When Microsoft started inserting the invented phrase “Smart Delivery” into all Xbox Series X / S marketing last year, it looked like just another couple of empty buzzwords. Certainly all games would simply work after you installed them on your new expensive hardware, whether they were compatible with Microsoft’s catchphrase or not. Not exactly!
Nothing has put the gulf between the standard operating procedure for next generation games and Microsoft’s Xbox Series X / S smart delivery feature on display as Marvel Avengers. The next generation version of the RPG loot went live yesterday and ended up being a big headache for those looking to upgrade from PS4 to PS5. First, they had to make sure that both versions of the game were downloaded and updated on the console. Then, they had to migrate their saved data. Hours and dozens of GB of data later, they could delete the PS4 version and finally start playing.
Of course, it all got a little more complicated due to how clumsy it can be to check which versions of a game you downloaded to your PS5 and whether they are up to date. Marvel Avengers itself was also acting, with the game’s option to migrate saved data not appearing to some players. It took Crystal Dynamics multiple tweets and a dedicated PlayStation website FAQ to explain the process, which was not intuitive enough to make many eyes glaze after reading the instructions. “Living in the future at Sony here,” tweeted Forbes writer Paul Tassi.
Meanwhile, on the Xbox Series X / S, things just worked.
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Microsoft describes Smart Delivery as a “new technology” that helps you get “the Xbox One and Xbox Series X versions of the game with one purchase, and the best version of the game will automatically be delivered to your console, regardless of generation – no steps necessary extras. ”“ What extra steps may be necessary? ” many of us wondered last year when that explanation was released. So used to simply having our data cataloged and transported by major technology companies from one phone and computer to the other, the idea that their saved games and data would not do the same when moving from current consoles to new ones seemed absurd. After all, it wasn’t Nintendo we were talking about.
And yet, over and over again, Smart Delivery has actually turned out to be a real thing, solving a real problem that would otherwise hamper the transition to next generation consoles. Now I assume that I can turn on my S Series, browse the Microsoft Store, Game Pass and my existing account library and simply play whatever it is in seconds, without asking any questions. So I go back to my PS5 and find that I’m running out of space because I have duplicate PS4 versions of several downloaded games. Also mine Tsushima’s Ghost saving data was not transported – time to restart the PS4. Jesus Christ, I’m sorry for turning it off without telling you the last time.
What can I say, I thought it would be for the last time.