Comcast's Xfinity Games service blasted as 'confusing, unfocused'

Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) announced its new Xfinity Games service earlier this month with partner Electronic Arts, and early reviews of the offering are decidedly negative. Ars Technica tested the handful of games available through the service using Comcast's X1 platform and an iPad as a controller, and found that "Xfinity Games isn't just 'beta' bad; it could go down as one of the most confusing, unfocused gaming launches we've ever seen."

Specifically, the publication noted the service offers a mixed bag of 23 games, including some that are scaled-down, less interesting versions of those already available directly to smartphone and tablet users through Apple and Google's respective app stores. Although Ars Technica reported that the service's "PGA Tour" game was relatively enjoyable, the publication noted that most of the other games streamed through the system suffered from a complex setup process, poor graphics, uninteresting mechanics, confusing controls and, importantly, notable lag issues.

"Why we'd use a perfectly useful iPad to stream an outdated version of Real Racing and suffer from that version's lag and splotchy, streamed visuals--with giant, pixellated chunks of fuzzy color--is beyond us," the publication noted. "We could just download the mobile version directly to that iPad and be a lot less annoyed (and maybe pay a few bucks for an A/V cable to stream that action to our TV screen, should we be so inclined to share the action with our families)." Article