The Des Moines Register has reported that Microsoft is to invest $700 million in an Iowa data center to support Xbox One's Live and Cloud gaming services.
Christian Belady, the general manager of Microsoft data center services, noted that the center "supports the growing demand for Microsoft's cloud services."
While Xbox Live isn't the only Microsoft cloud service to be supported by the Iowa complex it will be the principal function of the facility. It brings Microsoft's total investment in cloud technologies to $1 billion.
Microsoft has said that they will have 300,000 Xbox Live servers for Xbox One although console tech specialists Digital Foundry believe the company will most likely not be able to deliver on its cloud vision.
Sony's Shuhei Yoshida has said that "of course" the PS4 can perform cloud computations if developers need to make use of the feature though the extent of their cloud capabilities remains unclear. Gaikai, the Sony owned game streaming service, is set to be launched in the US next year and will initially focus on bringing PS3 games to the non-backward compatible PS4 although the possibility that the service will be extended to PS4 games is "also on the roadmap".
Both the Xbox One and the PS4 are set to be released later this year.
Via: GamesIndustry.
