Video Games Hangouts
EtcetEra Hangouts
Trending

[Kotaku] Xbox Smart Delivery Turned Out To Be A Pretty Big Deal

nekkid

nekkid

Member
Oct 27, 2017
19,763
When Microsoft started slipping the made-up phrase “Smart Delivery” into all of its Xbox Series X/S marketing last year, it seemed like just another pair of empty buzzwords. Surely all games would just simply work after you installed them on your expensive new hardware, whether they supported Microsoft’s catchphrase or not. Not quite!
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
The loot RPG’s next-gen version went live yesterday and turned out to be a massive headache for those looking to upgrade from PS4 to PS5. First, they had to make sure both versions of the game were downloaded and updated on the console. Then they had to migrate their save data over. Hours and dozens of GB of data later, they could delete the PS4 version and finally get to playing.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
It shocked me a bit that this was the procedure PS5 owners had to go through, but it does highlight how utterly seamless going from last gen to this gen (and even back again) it is on Xbox.

kotaku.com

Xbox Smart Delivery Turned Out To Be A Pretty Big Deal

When Microsoft started slipping the made-up phrase “Smart Delivery” into all of its Xbox Series X/S marketing last year, it seemed like just another pair of empty buzzwords. Surely all games would just simply work after you installed them on your expensive new hardware, whether they supported...
kotaku.com kotaku.com
 
Last edited:
mazi

mazi

picross or it didn't happen
Member
Oct 27, 2017
48,097
MS definitely created a very elegant system for cross-gen games. going back, it's funny how many people downplayed it, saying it's just a marketing buzzword.
 
defaltoption

defaltoption

The Fallen
Oct 27, 2017
9,532
Washington
Microsoft continues to be better at everything that isn't exclusives. Hopefully this gen Sony makes strides on the backend systems so we never have to deal with crap like this again.
 
Chasing

Chasing

The Fallen
Oct 26, 2017
6,265
It’s terrible (I expressed as much in the last thread) but also really only a problem for this first 2 years until everything becomes next(well, current)-gen only.
 
Nelo Ice

Nelo Ice

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,442
In general PS5 is fucking awful when it comes to cross gen. I had this issue on day one with Fall Guys not launching. I thought o surely I can continue playing playing Fall Guys via my external without issue. My PS5 didn't agree and for some strange fucking reason it kept installing the beta version. I had to redownload and install Fall guys who knows how many times until it installed the regular version.

It's also stupid that old versions are even option and it did not help they were both labeled Fall Guys-PS4. I kept accidently installing the beta by itself or I'd install both versions and the game would go back to not launching in either case. Took me awhile to just get the regular version installed without the beta popping back up.
 
OP
OP
nekkid

nekkid

Member
Oct 27, 2017
19,763
Chasing said:
YMMV for sure. It’s not that huge of a time for me, because, in my experience so far, I’ve had to deal with this once (Avengers). Frustrating, to be sure, but not something I think I will encounter much in this next 2 years.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Also, assuming the figure of 2 years for cross generation is right, this affects cross gen games released within those 2 years but will a problem for longer than that for anyone who wants to revisit these titles.
 

akilshohen

Member
Dec 8, 2017
664
Wasn't some of this handled on the X1 last gen with games like Pinball FX?
I don't get how it's hard to transfer stats and saves over.
 
345

345

Member
Oct 30, 2017
2,467
mazi said:
MS definitely created a very elegant system for cross-gen games. going back, it's funny how many people downplayed it, saying it's just a marketing buzzword.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
to be fair, i think it still would've been a marketing buzzword had sony not dramatically screwed the pooch. like, this should be basic app store functionality.

full credit to microsoft for realising that it wouldn't be!
 

brain_stew

Member
Oct 30, 2017
1,999
Microsoft have completely nailed that feeling of having a permanent library. It's seamless, constantly improving and gives you real confidence in your digital purchases. The fact that digital titles I bought 15 years ago are accessible seamlessly in the new generation and play better than ever, is testament to that. Smart delivery just builds on that solid foundation and makes everything seamless. It just works.

As someone that is 100% digital at this point, I've got complete confidence in my purchases on Steam and Xbox. Nintendo on the other hand? I've got little faith that those games will come with me, and that affects how much money I spend on their ecosystem.

I know Sony are insistent on having clear demarcation points between generations but it feels counter to the current market where games can thrive and be actively supported for more than a decade. Removing friction from that transition and increasing the feeling of permanence of your library is only beneficial. I really don't understand who benefits from insisting on separate SKUs for "next gen" versions of the same game.
 
TheUnsungHero26

TheUnsungHero26

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,038
Canada
Having everything "just work" is the main reason I wasn't upset that the Series X|S didn't have a new dashboard at launch.

After the disaster that was the Xbox One dashboard in 2013, I'll take something familiar and functional over the mere novelty of having something new.
 
Grifter

Grifter

Member
Oct 26, 2017
907
It shouldn't be a big deal in that it seems like basic download scaling and cloud accounts, but it certainly is when Sony insists on making so many basic things painful.

Tho, MS has more need for it for XS users not to d/l assets they'd never use and fill their drive in 1.5 Call of Duties.
 
CerealBro1

CerealBro1

Member
Jan 9, 2020
3,304
I really started to realize this around the time of Yakuza 7’s PS5 version releasing where it didn’t have any form of save transfer ability from PS4 to 5, and that’s when I really realized that Smart Delivery wasn’t just fancy marketing but an awesome system.

Something else I love is that I’ll be able to switch between Series X and Xbox One with any smart delivery game and the saves will just be there automatically without issue, which will definitely be great for any cross gen games I buy after getting a Series X.

I totally thought it was fancy marketing when I heard of it, but damn was I wrong, and it’s nice to just have the simple and known feature set, even if it was just marketing
 
Chasing

Chasing

The Fallen
Oct 26, 2017
6,265
nekkid said:
Also, assuming the figure of 2 years for cross generation is right, this affects cross gen games released within those 2 years but will a problem for longer than that for anyone who wants to revisit these titles.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Specifically, for those who had progress on PS4 games that have native PS5 versions that required similar ass-backwards methods of transferring saves. Starting by default with PS5 native games or PS4 backward compat games won’t have this problem. Not that I wanna downplay the problem, but this specific subset of players is going to be pretty small at that time. There’s other problems with the way skus work that I think Sony needs addressing more, like their dumb and terrible way of differentiating PS5 and PS4 skus.
 
mazi

mazi

picross or it didn't happen
Member
Oct 27, 2017
48,097
The Living Tribunal said:
"just call it CrossBuy"
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
lol, i remember listening to a podcast (easy allies) around the time when the feature was revealed, and a listener had emailed the hosts to remind them that it's nothing new and it's just Cross Buy under a different name, since they were talking about Smart Delivery in the previous episode.
 
Shoreu

Shoreu

Member
Oct 25, 2017
808
345 said:
to be fair, i think it still would've been a marketing buzzword had sony not dramatically screwed the pooch. like, this should be basic app store functionality.

full credit to microsoft for realising that it wouldn't be!
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

"There's no such thing as magic"

All the seamless store integrations we take for granted have to be thought out, designed, and tested by someone.
 
Ocean

Ocean

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,969
Xbox has better hardware, better BC, better cross-gen upgrades, a more consumer-friendly approach to legacy accessories, better services (Game Pass is crazy)... it’s really striking just how far behind Sony is on all these fronts.

Despite all this, I still bought a PS5 as my first next-gen console. Probably won’t buy a Series console until the midgen refresh, by which time I expect their exclusive lineup to be in better shape. Sony has a single advantage (exclusives), but it’s such a crucial one that for me, it outweighs the myriad ways in which their platform is worse.

Halfway through Spider-Man, I went ahead and bought Miles Morales with the spidey remaster. Immediately deleted the PS4 version and proceeded to download a few dozen GB for the PS5 version.

Surprise, surprise: I had to re download the PS4 version to do a save transfer, because apparently the PS5 version can’t just pull it from the PS+ save cloud. Worse yet: the save transfer is one-way, and the game has separate trophy lists. When I transferred, I had about 1/3 of the trophies for Spider-Man on PS4. Then I got the plat on PS5, only to later realize that my profile still lists the 1/3 completion for the old version of the (same) game.

It was just such a frustrating experience. Both my PlayStation and Switch are terrible platforms with amazing software. I really hope for a platform-agnostic future where exclusives aren’t a thing anymore, because it sucks to have amazing content locked behind these crappy walled gardens.
 
JFoul

JFoul

Member
Oct 25, 2017
737
Mostly everything just works and it makes me feel like Microsoft respects my digital library.
 
Manfred

Manfred

Member
Oct 28, 2017
5,398
Geneva, Switzerland
Actually it's not related to the software distribution but restrictions on the filesystem.

But I don't want to be too factual and precise to not ruin the guilty pleasure of some you.

(and yes it can be complicated for the end-user)
 
Zeyphersan

Zeyphersan

Avenger
Oct 26, 2017
6,629
California
Manfred said:
Actually it's not related to the software distribution but restrictions on the filesystem.

But I don't want to be too factual and precise to not ruin the guilty pleasure of some you.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
When you phrase it like it sounds like the differences between the two systems are ordained from god and not conscious choices made by the two companies in regards to how their products function...
 
Neural

Neural

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,552
Italy
Pretty funny how a game with Sony marketing and that was meant to be better on PS5 thanks to Spider-Man's exclusivity, ended up being a living commercial for Xbox strengths.
 
12Danny123

12Danny123

Member
Jan 31, 2018
1,327
If Microsoft didn't create this system, it would completely break XCloud. Imagine a Cloud Gaming service where every time the servers blades are upgraded and the developer creates a XSX version, the game updates, you load a game and you suddenly realize that your saves are gone.

It's not only to create a seamless experience between consoles generations, it also creates a seamless experience every time MS upgrades their Xbox server blades.

Microsoft is a software company, so by their nature they think about software related features. Sony is a hardware company, they excel at hardware but their software engineering is somewhat poor.
 
Last edited:
Terbinator

Terbinator

Member
Oct 29, 2017
3,699
Not related exactly but Sony's cloud setup is just crap.

I accidentally ended up wiping over an UC4 save I expected to automatically be pulled from the cloud when installed the game on the PS5 (from disc!) because I hadn't sync'd my saves before playing? Terrible.
 
HiLife

HiLife

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
21,722
Nelo Ice said:
In general PS5 is fucking awful when it comes to cross gen. I had this issue on day one with Fall Guys not launching. I thought o surely I can continue playing playing Fall Guys via my external without issue. My PS5 didn't agree and for some strange fucking reason it kept installing the beta version. I had to redownload and install Fall guys who knows how many times until it installed the regular version.

It's also stupid that old versions are even option and it did not help they were both labeled Fall Guys-PS4. I kept accidently installing the beta by itself or I'd install both versions and the game would go back to not launching in either case. Took me awhile to just get the regular version installed without the beta popping back up.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
On another note, the PS5 has been terrible when it comes to last gen peripherals (in my experience). I’ve tried playing SFV with one Dualsense and one DS4 and the DS4 could never connect. But it could press the HOME button and register input by scrolling the menus. As soon as you resume it didn’t detect input.

Did a whole lot of signing in and out / turning on and off controllers at different times and it could still never get it to connect. It was a fucking headache just to play 1v1 with my sibling.

It’s just so lackluster compared to how Xbox is handling the crossgen experience. I have zero issues doing...well anything cross gen related on Series X. Games, peripherals, etc.
 
jaymzi

jaymzi

Member
Jul 22, 2019
2,999
Is it common for games to be as troublesome as Avengers on PS5?

Or is it a rare case.
 
OP
OP
nekkid

nekkid

Member
Oct 27, 2017
19,763
So is it possible to take save games backward from PS5 to PS4? I have a few Xboxes in the house, XSX, 1S and a 1X, and if my son wants to play FH4 or something it’s dead easy for him to jump on any of those consoles and play regardless of which room people are doing other stuff on the tv.
 
Neural

Neural

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,552
Italy
12Danny123 said:
If Microsoft didn't create this system, it would completely break XCloud. Imagine a Cloud Gaming service where every time the servers blades are upgraded and the developer creates a XSX version, the game updates, you load a game and you suddenly realize that your saves are gone.

It's not only to create a seamless experience between consoles generations, it also creates a seamless experience every time MS upgrades their Xbox server blades.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Yep, and their back-compat efforts are part of this too. It's all part of a unique, very well thought-out and delivered strategy for their unified ecosystem. And it's definitely paying off.

If they start delivering consistently good exclusives with all those new studios, they'll be in an incredibly good place.
 
nolifebr

nolifebr

Member
Sep 1, 2018
6,370
Curitiba/BR
jaymzi said:
Is it common for games to be as troublesome as Avengers on PS5?

Or is it a rare case.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Yeah, with every game that "support" cross saves on PlayStation platforms, you'll need to upload your save manually to the game server via the old-gen-version game menus.

PS4 saves simply don't work with native PS5 games. I guess Sony has some sort of tool to port the save in the back end, but it doesn't seem to be something that can be done on the console itself.
 

t26

Avenger
Oct 27, 2017
2,977
PS5 does have one advantage, I can pick up the PS5 version of Avengers and install it right from the disc. With Series X I would need to buy the Xbox One version and download the Series X data
 
christocolus

christocolus

Member
Oct 27, 2017
10,034
well done MS. I still when users here kept making fun of the name smart delivery and calling it Intelligent delivery. lmao
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.