on the market.

If used as a TV box, the only complaint is probably the handle. For a remote control, a handle that requires both hands to operate is not convenient enough.

Migu Quick Play Home Entertainment Terminal Store also provides simulator software such as Little Chicken and Starfish. For many people, playing a large number of excellent games from previous platforms on TV is already worth the money.

Of course, for those who are willing to spend five or six hundred RMB to buy this console, the main purpose is to play large-scale PC games on TV.

As one of the earliest cloud gaming platforms in China, Migu Quick Game has always been at the forefront of the industry in terms of content layout. Its terminal content library includes a large number of independent boutique games such as "Hunger" and "Fall Guys", as well as PC 3A games such as "Destiny 2", "Sekiro", "Street Fighter V" and "Final Fantasy 15", with a total of more than 100 games, and they are still being updated.

It must be mentioned that all cloud games on the Migu Quick Play home entertainment terminal are genuine. Some games may not have copyrights, and players need to log in to the Steam account that owns the game to play.

The games tested include the first-person shooter "Destiny 2" which is very sensitive to latency, the fighting game "Samurai Shodown", and the action role-playing masterpiece "Final Fantasy 15" from 5 years ago.

In general, except for the fluctuation of the network speed when playing Destiny 2 (after all, the broadband users in the whole building were isolated at home), which caused color blocks on the screen, the other game experiences were good, the download speed of high-definition pictures was within 2MB/s, the network speed of the highest quality pictures was within 4MB/s, and the operation delay was between 40-80ms, which was almost imperceptible. The official data of "20Mb and 50Mb broadband play" is very accurate.

Although it is just an inexpensive "set-top box", it can run 3A-level large-scale games through the cloud gaming platform of Migu Quick Game, and there is no need to download and install tedious steps. In addition, after logging in to the same account on the mobile phone, you can continue the game process on the TV on the mobile phone even when you are away from home.

Nintendo Switch, which has been popular since 2017, has attracted a large number of players by switching between handheld and home consoles, and has been sold out several times. However, with the cloud gaming platform, Migu Quick Game home entertainment terminals and smartphones can also easily achieve this switching, and the performance is not limited by the mobile platform.

Nintendo also tried to use cloud gaming to allow Switch to play "Resident Evil 7" and "Assassin's Creed: Odyssey", but ultimately failed. Cloud gaming platforms, which require a large number of edge nodes and heavy asset operations, are naturally reluctant to accept "playful" participants.

Migu Quick Game Terminal, the “next generation” Xiaomi box

After a few days of trial play, it is undeniable that the Migu Quick Play home entertainment terminal itself still has some problems, such as it does not support the installation of unauthorized third-party applications, it is inconvenient to use the handle as a remote control, and the vibration of the handle cannot be turned on. However, it has undoubtedly set an excellent example for opening up the large-screen track for cloud gaming.

After almost eliminating hardware differences, cloud gaming has made gaming platforms even more extreme. It can be foreseen that the best platforms for cloud gaming in the future will be smartphones as mobile platforms and large screens in the living room for the ultimate experience.

However, on the one hand, tests have shown that most smart TVs on the market are limited by network hardware and chip decoding capabilities and cannot run cloud games smoothly. On the other hand, many users still use traditional TVs at home. As a result, there is a demand for a terminal that is responsible for popularizing cloud games on large screens.

Just as Xiaomi Box showed the world the superiority of OTT, cloud game boxes will show gamers another way to play games in the future. Even though Windows occupies 86.92% of the desktop operating system market (as of April 2020, data from NetMarketShare), Phil Spencer, head of Microsoft's Xbox, still said that he would launch the xCloud cloud game streaming stick.

Another obstacle that prevents smart TV and smartphone users from trying cloud gaming is the controller. Cloud gaming requires a PC-specification Xbox key controller, but almost all mobile controllers on the market have missing buttons to varying degrees. For example, Apple's MFi controller specification does not include L3, R3, Seclect, and other buttons. If you want to use touch to operate more than 20 cloud gaming buttons, the experience is too discouraging.

Therefore, the Migu Quick Play home entertainment terminal is very suitable as entry-level hardware for cloud gaming. Not only can it bring high-quality gaming experience to the living room, but its included GXNOVA controller is also very suitable for use on PC, Mac, Android, iOS and other devices to enjoy the convenience of cloud gaming across platforms.

As time comes to 2021, the future blueprint of the gaming industry led by the concept of cloud gaming is becoming clearer and clearer. Under cloud gaming technology, the gaming industry will achieve a full-scale subversion from the development end to the consumer end. The quality of games will get rid of the shackles of hardware, and the reach will reach its peak.

But before that, when cloud gaming technology and the market are already mature, how to use actual hardware products and gaming experience to change players' inherent perception of cloud gaming is what cloud gaming industry participants should consider more. Products like Migu Quick Play Home Entertainment Terminal, which are inexpensive and can completely remove all barriers between players and cloud gaming at only 500 yuan, are a key step for the market.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.