XCloud is the XBox streaming service.  How could you not have heard of it?  We've been talking about it by that name for a year or so, and you're here all the time.  

How is Japan in internet rankings? If they are well off then yeah, I think Xcloud is MS's best path forward there.

So many things to say here.

Besides the iPhone, made by Apple, are smartphone makers are asian. And besides the iPhone, all smartphone makers use Android.

In Japan, besides the iPhone, people have Sony Xperia phones, Samsung Galaxy phones, Sharp phones and other type of phones. So they already have access to xCloud.

You need a good connection for sure. But for the controller, they are doing something pretty neat (I'm using it when I don't feel like pairing my Xbox controller), which is to add "custom" on-screen controls for selected games (and the list keeps growing).

For instance, for Minecraft Dungeons, it adds icons on your phone screen and you can use a virtual joystick with it, then the XCloud app transforms that into real inputs and sends it to XCloud. So for several games, no controllers are needed as they have the layer on top of it.

Here is how it looks for Minecraft, but it is custom for each game:

Minecraft virtual controls

I'm using XCloud when I play in my bed and it is very convenient. I have a very good connection at home and I use it over WiFi but sometimes when I'm outside, I use it with 5G and it works as well (I actually have to use 5GHz Wifi at home to match the quality of the 5G. If I use a 2.4GHz network, it lags more for some reason). 

Xcloud (cloud gaming) is not currently available in Japan.

https://www.xbox.com/en-us/regions?source=lp

Click on Gamepass and it shows Cloud gaming with an X in the JP area.

Also another thing going against it is that it is not currently available on iphone/ios. Even more so than the USA, the iphone is the dominant platform here in Japan.

https://www.pcmag.com/news/ios-more-popular-in-japan-and-us-android-dominates-in-china-and-india

Once it is actually available in Japan and you can get it on ios, then it should have more penetration. Possibly going through the web like Amazon with their Luna service which goes through the browser and not the app store.

I’ve been wanting to try it out myself as I have my Xbox account region set to the U.S. (not Japan), but since I use ios I’ve only been able to use the xbox app to stream from my Series X to my iphone. That worked fine connected to my Xbox one controller. 

In Japan X-cloud means. No cloud. Cancel cloud or Cross-Cloud. Because of the letter X.

I'm a frequent/daily Xcloud user and tbh you really need a pad for those games (even the touch compatible ones). While there are ways to attach one or get joycon-like controllers for smartphones, it's just not as straightforward as normal mobile games and another problem is ofcourse that many of the games are certainly not made for small screens.

It is even included with gamepass ultimate.  You can stream gamepass games to an android device and play with a controller at no extra cost.  Right now it is in beta and limited to that, but it is great as an extra option.

It kind of make Gamepass Ultimate the "netflix of gaming" service people expected Stadia to be.  Soon it will be available for PC, iOS, and smart TVs as well while development for the service continues.

I'm using xCloud on my PC through the BlueStacks emulator and it works very well. On my tablet I unfortunately have bad connection problems (everything else works fine on it) and my 6.5" phone is just too small to enjoy these games on as text/ui becomes super tiny etc.

Only tried it on my phone, and I had connection problems aa well.  I am curious to see how it does on other platforms aside from mobile and how it develops as time goes on.

But it is in beta and it is an extra for Ultimate so I am not spending money on it specifically, which leaves me more forgiving while they improve the service.